Mine-site rehabilitation through novel plant and microbe interactions. This project will endeavour to improve restoration technologies aimed at reconstructing diverse and resilient new plant communities following disturbance. The factors which govern successful outcomes of restoration are not fully understood. Current restoration practices rely on the soil microbial community to generate key microbial ecosystem services but their function in novel post-mining substrates modified with soil amelio ....Mine-site rehabilitation through novel plant and microbe interactions. This project will endeavour to improve restoration technologies aimed at reconstructing diverse and resilient new plant communities following disturbance. The factors which govern successful outcomes of restoration are not fully understood. Current restoration practices rely on the soil microbial community to generate key microbial ecosystem services but their function in novel post-mining substrates modified with soil ameliorants is limited. The project aims to use next-generation DNA sequencing to elucidate the structure and function of microbial ecosystem dynamics in modified substrates and apply this understanding to improve restoration outcomes for species and communities affected by the expansion of mining activities in the Pilbara and nationally.Read moreRead less
Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining ....Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining rehabilitation sites. Expected outcomes include clear industry guidelines that refine seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration for current and future climates. This should provide significant benefits for improved ecological restoration outcomes when using native seed today and into the future.Read moreRead less
Designing effective fish-friendly waterway culverts: integration of hydrodynamics and swimming performance. Man-made in-stream structures (for example, dams and road crossings) have contributed to major declines in native fish numbers, with more than 6,000 barriers to fish migration occurring in New South Wales alone. Recognising this, Fisheries New South Wales led the development of national guidelines for the design and construction of fish friendly road crossings. Unfortunately, these guideli ....Designing effective fish-friendly waterway culverts: integration of hydrodynamics and swimming performance. Man-made in-stream structures (for example, dams and road crossings) have contributed to major declines in native fish numbers, with more than 6,000 barriers to fish migration occurring in New South Wales alone. Recognising this, Fisheries New South Wales led the development of national guidelines for the design and construction of fish friendly road crossings. Unfortunately, these guidelines have little empirical backing. This project will integrate data on the swimming ability of Australian fish species with culvert hydrodynamic modelling to better understand fish requirements in and around road crossings. These data will strengthen national design guidelines and provide the tools engineers and planners need to balance fish migration with effective water management.Read moreRead less
Reef health tipping-points: triage for threatened/collapsed reef ecosystems. The accelerating collapse of reef ecosystems represents one of the greatest threats for marine biodiversity and seafood production worldwide. To confront this emergency, this Fellowship will determine reef health tipping-points and provide a new 'reef ecosystem triage’ approach to prioritise the order of preventative treatments to safeguard threatened reefs, while directing remediation efforts to collapsed reefs where r ....Reef health tipping-points: triage for threatened/collapsed reef ecosystems. The accelerating collapse of reef ecosystems represents one of the greatest threats for marine biodiversity and seafood production worldwide. To confront this emergency, this Fellowship will determine reef health tipping-points and provide a new 'reef ecosystem triage’ approach to prioritise the order of preventative treatments to safeguard threatened reefs, while directing remediation efforts to collapsed reefs where recovery is most probable. The research will directly benefit reef-dependent industries and coastal communities by providing an objective evidence-based reef health system to protect against collapse and to identify our greatest opportunities to recover vast biodiversity and economic potential for reef ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC150100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,961,622.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Mine Site Restoration. ARC Training Centre for Mining Restoration. This training centre aims to deliver integrated research projects and industry-ready professionals focused on the needs of the mining restoration industry. It aims to improve the capacity of the industry to deliver improved financial, social and environmental outcomes. Restoration sits at the heart of Australia’s ability to sustainably and responsibly exploit its vast mineral wealth, and regulatory approva ....ARC Training Centre for Mine Site Restoration. ARC Training Centre for Mining Restoration. This training centre aims to deliver integrated research projects and industry-ready professionals focused on the needs of the mining restoration industry. It aims to improve the capacity of the industry to deliver improved financial, social and environmental outcomes. Restoration sits at the heart of Australia’s ability to sustainably and responsibly exploit its vast mineral wealth, and regulatory approval for mining is dependent on effective restoration. However, the lack of cost-effective restoration solutions at the scale required is currently a major impediment for regulatory and social compliance. The centre aims to overcome this impediment by establishing industry-integrated research training positions that specifically address industry requirements for restoration.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101424
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,469.00
Summary
Conservation agriculture for aquatic wildlife in dams and wetlands. This project aims to investigate the capacity of farm dam management strategies to simultaneously support nature conservation and agricultural production. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of conservation biology and sustainable agriculture by using experiments that identify the interdependence of cattle grazing and habitat quality of wetlands. Anticipated outcomes include a framework for evaluating mana ....Conservation agriculture for aquatic wildlife in dams and wetlands. This project aims to investigate the capacity of farm dam management strategies to simultaneously support nature conservation and agricultural production. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of conservation biology and sustainable agriculture by using experiments that identify the interdependence of cattle grazing and habitat quality of wetlands. Anticipated outcomes include a framework for evaluating management strategies in terms of their dual capacity to support aquatic wildlife and livestock production. Significant benefits include increased productivity through the improved management of wetlands and dams on farms and the recogniton of undervalued conservation resources.Read moreRead less
The right information on time to restore tropical peatlands. This project aims to develop new tools to help environmental managers collect and rapidly share critical information to plan and evaluate restoration interventions that seek to reverse environmental degradation of tropical peatlands and curb megafires. Megafires that burn degraded peatlands generate significant carbon emissions, and transboundary air pollution that adversely affects the health and livelihoods of millions of people. Thi ....The right information on time to restore tropical peatlands. This project aims to develop new tools to help environmental managers collect and rapidly share critical information to plan and evaluate restoration interventions that seek to reverse environmental degradation of tropical peatlands and curb megafires. Megafires that burn degraded peatlands generate significant carbon emissions, and transboundary air pollution that adversely affects the health and livelihoods of millions of people. This project will improve restoration planning and evaluation to strategically restore degraded peatlands, with immediate focus on Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, but with application to many other regions.Read moreRead less
Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. This project aims to close important scientific and practical application gaps around the most effective ways to restore and manage vegetation on farms. Although restoration programs to increase native vegetation cover are essential for integrating agricultural production with biodiversity conservation, critical scientific questions remain about how biot ....Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. This project aims to close important scientific and practical application gaps around the most effective ways to restore and manage vegetation on farms. Although restoration programs to increase native vegetation cover are essential for integrating agricultural production with biodiversity conservation, critical scientific questions remain about how biota responds to temporal increases in vegetation cover. This project will combine novel spatiotemporal analyses of long-term datasets and a blocked and replicated experiment comparing planting strategies that connect woodland patches vs augmentation strategies that increase individual patch size. Anticipated outcomes are better designed and implemented restorations to maximise benefits for biota.Read moreRead less
Smart allocation of restoration funds. Over a quarter of Australia’s native forests and woodlands have been cleared since European settlement, and vegetation restoration is urgently needed to avoid further loss of species and ecosystem services (such as clean air and water). This project aims to develop new theory and methods to help environmental managers allocate restoration funds for vegetation recovery in a way that addresses the tension between risk aversion and aspirations to maximise retu ....Smart allocation of restoration funds. Over a quarter of Australia’s native forests and woodlands have been cleared since European settlement, and vegetation restoration is urgently needed to avoid further loss of species and ecosystem services (such as clean air and water). This project aims to develop new theory and methods to help environmental managers allocate restoration funds for vegetation recovery in a way that addresses the tension between risk aversion and aspirations to maximise return on investment. Restoration ecologists and decision scientists are here partnered with natural area managers from the City of Gold Coast, to make public expenditure on restoration more effective, efficient and transparent.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100079
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,582.00
Summary
Redefining success in marine ecosystem restoration. This project aims to improve evaluations of marine ecosystem restoration through the measurement of key animal health metrics, and automated monitoring using artificial intelligence. This project expects to generate unique knowledge about why ecosystem restoration succeeds or fails, and improve our understanding of how animal data can better inform future restoration projects. The expected outcomes will enhance our capacity to use new and effic ....Redefining success in marine ecosystem restoration. This project aims to improve evaluations of marine ecosystem restoration through the measurement of key animal health metrics, and automated monitoring using artificial intelligence. This project expects to generate unique knowledge about why ecosystem restoration succeeds or fails, and improve our understanding of how animal data can better inform future restoration projects. The expected outcomes will enhance our capacity to use new and efficient techniques to monitor and evaluate ecosystem restoration in a more ecologically valid way. Benefits include more effective ecosystem restoration, wildlife conservation, and the enhancement of ecosystem services including sustainable fishing and eco-tourism.Read moreRead less