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
Catchment restoration: generating prescriptions for evidence-based best practice in the future, from experience of the past. Catchment management programs, supported by substantial government finances, have been leading landscape rehabilitation measures across Australia for more than a decade. Few, if any, projects assessed the outcomes of the measures in terms of action success, plant survivability, landscape stabilisation and water resource benefit. This project will audit the proposed and act ....Catchment restoration: generating prescriptions for evidence-based best practice in the future, from experience of the past. Catchment management programs, supported by substantial government finances, have been leading landscape rehabilitation measures across Australia for more than a decade. Few, if any, projects assessed the outcomes of the measures in terms of action success, plant survivability, landscape stabilisation and water resource benefit. This project will audit the proposed and actual rehabilitation measures undertaken in five catchments and assess the modern condition of plantations, catchments and waterways. Lessons from this audit will generate prescriptions that will be integrated into a web decision support system optimising the outcomes from future catchment management in terms of biodiversity, landscape stability and stream condition.Read moreRead less
Optimizing mine floor ripping strategies for diverse regolith types to enhance rehabilitation success. The aim of the project is to identify poorly structured subsoils developed in regolith materials in rehabilitated bauxite mines and develop procedures for minimising the effects of poor soil structure on tree growth. Well structured regolith types will also be identified as sites requiring less ripping. Large-scale field trials will be established to examine the impact of ripping on different ....Optimizing mine floor ripping strategies for diverse regolith types to enhance rehabilitation success. The aim of the project is to identify poorly structured subsoils developed in regolith materials in rehabilitated bauxite mines and develop procedures for minimising the effects of poor soil structure on tree growth. Well structured regolith types will also be identified as sites requiring less ripping. Large-scale field trials will be established to examine the impact of ripping on different regolith types. Methods will be developed to enable prediction of regolith structure based on instumented rippers, drill hole data and remote sensing. Greater success of revegetation practices and a decrease in annual ripping costs ($1.3 m) are anticipated.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
Community Based Water Resources Management. In a time of predicted severe water shortage in the Asia Pacific, the University of Western Sydney and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India have developed research into community based water resources management for regional townships and communities. The objective of this proposal is to connect the two water research organisations in a cross cultural comparison of their respective research programs and to develop a generic model o ....Community Based Water Resources Management. In a time of predicted severe water shortage in the Asia Pacific, the University of Western Sydney and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India have developed research into community based water resources management for regional townships and communities. The objective of this proposal is to connect the two water research organisations in a cross cultural comparison of their respective research programs and to develop a generic model of regional community water use management for developed and developing countries, appropriate to the Asia-Pacific.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
Planning for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation; Kanyapella Basin Case Study. Australia's ephemeral wetlands are being lost or degraded primarily through drainage. There is a pressing need to conserve the ecological character of remaining systems, and rehabilitate degraded ones. Rehabilitation is invariably constrained by water availability, community expectations and uncertainty about ecosystem responses to different water regimes. This project applies the adaptive management mod ....Planning for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation; Kanyapella Basin Case Study. Australia's ephemeral wetlands are being lost or degraded primarily through drainage. There is a pressing need to conserve the ecological character of remaining systems, and rehabilitate degraded ones. Rehabilitation is invariably constrained by water availability, community expectations and uncertainty about ecosystem responses to different water regimes. This project applies the adaptive management model to wetland rehabilitation. Adaptive management addresses uncertainty through experiments integrated into the rehabilitation process. It uses monitoring, and information feedback loops to inform current management actions. A generic model for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation will be developed which will predict responses to different re-wetting scenarios.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101306
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,848.00
Summary
Valuing the non-market benefits of mine site rehabilitation. This project aims to improve decisions about mine site rehabilitation. Mining causes environmental damage, which mine operators are legally required to rehabilitate. Although companies invest considerably in mine site restoration and biodiversity offsets, we don’t know whether their practices match public preferences for rehabilitation outcomes. Filling this knowledge gap is challenging because the benefits of rehabilitation (eg biodiv ....Valuing the non-market benefits of mine site rehabilitation. This project aims to improve decisions about mine site rehabilitation. Mining causes environmental damage, which mine operators are legally required to rehabilitate. Although companies invest considerably in mine site restoration and biodiversity offsets, we don’t know whether their practices match public preferences for rehabilitation outcomes. Filling this knowledge gap is challenging because the benefits of rehabilitation (eg biodiversity) are not traded in markets. This project aims to address these challenges by estimating, in monetary terms, the values provided by mine site restoration. By identifying these values, the project expects to contribute to improving the design of mine rehabilitation standards, and will enable future policy decisions to be more closely aligned with society’s preferences.Read moreRead less
Indicators of river condition: are they useful for environmental management? Indicators, that can be used to measure the condition of rivers, are an important part of environmental management but there has only been limited evaluation of their role and performance. Using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) as an example, this project will explore the use of indicators in management tasks including: 1) assessing current condition; 2) detecting change; 3) providing early warning of a critical chan ....Indicators of river condition: are they useful for environmental management? Indicators, that can be used to measure the condition of rivers, are an important part of environmental management but there has only been limited evaluation of their role and performance. Using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) as an example, this project will explore the use of indicators in management tasks including: 1) assessing current condition; 2) detecting change; 3) providing early warning of a critical change; and 4) priority setting. Through links with Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the outcomes of this project will improve indicator selection and use by catchment managers.Read moreRead less
Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant red ....Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant reduction in the economic and social costs associated with dryland salinity and flooding whilst simultaneously increasing the environmental benefits associated with the maintenance and rehabilitation of the ecological value of the some of the region's approximately 200 wetlands.Read moreRead less