Conservation tillage and its potential to affect catchment salt and water balances. Replacement of deep-rooted vegetation with shallow rooted crops has resulted in greater movement of water into groundwater systems, raising in groundwater level and mobilizing salt to the land's surface. The practice of conservation tillage, provides a range of advantages to landholders, but also has the potential to accentuate the risk of salinisation because it increases water infiltration into the soil surfac ....Conservation tillage and its potential to affect catchment salt and water balances. Replacement of deep-rooted vegetation with shallow rooted crops has resulted in greater movement of water into groundwater systems, raising in groundwater level and mobilizing salt to the land's surface. The practice of conservation tillage, provides a range of advantages to landholders, but also has the potential to accentuate the risk of salinisation because it increases water infiltration into the soil surface. This project aims to evaluate the impact of conservation tillage on soil salt profiles in the Condamine-Balonne and Border Rivers Catchments, and to model will the effect of changed landscape salt and water balances on river water quality.Read moreRead less
Elicitation and Integration of Expert Information for Natural Resource Management with a Focus on Water. Australia's natural resource management requires integrating information from many sources, including survey data and community and expert opinion. We aim to develop statistical methods to formally combine this information and apply them to better management of our crucial resource, water. The project contributes significantly to Australia's international obligations, and government agency an ....Elicitation and Integration of Expert Information for Natural Resource Management with a Focus on Water. Australia's natural resource management requires integrating information from many sources, including survey data and community and expert opinion. We aim to develop statistical methods to formally combine this information and apply them to better management of our crucial resource, water. The project contributes significantly to Australia's international obligations, and government agency and regional group science-based decision-making.
Outcomes include increased fundamental knowledge in statistics, technology transfer and improved decision-making capacity for natural resource management.
The project builds on strong existing collaborations between academic and industry partners and provides foundation for future funded projects.
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Measuring and presenting uncertainty in complex natural resource monitoring programs. This project addresses Australia's key research goal of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, priority goals of Water, Soil and Climate, and the theme of Complex Systems.Through improved capability in making data-based decisions and true sharing of university and government agency expertise, the project will enhance Australia's ability to better manage its natural resources, meet national and international ....Measuring and presenting uncertainty in complex natural resource monitoring programs. This project addresses Australia's key research goal of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, priority goals of Water, Soil and Climate, and the theme of Complex Systems.Through improved capability in making data-based decisions and true sharing of university and government agency expertise, the project will enhance Australia's ability to better manage its natural resources, meet national and international environmental commitments, and address national demands for quality science underpinning decisions about natural resource managementRead moreRead less
Environmental fingerprints of biogeochemical cycles embedded in tree rings: Linking global climate change to local long-term forest productivity. Forests cover one-third of the Earth's land surface and account for 80-90% of plant carbon and 30-40% of soil carbon. Forest carbon stocks and dynamics respond to and interact with global climate change (GCC). Recent tree ring research highlights the worsening impact of GCC and acid deposition on long-term forest productivity in central Europe. This pr ....Environmental fingerprints of biogeochemical cycles embedded in tree rings: Linking global climate change to local long-term forest productivity. Forests cover one-third of the Earth's land surface and account for 80-90% of plant carbon and 30-40% of soil carbon. Forest carbon stocks and dynamics respond to and interact with global climate change (GCC). Recent tree ring research highlights the worsening impact of GCC and acid deposition on long-term forest productivity in central Europe. This project seeks to develop and apply novel tree ring technologies for linking biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients to long-term forest productivity in different regions, and to provide a scientific basis for accounting for long-term forest productivity and carbon stocks in response to future GCC.Read moreRead less
Defend or retreat? Adapting to the impacts of sea level rise as a result of rapid climate change.
. Rapid sea level rise has been identified as a major threat to coastal Australia, where most of the Australian population lives. Our understanding and ability to respond to this threat is extremely limited at this point. This project will directly benefit Australian communities and businesses, specifically those in southeast Queensland by bringing together a team of distinguished, multidiscipli ....Defend or retreat? Adapting to the impacts of sea level rise as a result of rapid climate change.
. Rapid sea level rise has been identified as a major threat to coastal Australia, where most of the Australian population lives. Our understanding and ability to respond to this threat is extremely limited at this point. This project will directly benefit Australian communities and businesses, specifically those in southeast Queensland by bringing together a team of distinguished, multidisciplinary researchers and Super Science Fellows to explore the threats and challenges posed by rapidly rising sea levels. By building capacity and answering many urgent and difficult questions related to the legal, environmental and planning ramifications of sea level rise, this project will prepare communities and policymakers for the difficult times ahead.Read moreRead less
Bioplastics in the environment: lifetimes and toxicology. Globally, governments are implementing policies to drive a move to a circular economy. In the process, new materials are being introduced whose potential impacts need to be understood before they are widely used. This project pioneers investigations into the rate and extent of biodegradation of biodegradable plastics in aquatic and soil environments and the associated ecotoxicology of this process. In particular, it aims to quantify the e ....Bioplastics in the environment: lifetimes and toxicology. Globally, governments are implementing policies to drive a move to a circular economy. In the process, new materials are being introduced whose potential impacts need to be understood before they are widely used. This project pioneers investigations into the rate and extent of biodegradation of biodegradable plastics in aquatic and soil environments and the associated ecotoxicology of this process. In particular, it aims to quantify the extent to which the surfaces of these materials accumulate environmental pollutants via adsorption and other mechanisms. The outcomes will include conceptual models of biodegradation across environments, including lifetimes and likely impacts, critical information for framing a sustainable plastics industry.Read moreRead less
The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling m ....The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the community and the environment.Read moreRead less
AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF BUS EMISSION IMPACTS AT AND AROUND BUS STATIONS AND BUSWAYS FOR TRANSPORT AND LAND USE PLANNING. Buses are one of the two most common forms of public transport in Australia, with bus fleet and service coverage increasing, yet the effect on human health and the environment of the emissions from these vehicles is unknown. This research will develop a comprehensive model of bus emission impacts in and around bus stations and along bus corridors for use in exposure and risk as ....AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF BUS EMISSION IMPACTS AT AND AROUND BUS STATIONS AND BUSWAYS FOR TRANSPORT AND LAND USE PLANNING. Buses are one of the two most common forms of public transport in Australia, with bus fleet and service coverage increasing, yet the effect on human health and the environment of the emissions from these vehicles is unknown. This research will develop a comprehensive model of bus emission impacts in and around bus stations and along bus corridors for use in exposure and risk assessment, integrated transport and land use planning and policy setting. This research will provide a scientific foundation for developing future directions for the management of public transport to minimize the impact of emissions on the public and the environment.Read moreRead less
Darwin Harbour corals as environmental data archives and bio-monitors. The forecast rapid population growth and industrial development of the Darwin Harbour catchment necessitates research into novel environmental monitoring techniques to aid the sustainable management of the Harbours resources. This project will develop a powerful and cost-effective bio-monitoring system by using chemical data stored in yearly growth bands of coral skeletons stretching back at least two centuries. Such data wil ....Darwin Harbour corals as environmental data archives and bio-monitors. The forecast rapid population growth and industrial development of the Darwin Harbour catchment necessitates research into novel environmental monitoring techniques to aid the sustainable management of the Harbours resources. This project will develop a powerful and cost-effective bio-monitoring system by using chemical data stored in yearly growth bands of coral skeletons stretching back at least two centuries. Such data will form a comparative baseline against which present and future coral data on pollutants released by urban, industrial and other developments can be assessed.Read moreRead less
Characterising the tropical "heat engine" of global climate: combined coral, stalagmite and tree-ring records from the Indo-Pacific region. The recent anthropogenic global warming is causing polar icecap melting, sea level rise, reef coral bleaching and degradation, and increased frequency and intensity of severe droughts, floods, tropical cyclones/hurricanes/typhoons in the past decades, focusing daily media headlines worldwide. Our study will enhance understanding of global climate change, El ....Characterising the tropical "heat engine" of global climate: combined coral, stalagmite and tree-ring records from the Indo-Pacific region. The recent anthropogenic global warming is causing polar icecap melting, sea level rise, reef coral bleaching and degradation, and increased frequency and intensity of severe droughts, floods, tropical cyclones/hurricanes/typhoons in the past decades, focusing daily media headlines worldwide. Our study will enhance understanding of global climate change, El Niño and Asian-Australian monsoon variability and coral reef degradation, and provide improved knowledge for future predictions. The outcome will impact on our National Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, enhance Australia's leadership in coral reef research, and contribute to an improved relationship with our neighbours in science, education and training.Read moreRead less