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Combining recycled water use, biofuel production and phytoremediation of contaminated land and biosolids. The storage of biosolids, by-products of sewage treatment, is an environmentally unsustainable practice exacerbated by the presence of inorganic and organic contaminants. Phytoremediation is a plant-based technology which is potentially a cost-effective option for progressive long-term and sustainable clean-up of contaminated soils and sediments. Combining metal extraction by plants with r ....Combining recycled water use, biofuel production and phytoremediation of contaminated land and biosolids. The storage of biosolids, by-products of sewage treatment, is an environmentally unsustainable practice exacerbated by the presence of inorganic and organic contaminants. Phytoremediation is a plant-based technology which is potentially a cost-effective option for progressive long-term and sustainable clean-up of contaminated soils and sediments. Combining metal extraction by plants with reuse of wastewater and the production of a biofuel will provide multiple benefits of a cleaner environment, water conservation, waste reduction, carbon capture and a reduction in fossil fuel use. Development of such a low-cost combined bioenergy/remediation system will be of considerable local/regional benefit and national significance.Read moreRead less
Induction of multiple environmental stress tolerance in Australian native species for land rehabilitation using benzoic acid derivatives. The aim of this project is to develop methods to induce abiotic (drought, temperature, salinity) and biotic (die-back disease) stress tolerance in Australian plants by simple treatment using signalling molecules (benzoic acid derivatives) for conservation and land rehabilitation. These molecules occur naturally in plants and non-toxic. Plant establishment in r ....Induction of multiple environmental stress tolerance in Australian native species for land rehabilitation using benzoic acid derivatives. The aim of this project is to develop methods to induce abiotic (drought, temperature, salinity) and biotic (die-back disease) stress tolerance in Australian plants by simple treatment using signalling molecules (benzoic acid derivatives) for conservation and land rehabilitation. These molecules occur naturally in plants and non-toxic. Plant establishment in rehabilitation programs are very low due to exposure to stress. Furthermore, the loss to agricultural and horticultural industries resulting from environmental stresses is very high. Outcome of the project is the availability of plants with multiple stress tolerance enhancing success of rehabilitation programs with flow-through benefits to horticultural and agricultural industries.Read moreRead less
PHYTOREMEDIATION OF BIOSOLIDS AND SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS AT THE WESTERN TREAMENT PLANT, WERRIBEE. This project will provide a scientifically-sound basis for the practical implementation of phytoremediation technology to remove or stabilize metal and metalloid contaminants in soils and biosolid stockpiles at Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant at Werribee. Through glasshouse and field trials it will identify plants suitable for the use in large-scale phytoremediation of bioso ....PHYTOREMEDIATION OF BIOSOLIDS AND SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS AT THE WESTERN TREAMENT PLANT, WERRIBEE. This project will provide a scientifically-sound basis for the practical implementation of phytoremediation technology to remove or stabilize metal and metalloid contaminants in soils and biosolid stockpiles at Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant at Werribee. Through glasshouse and field trials it will identify plants suitable for the use in large-scale phytoremediation of biosolids and soils to which these have been applied, underpinned by a greater understanding of the controls of contaminant bioavailability.Read moreRead less
Sediment and seed bank dynamics in river systems of southeastern Australia: Implications for vegetation-based river rehabilitation. Every year in Australia millions of dollars are spent revegetating degraded riparian corridors as part of best practice river rehabilitation. The planting and maintenance of riparian tubestock is an expensive but essential component of current on-the-ground river management across the country. What if the success rate of riparian rehabilitation could be enhanced by ....Sediment and seed bank dynamics in river systems of southeastern Australia: Implications for vegetation-based river rehabilitation. Every year in Australia millions of dollars are spent revegetating degraded riparian corridors as part of best practice river rehabilitation. The planting and maintenance of riparian tubestock is an expensive but essential component of current on-the-ground river management across the country. What if the success rate of riparian rehabilitation could be enhanced by combining geomorphic and ecological knowledge to maximise the germination of native seeds stored in riparian seed banks? As the conservation of biodiversity becomes integral to environmental management, understanding riparian seed bank dynamics and seedling establishment within a geomorphic framework is an essential tool in river rehabilitation practice.Read moreRead less
Sediment-derived scenarios of wetland status and change, the Lower River Murray, SA. River Murray wetlands changed early in European settlement so the pre-impact conditions are invisible to managers relying on anecdote or monitoring. Baseline conditions of wetlands can be derived from ecological archives preserved in sediments. Fossil diatom assemblages, reflective of past water quality, and other fossils, will be exhumed from sediment sequences to reconstruct wetland conditions. The integration ....Sediment-derived scenarios of wetland status and change, the Lower River Murray, SA. River Murray wetlands changed early in European settlement so the pre-impact conditions are invisible to managers relying on anecdote or monitoring. Baseline conditions of wetlands can be derived from ecological archives preserved in sediments. Fossil diatom assemblages, reflective of past water quality, and other fossils, will be exhumed from sediment sequences to reconstruct wetland conditions. The integration of multiple indicators of the past will generate graphic re-enactments of natural wetland dynamics. These will provide a vision for community and government on-ground managers enabling them to perceive appropriate targets for wetland state and so generate measures to work towards sustainable conditions.Read moreRead less
Retrospective ecological character assessment for a review of Ramsar status of The Coorong, SA. Integrated analyses of the chemical and biological remains contained in the sediments of the Coorong will provide for a reconstruction of ecological change and variability over the last several thousand years. Detailed analyses of the recent sediments will measure how the condition of the Coorong has departed from this natural background and so provide an audit of human impact on the last wetland in t ....Retrospective ecological character assessment for a review of Ramsar status of The Coorong, SA. Integrated analyses of the chemical and biological remains contained in the sediments of the Coorong will provide for a reconstruction of ecological change and variability over the last several thousand years. Detailed analyses of the recent sediments will measure how the condition of the Coorong has departed from this natural background and so provide an audit of human impact on the last wetland in the Murray darling Basin. This evidence will directly inform the determination of the ecological character of this Ramsar listed, national ecological asset and steer its management for a sustainable 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
Does Ecological Restoration Work? Invertebrate Diversity And Fundamental Ecological Processes In Restored Remnants Of Agricultural Landscapes. The restoration of native vegetation is critical to ensuring the success of long-term biodiversity conservation in Australia. Despite massive effort and expenditure on revegetation in damaged ecosystems, little is known of the effectiveness of different approaches. This project assesses the success of current practices of native vegetation restorat ....Does Ecological Restoration Work? Invertebrate Diversity And Fundamental Ecological Processes In Restored Remnants Of Agricultural Landscapes. The restoration of native vegetation is critical to ensuring the success of long-term biodiversity conservation in Australia. Despite massive effort and expenditure on revegetation in damaged ecosystems, little is known of the effectiveness of different approaches. This project assesses the success of current practices of native vegetation restoration in agricultural landscapes using insects and their ecological roles as indicators of the sustainability of restoration efforts. By describing the extent to which fundamental ecological processes have returned to restored areas this project will generate assessment techniques and data identifying priorities for future restoration efforts.Read moreRead less
The Prediction and Analysis of Complex Morphology in Coastal Environments. Coastal features, incorporating river, tide and wave induced flows and associated sediment transport, represent highly complex systems. At present it is impossible to analyse anything but the simplest forms, yet it is often necessary to determine their overall properties and behaviour in engineering analysis and design. The aim of the project is to develop and verify a modelling approach using the concept of entropy and a ....The Prediction and Analysis of Complex Morphology in Coastal Environments. Coastal features, incorporating river, tide and wave induced flows and associated sediment transport, represent highly complex systems. At present it is impossible to analyse anything but the simplest forms, yet it is often necessary to determine their overall properties and behaviour in engineering analysis and design. The aim of the project is to develop and verify a modelling approach using the concept of entropy and an efficient optimisation algorithm to allow key properties of complex coastal systems to be determined. The proposal represents an innovative approach to the coastal modelling problem that would overcome significant limitations of current morphological models.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms fo Release of Deep Dormancy in Seeds of Australian Plant Species used in Land Restoration. Over 4 million Ha of Australian land is currently in need of revegetation. To facilitate this, large-scale revegetation programs utilising native species are urgently required. Currently, many desirable species are difficult to propagate due to deep intractable dormancy, but are nevertheless needed due to their keystone function in many ecosystems. The aim is to therefore investigate seed dorman ....Mechanisms fo Release of Deep Dormancy in Seeds of Australian Plant Species used in Land Restoration. Over 4 million Ha of Australian land is currently in need of revegetation. To facilitate this, large-scale revegetation programs utilising native species are urgently required. Currently, many desirable species are difficult to propagate due to deep intractable dormancy, but are nevertheless needed due to their keystone function in many ecosystems. The aim is to therefore investigate seed dormancy alleviation in key rehabilitation species. Outcomes flowing from this project will significantly increase the suite of species currently available for land restoration efforts by land rehabilitation practitioners and will therefore increase the quality and effectiveness of Australian restoration programs.Read moreRead less