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Assessing long term change in rangeland health and building models for change, using historical photos and monitoring data. Long-term photo sites and vegetation data will be used to make an assessment of change over the last few decades in the arid pastoral rangelands of Western Australia.
The aims are to: make a judgement about whether the changes have been positive or negative (for particular value systems); make a case for causality; explore links between vegetation data and soil surface, ....Assessing long term change in rangeland health and building models for change, using historical photos and monitoring data. Long-term photo sites and vegetation data will be used to make an assessment of change over the last few decades in the arid pastoral rangelands of Western Australia.
The aims are to: make a judgement about whether the changes have been positive or negative (for particular value systems); make a case for causality; explore links between vegetation data and soil surface, biodiversity and remotely-sensed data; and contribute to the building of models of expected change.
Outcomes will include the meeting of national and international conventions and strategies, and an increased ability of the pastoral industry to access international markets.
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Management of rehabilitated bauxite mines to accelerate the return of vertebrate fauna. This project will examine the effect of thinning and burning mine-site rehabilitation on the abundance of terrestrial mammals and reptiles. This nationally significant project will provide Resource Managers in Western Australia with measures of impacts of forestry thinning and burning (for timber production and drinking water catchment) on vertebrates, and will provide management tools to conserve biodiversit ....Management of rehabilitated bauxite mines to accelerate the return of vertebrate fauna. This project will examine the effect of thinning and burning mine-site rehabilitation on the abundance of terrestrial mammals and reptiles. This nationally significant project will provide Resource Managers in Western Australia with measures of impacts of forestry thinning and burning (for timber production and drinking water catchment) on vertebrates, and will provide management tools to conserve biodiversity within productive forest environments. Expected outcomes are procedures to accelerate returns of vertebrate fauna to mine-sites, measurements of thinning and burning practices on tree-health, and trial procedures for forest thinning (the 12000 Ha Wungong catchment) that minimise impacts on terrestrial vertebrates.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354677
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems through integrated assessment and modelling. Australia must take the lead internationally in sustainability assessment and management; it hosts both the problems and expertise, and is proactive in integrating research and management. This Initiative unites, for the first time, leading researchers from all relevant disciplines to advance our knowledge for achieving sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems (STARS). The intended network can produce a ....Sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems through integrated assessment and modelling. Australia must take the lead internationally in sustainability assessment and management; it hosts both the problems and expertise, and is proactive in integrating research and management. This Initiative unites, for the first time, leading researchers from all relevant disciplines to advance our knowledge for achieving sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems (STARS). The intended network can produce assessments, strategies and policy directions that are objective, adaptive and inclusive. It can evaluate trade-offs between sustainability strategies, integrating research and outcomes, making them accessible to managers. It will build a coordinated research capability that directly supports Australia's goal of ecologically sustainable development. Read moreRead less
Ecological sustainability and changing land use in the Pilbara. Land use change is frequently associated with large changes in key elements of 'sustainability? ? biodiversity, productivity, and water and nutrient cycles. However, in the Pilbara, fires and flooding rains are so frequent that detecting consequences of land use change is frequently confounded by other ?disturbances?. We aim, through controlled field experiments, to disentangle effects of land use change (e.g. de-stocking of range ....Ecological sustainability and changing land use in the Pilbara. Land use change is frequently associated with large changes in key elements of 'sustainability? ? biodiversity, productivity, and water and nutrient cycles. However, in the Pilbara, fires and flooding rains are so frequent that detecting consequences of land use change is frequently confounded by other ?disturbances?. We aim, through controlled field experiments, to disentangle effects of land use change (e.g. de-stocking of rangelands, altered water availability through mining activity or infrastructure) from those of natural disturbance and variability (both spatially and temporally). This research will improve understanding of key areas in resilience of rangelands and of major processes that are critical for sustainable management.Read moreRead less
Fire management of complex rehabilitated forests - quantifying and understanding spatial variability of forest structure and fuels. Up to 5 million ha of forest is burnt by bushfire in Australia in severe fire years. The cost of fire suppression in 2002/3 in WA was in excess of 12 million dollars. Consequently, development and application of technologies and knowledge for enhancing fire management and reducing wildfire risk is of high priority and substantial economic, social and environmental b ....Fire management of complex rehabilitated forests - quantifying and understanding spatial variability of forest structure and fuels. Up to 5 million ha of forest is burnt by bushfire in Australia in severe fire years. The cost of fire suppression in 2002/3 in WA was in excess of 12 million dollars. Consequently, development and application of technologies and knowledge for enhancing fire management and reducing wildfire risk is of high priority and substantial economic, social and environmental benefit. The opportunity to conduct experimental fires across a complex landscape will enable calibration and development of technologies not previously possible. This research will define the way prescribed fire is used to integrate young rehabilitated forest into management of the broader landscape and develop more cost-effective tools for fire management.Read moreRead less
Protecting the safe havens: will granite outcrop environments serve as refuges for flora threatened by anthropogenic climate change? Anthropogenic climate change threatens the Earth's biota and human society. By identifying areas that can act as refuges under projected climate conditions, adaptation and conservation activities can be focused where they will provide greatest benefit. This transdisciplinary project in the Australian global biodiversity hotspot examines the role of granite outcrops ....Protecting the safe havens: will granite outcrop environments serve as refuges for flora threatened by anthropogenic climate change? Anthropogenic climate change threatens the Earth's biota and human society. By identifying areas that can act as refuges under projected climate conditions, adaptation and conservation activities can be focused where they will provide greatest benefit. This transdisciplinary project in the Australian global biodiversity hotspot examines the role of granite outcrops as safe havens for species in the face of climate change. Knowing areas where species will retreat and maintain biodiversity under climate change will support decision making for protection of key refuges. Large financial, social and biodiversity returns follow from implementation of effective climate change adaptation management programs in Australian landscapes.Read moreRead less
Increasing sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) recruitment in regional Western Australia through mammal conservation. The highly prized sandalwood is the basis of an industry that employs over 100 people and generates $12 million export income annually in regional WA. Natural recruitment of sandalwood is poor. This project will build on research, conducted by Murdoch University and the Forest Products Commission, that indicates natural recruitment of the tree is greatly enhance in the presence of nat ....Increasing sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) recruitment in regional Western Australia through mammal conservation. The highly prized sandalwood is the basis of an industry that employs over 100 people and generates $12 million export income annually in regional WA. Natural recruitment of sandalwood is poor. This project will build on research, conducted by Murdoch University and the Forest Products Commission, that indicates natural recruitment of the tree is greatly enhance in the presence of native rat-kangaroos who cache the seeds. This project will train an APA(I) postgraduate through an industry based project that will evaluate increased recruitment of sandalwood by native mammal caching. Many of these mammals are Conservation Dependent or Threatened with extinction.Read moreRead less
Urban salinity in Kalgoorlie-Boulder: Causes, extent and treatment through revegetation - a pilot study for Australian rural towns. The National Land and Water Resources Audit suggests that salinity will threaten 200 towns in Australia by 2050. The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a salinity problem caused by shallow, saline groundwater. This project will: (a) document and map the extent and causes of salinity, (b) determine whether salinity can be controlled through improved surface drainage an ....Urban salinity in Kalgoorlie-Boulder: Causes, extent and treatment through revegetation - a pilot study for Australian rural towns. The National Land and Water Resources Audit suggests that salinity will threaten 200 towns in Australia by 2050. The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a salinity problem caused by shallow, saline groundwater. This project will: (a) document and map the extent and causes of salinity, (b) determine whether salinity can be controlled through improved surface drainage and revegetation, and (c) conduct adaptation trials of ornamental trees and shrubs for tolerance to salt, waterlogging and inundation. The work will be conducted in partnership with the City Council and local Urban Landcare Group. Outcomes will be disseminated through WA's Rural Towns Program, national conferences and scientific papers.Read moreRead less
More bang for your carbon buck: carbon, biodiversity and water balance consequences of whole-catchment carbon farming. Farming carbon via tree plantings on pasture land is becoming increasingly common to address the effects of climate change. This activity is likely to produce dramatic changes in Australia's rural landscapes, but we have little knowledge of likely effects on crucial ecosystem services and attributes such as stream water yields and biodiversity. This project will investigate the ....More bang for your carbon buck: carbon, biodiversity and water balance consequences of whole-catchment carbon farming. Farming carbon via tree plantings on pasture land is becoming increasingly common to address the effects of climate change. This activity is likely to produce dramatic changes in Australia's rural landscapes, but we have little knowledge of likely effects on crucial ecosystem services and attributes such as stream water yields and biodiversity. This project will investigate the relationship between tree cover, carbon uptake, water yield and biodiversity. The outcomes will allow government agencies, landowners and carbon farming groups to better evaluate the effects of different landscape planning options and contribute to effective long-term planning for multiple goals.Read moreRead less
Pyroherbivory and the nexus between Aboriginal fire mosaics and kangaroos. This project aims to examine the effects of traditional Aboriginal and contemporary fire management on kangaroo abundance. There is concern that the cessation of Aboriginal patch burning is causing savanna kangaroo populations to decline across northern Australia. In this project, surveys will be planned to determine whether fire regime (frequency, extent, season) affects kangaroo distribution and abundance and the degree ....Pyroherbivory and the nexus between Aboriginal fire mosaics and kangaroos. This project aims to examine the effects of traditional Aboriginal and contemporary fire management on kangaroo abundance. There is concern that the cessation of Aboriginal patch burning is causing savanna kangaroo populations to decline across northern Australia. In this project, surveys will be planned to determine whether fire regime (frequency, extent, season) affects kangaroo distribution and abundance and the degree to which non-native large herbivores compete with kangaroos for forage. Experiments will also be planned to discover how the season of burning influences forage quality and quantity. This project is designed to determine if patch burning can be used for ecological restoration in areas where this type of fire management has ceased and for improvement of tropical savanna fire management.Read moreRead less