Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This pr ....Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This project will benefit ongoing conservation efforts, and is timely given the ongoing eradication of rats from Lord Howe Island where this species once lived. Read moreRead less
Integrative assessment of disturbance and land-use change on total greenhouse gas balance and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibrations of climate variability-land use models, such as the National Carbon Accounting System. The NT Government will have access to a high quality database and calibrated models relating to greenhouse gas emissions as a functio ....Integrative assessment of disturbance and land-use change on total greenhouse gas balance and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibrations of climate variability-land use models, such as the National Carbon Accounting System. The NT Government will have access to a high quality database and calibrated models relating to greenhouse gas emissions as a function of land use change. The project will improve estimates and management of GHG and provide a basis for the NT to potentially exploit future carbon-trading initiatives or GHG abatement schemes as fundamental data describing emissions as a function of land use will be available. This is of national significance given the size of the savanna biome in Australia.Read moreRead less
Reengineering a dynamic vegetation model to explore the stability of Australian terrestrial carbon. Overseas models do not represent Australian biophysical processes well: our flora and fauna are unique and our soils are old and nutrient poor. In contrast, the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) is a world-class framework for estimating current carbon processes. By building NCAS expertise into an overseas model of soil and vegetation processes we can develop the capacity to increase our con ....Reengineering a dynamic vegetation model to explore the stability of Australian terrestrial carbon. Overseas models do not represent Australian biophysical processes well: our flora and fauna are unique and our soils are old and nutrient poor. In contrast, the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) is a world-class framework for estimating current carbon processes. By building NCAS expertise into an overseas model of soil and vegetation processes we can develop the capacity to increase our confidence in future projections of carbon and vegetation change. Our proposal, linking Universities, CSIRO and the Australian Greenhouse Office establishes a team that is internationally competitive. It will enhance local expertise and local model development to ensure national policy development is underpinned by world-class science.Read moreRead less
Vulnerabilities for environmental water outcomes in a changing climate. This project aims to assess the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to extended droughts in a variable and changing climate. Governments around the world are investing in the restoration of regulated river systems with environmental water. However, the risks of climate change for environmental water management are seldom considered. This project will model the change in environmental and consumptive water use during exten ....Vulnerabilities for environmental water outcomes in a changing climate. This project aims to assess the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to extended droughts in a variable and changing climate. Governments around the world are investing in the restoration of regulated river systems with environmental water. However, the risks of climate change for environmental water management are seldom considered. This project will model the change in environmental and consumptive water use during extended dry periods, and couple this to models of ecological dynamics and failure thresholds. This will improve the success of Australia’s major environmental water programs in sustaining benefits through future multi-year droughts.Read moreRead less
Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This proje ....Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This project builds on this work by focusing on cultural and genetic transmission of toad-smart behaviour. The project could save numerous quoll populations from extinction.Read moreRead less
Modelling policy interventions to protect Australia's food security in the face of environmental sustainability challenges . This project will use an innovative scenario modelling approach to quantify the potential impacts of population growth and emerging climate and environmental challenges on Australia’s future food security. In collaboration with an advisory committee it will specify and prioritise policy solutions in terms of their social and economic credentials.
Optimisation of catchment management: stable isotope studies of water storage and yield. Focusing on the Cotter catchment, this project will establish how the water content of soils and tree stems regulates the amount of water used by trees in sub-catchments, and thus how much reaches streams and dams. Small areas supply most of the water yield and this project will help identify where managers should focus efforts to increase yield.
Genomics for persistence of Australian freshwater fish. Biodiversity faces an unpredictable cocktail of impacts and global environmental change, against which the best insurance is genetic diversity. We will develop genomic measures of ecological-genetic functions and evolutionary potential for managing Australian freshwater fish.
Climate Change, Industrial Structure and the Knowledge Economy: Key Issues for an Effective Response on Greenhouse Gases. The objectives of this project are to undertake a major, long term study of the impact of global structural change on greenhouse gas emissions and on climate change, and to develop a detailed knowledge base concerning trade in embodied emissions. It is hoped that the knowledge generated will both inform global responses to this vital problem and contribute to the continuing d ....Climate Change, Industrial Structure and the Knowledge Economy: Key Issues for an Effective Response on Greenhouse Gases. The objectives of this project are to undertake a major, long term study of the impact of global structural change on greenhouse gas emissions and on climate change, and to develop a detailed knowledge base concerning trade in embodied emissions. It is hoped that the knowledge generated will both inform global responses to this vital problem and contribute to the continuing development of effective responses within Australia. The output - a book and many papers - will be directed in part to contribute to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report.Read moreRead less