Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of ....Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of great benefit to Australian biodiversity and to the ecosystem processes and human values that depend on it.Read moreRead less
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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Conservation management of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannas. Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to pre ....Conservation management of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannas. Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to predict. Retaining threatened species can benefit remote and regional communities through tourism, and also through the extra employment required to implement the management prescriptions that will be developed from this research.Read moreRead less
Successful rehabilitation of species-rich heathlands after mining for heavy minerals. The Eneabba sandplains are located in one of the world's 25 'hotspots' for biodiversity and part of it is mined for heavy minerals. We seek to evaluate the ecology of rehabilitated minesites by comparing their species composition, spatial arrangement, functional attributes and response to experimental fire with that of the surrounding heathlands. This will enable us to gauge the new system's resilience to fire ....Successful rehabilitation of species-rich heathlands after mining for heavy minerals. The Eneabba sandplains are located in one of the world's 25 'hotspots' for biodiversity and part of it is mined for heavy minerals. We seek to evaluate the ecology of rehabilitated minesites by comparing their species composition, spatial arrangement, functional attributes and response to experimental fire with that of the surrounding heathlands. This will enable us to gauge the new system's resilience to fire and recommend corrective measures necessary to modify the pathway of restoration of the post-mining ecosystems as required. Because we take spatial relations and disturbance into account our approach is innovative and relevant to restoration ecology generally.Read moreRead less
How does soil fertility affect jarrah forest rehabilitation after mining? This project will examine the effect of fertiliser additions on the species composition and functional diversity of jarrah forest that develops after bauxite-mining. It is directly relevant to the achievement of the sustainable use of natural resources in Australia. Expected outcomes are best-practice management guidelines regarding the amount of fertiliser that results in the most effective achievement of completion cri ....How does soil fertility affect jarrah forest rehabilitation after mining? This project will examine the effect of fertiliser additions on the species composition and functional diversity of jarrah forest that develops after bauxite-mining. It is directly relevant to the achievement of the sustainable use of natural resources in Australia. Expected outcomes are best-practice management guidelines regarding the amount of fertiliser that results in the most effective achievement of completion criteria, and also an improved understanding of the consequences of fertiliser application on the biodiversity (plants and soil biota) and ecosystem function of rehabilitated forest ecosystems. Read moreRead less
Is reintroduction of soil foraging animals critical for the restoration of degraded semi-arid woodlands? Locally-extinct animals are important, not only for their intrinsic value, but because they are thought to be essential for maintaining and restoring healthy ecosystems. This project will give us valuable insights into how ecosystems may have functioned prior to the loss of native animals, and how ecosystems can be restored when the animals are reintroduced. Our research will provide Australi ....Is reintroduction of soil foraging animals critical for the restoration of degraded semi-arid woodlands? Locally-extinct animals are important, not only for their intrinsic value, but because they are thought to be essential for maintaining and restoring healthy ecosystems. This project will give us valuable insights into how ecosystems may have functioned prior to the loss of native animals, and how ecosystems can be restored when the animals are reintroduced. Our research will provide Australian Wildlife Conservancy with the knowledge they need to continue their reintroductions, and information that encourages land managers to adopt strategies to ensure the survival of reintroduced animals outside of formal reserves. Read moreRead less
Understanding coastal biodiversity: The impact of marine production subsidies upon arid coastal environments. Many of the Earth's coastlines have productive seas next to arid terrestrial habitats. Much of the coastline of Western Australia is arid. Our project will determine if biodiversity in fringing terrestrial areas is controlled by the supply of marine plant material that is transported to land by waves, wind and birds. A consequence of increasing coastal usage is associated growing anthrop ....Understanding coastal biodiversity: The impact of marine production subsidies upon arid coastal environments. Many of the Earth's coastlines have productive seas next to arid terrestrial habitats. Much of the coastline of Western Australia is arid. Our project will determine if biodiversity in fringing terrestrial areas is controlled by the supply of marine plant material that is transported to land by waves, wind and birds. A consequence of increasing coastal usage is associated growing anthropogenic pressures on the coastal environment. Our aim is to enhance awareness of the interactions that occur between terrestrial and marine systems, and hence to increase the capacity of the public and private sector to manage marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the interface between them.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of plant species co-existence in species-rich ecosystems: testing hypotheses using spatially-explicit field data and computer models. A generally accepted explanation for the co-existence of species in high diversity communities is one of the outstanding unresolved issues in ecology. Current hypotheses fail to satisfy in their generality; spatial implications are inadequately explored empirically, and the hypotheses are not testable within a common framework. Advances in spatial analy ....Mechanisms of plant species co-existence in species-rich ecosystems: testing hypotheses using spatially-explicit field data and computer models. A generally accepted explanation for the co-existence of species in high diversity communities is one of the outstanding unresolved issues in ecology. Current hypotheses fail to satisfy in their generality; spatial implications are inadequately explored empirically, and the hypotheses are not testable within a common framework. Advances in spatial analysis and complex system modelling now make the search for a general explanation feasible. This project will parameterise and test the different co-existence hypotheses using spatial statistics, empirical/experimental studies of dispersal, recruitment, competition and herbivory, and spatially-explicit computer simulation models of community assemblage in species-rich Australian shrubland communities.Read moreRead less
Novel species interactions arising from synergistic environmental changes. Synergistic environmental changes, including climate and land use change, are altering Australia's ecosystems and creating novel species assemblages. We know little about how these assemblages develop and function, and yet they are likely to become more pervasive and provide a significant conservation and restoration challenge. We aim to improve our understanding of the factors affecting the creation of novel plant assemb ....Novel species interactions arising from synergistic environmental changes. Synergistic environmental changes, including climate and land use change, are altering Australia's ecosystems and creating novel species assemblages. We know little about how these assemblages develop and function, and yet they are likely to become more pervasive and provide a significant conservation and restoration challenge. We aim to improve our understanding of the factors affecting the creation of novel plant assemblages (through invasions and changes in species' ranges) in the York Gum woodlands of Western Australia. We will examine how novel assemblages function, improve the ability to predict potential ongoing changes in assemblages and provide guidance for the management of these and other internationally important plant communities.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less