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
Climate, Vegetation and Fire in the Australian Paleomonsoon: An investigation using paleodata synthesis, contemporary observations and model experiments. This investigation of the history and development of the Australian monsoon will provide much needed information for the prediction of future climatic changes in the Australasian region and beyond. Furthermore, our work will elucidate the impact of current north Australian fire regimes on the strength of the Australian monsoon that is so critic ....Climate, Vegetation and Fire in the Australian Paleomonsoon: An investigation using paleodata synthesis, contemporary observations and model experiments. This investigation of the history and development of the Australian monsoon will provide much needed information for the prediction of future climatic changes in the Australasian region and beyond. Furthermore, our work will elucidate the impact of current north Australian fire regimes on the strength of the Australian monsoon that is so critical to the environment and economy of the north Australian region, a region that produces wealth for Australia out of proportion to its population. The work has important policy implications for water and fire management in Northern Australia and is significant to aboriginals, pastoralists and other community groups.Read moreRead less
Molecular biosignatures for isolating pollution problems in aquatic ecosystems using macroinvertebrate bioindicators. Aquatic ecosystems are under increasing threat by human activities. This has been further exacerbated by drought and climate change. In the future, understanding the major factors impairing aquatic ecosystems will be a vital part of sustaining water resources. This project develops new molecular tools to better monitor and assess aquatic pollution. We will develop a new high-tech ....Molecular biosignatures for isolating pollution problems in aquatic ecosystems using macroinvertebrate bioindicators. Aquatic ecosystems are under increasing threat by human activities. This has been further exacerbated by drought and climate change. In the future, understanding the major factors impairing aquatic ecosystems will be a vital part of sustaining water resources. This project develops new molecular tools to better monitor and assess aquatic pollution. We will develop a new high-tech deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) approach to identify insect indicator species and combine this with a field-based microcosm method that uses local aquatic insects to isolate pollution effects from other impacts. This proposal will facilitate fast identification of pollution problems and provide the water industry with an innovative means to assess pollution and monitor remedial actions.Read moreRead less
Risks to human health and the ecosystem from feral pigs in Perth metropolitan water catchments. This project aims to investigate the potential risk feral pigs pose to public health through the dissemination of water borne pathogens within water catchment areas, and to investigate their role in the maintenance and spread of diseases of public and animal health concern in the south west of Western Australia. As well as providing a frontline approach to protecting our water supplies, this project ....Risks to human health and the ecosystem from feral pigs in Perth metropolitan water catchments. This project aims to investigate the potential risk feral pigs pose to public health through the dissemination of water borne pathogens within water catchment areas, and to investigate their role in the maintenance and spread of diseases of public and animal health concern in the south west of Western Australia. As well as providing a frontline approach to protecting our water supplies, this project will also provide valuable data on the nature and extent of the risk feral pigs pose to biodiversity conservation and the environment generally. The outcomes of this research will provide a scientific basis for the development of prioritised strategies for the control of feral pigs in Western Australia.Read moreRead less
Environmental risk assessment of acid sulfate soil formation and pollutant generation in Swan Coastal Plain. The urgency and importance of securing water sources for human use in a sustainable manner is dictated by drying climate and rapid population expansion in Australia. Dropping groundwater levels (less recharge, increased abstraction, enhanced drainage) result in formation of acid sulfate soils in oxidised layers that contain acid-bearing minerals. This project will produce an environmental ....Environmental risk assessment of acid sulfate soil formation and pollutant generation in Swan Coastal Plain. The urgency and importance of securing water sources for human use in a sustainable manner is dictated by drying climate and rapid population expansion in Australia. Dropping groundwater levels (less recharge, increased abstraction, enhanced drainage) result in formation of acid sulfate soils in oxidised layers that contain acid-bearing minerals. This project will produce an environmental risk assessment framework as a basis for (i) educated decisions regarding land development and soil disturbance vs conservation as well as (ii) identifying areas suitable for water abstraction from groundwater resources. This will ensure sustainable use of precious groundwater resources in this drying continent of ours.Read moreRead less
Complexity in climate impact assessment: a methodology to address extremes. It is something of a truism that the events and states of the changing environment that affect society tend to fall in the extremes. My goal is to develop a model-based methodology to characterize the extremes that are not usually predicted by climate models. Key extremes of importance to stakeholders in Australia and around the world include coastal flooding and fire. These events, in the context of regional climate var ....Complexity in climate impact assessment: a methodology to address extremes. It is something of a truism that the events and states of the changing environment that affect society tend to fall in the extremes. My goal is to develop a model-based methodology to characterize the extremes that are not usually predicted by climate models. Key extremes of importance to stakeholders in Australia and around the world include coastal flooding and fire. These events, in the context of regional climate variation, will act as test cases for the methodology. From this work, the likelihood of policy-relevant events in the future can be evaluated, with a robust assessment of the uncertainty.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
Fingerprints of global climate change and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling. Using a series of innovative techniques, this project seeks to capture the excellent, exciting opportunities for studying impacts of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on plant-soil-microbe interactions in rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling, with two of the world's best GCC forest experiments in Sweden and USA and three long-term forest management experiments in Australia. ....Fingerprints of global climate change and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling. Using a series of innovative techniques, this project seeks to capture the excellent, exciting opportunities for studying impacts of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on plant-soil-microbe interactions in rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling, with two of the world's best GCC forest experiments in Sweden and USA and three long-term forest management experiments in Australia. The successful conduct of this multidisciplinary collaborative research will result in: improved understanding and management of forest ecosystems in response to GCC and effective biodiversity conservation in managed forests; and enhanced international reputation and expertise of the Australian scientists in the relevant research fields.Read moreRead less
Mining, irrigation, and groundwater: Towards a reliable protocol for assessing the impacts of extraction on groundwater fauna and ecology. Groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands, potentially threaten many of Australia's unique groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) with extinction. Stygofauna represent a hidden store of biodiversity and are thought to have a critical, but poorly understood, role in enhancing groundwater quality. Environmentally sustainab ....Mining, irrigation, and groundwater: Towards a reliable protocol for assessing the impacts of extraction on groundwater fauna and ecology. Groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands, potentially threaten many of Australia's unique groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) with extinction. Stygofauna represent a hidden store of biodiversity and are thought to have a critical, but poorly understood, role in enhancing groundwater quality. Environmentally sustainable development of groundwater resources is hampered by a dearth of information on the ecological needs of stygofauna and how they respond to human-induced change. Using field and laboratory experiments, we aim to determine how water table fluctuations threaten stygofauna. From our results we will develop sampling and management protocols to monitor and protect stygofauna communities.Read moreRead less