Ecosystem level impacts of climate change on a temperate grassland. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity, both of which have been shown to change in response to climate change. The aims of this project are to elucidate what impact these changes have on the ecosystem propertie ....Ecosystem level impacts of climate change on a temperate grassland. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity, both of which have been shown to change in response to climate change. The aims of this project are to elucidate what impact these changes have on the ecosystem properties of a native pasture. This is important, as it will allow likely problems caused by global climate change to be predicted by increasing the understanding of the underlying mechanisms as well as improving the management of grasslands in an environmentally sustainable way. Read moreRead less
How does warming prevent soil nitrogen availability from declining in response to elevated CO2? The sustainable use of the terrestrial environment depends upon maintaining ecosystem productivity which in turn depends upon nutrient availability within the soil. Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are known to decrease nutrient availability while warming prevents this from happening. The aims of this project are to determine how warming is able to prevent elevated CO2 concentrations from re ....How does warming prevent soil nitrogen availability from declining in response to elevated CO2? The sustainable use of the terrestrial environment depends upon maintaining ecosystem productivity which in turn depends upon nutrient availability within the soil. Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are known to decrease nutrient availability while warming prevents this from happening. The aims of this project are to determine how warming is able to prevent elevated CO2 concentrations from reducing soil N availability and hence productivity in a native grassland ecosystems. This is important, as it will allow likely problems caused by global climate change to be predicted by increasing the understanding of the underlying mechanisms as well as improving the management of grasslands in an environmentally sustainable way. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354740
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
CaGaWaLo: regulation of carbon gain and water loss by woody vegetation. Trees and shrubs are widely perceived as central to solving problems of national and international significance. Seed funding is sought to facilitate establishment of a research network focused on their ability to sequester carbon and transmit water to the atmosphere. The proposed network is broadly based in plant physiology and ecology and contains a strong cross-section of leading international expertise in relevant sub- ....CaGaWaLo: regulation of carbon gain and water loss by woody vegetation. Trees and shrubs are widely perceived as central to solving problems of national and international significance. Seed funding is sought to facilitate establishment of a research network focused on their ability to sequester carbon and transmit water to the atmosphere. The proposed network is broadly based in plant physiology and ecology and contains a strong cross-section of leading international expertise in relevant sub-disciplines. By leveraging the huge pool of international expertise and focusing on a range of scales (from molecular to biosphere scales), this network will yield new ideas and approaches that will produce outputs and outcomes of national significance.Read moreRead less
Impacts of climate change on sustainability of temperate native pasture: an experiment. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity. Climate change is likely to have major impacts on both factors. The aims of this project are to elucidate the impacts of climate change on the species ....Impacts of climate change on sustainability of temperate native pasture: an experiment. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity. Climate change is likely to have major impacts on both factors. The aims of this project are to elucidate the impacts of climate change on the species composition, productivity and nutritional quality of a grazed native pasture. This is important, as it will allow us to predict likely problems caused by global climate change and increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these changes.Read moreRead less
Cellular automata model of forest stands to predict size-class distribution and survival. Existing forest growth models predict well stand level processes such as growth. However, they provide little information on forest structure and how this affects commercial forest products, risks of growing plantations and stand dynamics that determine carbon sequestration and water-use and result in age-related decline in productivity and self-thinning. By using newly developed technology to quantify in ....Cellular automata model of forest stands to predict size-class distribution and survival. Existing forest growth models predict well stand level processes such as growth. However, they provide little information on forest structure and how this affects commercial forest products, risks of growing plantations and stand dynamics that determine carbon sequestration and water-use and result in age-related decline in productivity and self-thinning. By using newly developed technology to quantify inter-tree competition, tree level resource supply, between tree genetic differences and the importance of chance events this project will draw on complexity theory to develop an innovative model that partitions stand level production to forecast the growth and size of individual trees.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing past population dynamics to understand human and climatic impacts in prehistory. More than 100 species have become extinct since humans first colonised Australia, and over 1000 are considered threatened. This research will determine the factors most strongly governing the interaction between humans and native fauna in Australia over the last 46 millennia. Our approach is powerful and novel because it will effectively draw together multidisciplinary evidence on natural resource exp ....Reconstructing past population dynamics to understand human and climatic impacts in prehistory. More than 100 species have become extinct since humans first colonised Australia, and over 1000 are considered threatened. This research will determine the factors most strongly governing the interaction between humans and native fauna in Australia over the last 46 millennia. Our approach is powerful and novel because it will effectively draw together multidisciplinary evidence on natural resource exploitation and habitat alteration by ancient people, and the influence of dramatic climatic shifts on the Australian biota. Information on past biological responses to environmental change is critical to properly contextualising the current impact, and long-term consequences of, threats such as global warming, habitat loss and invasive species.Read moreRead less
Understanding the impact of global environmental change on Australian forests and woodlands using rainforest boundaries and Callitris growth as bio-indicators. Human-caused climate change is a fact but the ecological responses are uncertain. These could include accelerated tree growth, expansion of rainforest, and thickening of woodlands, although cessation of Aboriginal firing may be equally important. We will provide a historical context to understand how and why Australian forests have change ....Understanding the impact of global environmental change on Australian forests and woodlands using rainforest boundaries and Callitris growth as bio-indicators. Human-caused climate change is a fact but the ecological responses are uncertain. These could include accelerated tree growth, expansion of rainforest, and thickening of woodlands, although cessation of Aboriginal firing may be equally important. We will provide a historical context to understand how and why Australian forests have changed. Our results will inform management and policy debates about (i) rainforest conservation (ii) the role of fire in forest management (iii) the likely impact of increased CO2 ('fertiliser effect') of forest productivity (iv) national carbon accounting and (v) the consequences of climate change on forest ecosystems, particularly the respective wetting and drying trends in the north and south of Australia.Read moreRead less
Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data an ....Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data and numerical geophysical modelling advances. The project contributes to the quantitative characterisation of the complex interactions between ice-sheets, oceans and solid earth within the climate system. Outcomes have implications for geophysics, glaciology, geomorphology, climate, and past and future sea-level change.Read moreRead less
Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions ar ....Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions are critical if human adaptation to effects of climate change are to be proactive and not reactive. We will also test a basic assumption of most bio-climate envelope models that are the basis of many current predictions of the effect of climate change on species distributions. The project will provide the basis for training of two PhD students.Read moreRead less
Antarctic marine diatoms: Key to predicting the effects of global climate change on a temperature-sensitive ecosystem. This project aims to determine the effects of global climate change on Antarctic diatoms. Diatoms are a major component of the polar phytoplankton. They are sensitive to changes in their marine environment, detection of which is an essential part of the Antarctic climate change strategy. Understanding the environmental processes that cause natural variation in extant diatoms ....Antarctic marine diatoms: Key to predicting the effects of global climate change on a temperature-sensitive ecosystem. This project aims to determine the effects of global climate change on Antarctic diatoms. Diatoms are a major component of the polar phytoplankton. They are sensitive to changes in their marine environment, detection of which is an essential part of the Antarctic climate change strategy. Understanding the environmental processes that cause natural variation in extant diatoms will make it possible to reconstruct the response of fossil diatoms, preserved in marine sediments, to past climate change. This understanding is vital for predicting the effect of future anthropogenic warming on this ecosystem.Read moreRead less