Utilising novel Pongamia trees to decarbonise Australia’s beef value-chain. Progress towards a carbon neutral beef industry typically focusses on nutritional strategies, overlooking potential innovations in farming system configuration. This project aims to develop a framework for the integration of Pongamia into beef production systems, so that not only emissions reductions are maximised, but also to support carbon capture and farm system resilience. This project seeks to determine the impact o ....Utilising novel Pongamia trees to decarbonise Australia’s beef value-chain. Progress towards a carbon neutral beef industry typically focusses on nutritional strategies, overlooking potential innovations in farming system configuration. This project aims to develop a framework for the integration of Pongamia into beef production systems, so that not only emissions reductions are maximised, but also to support carbon capture and farm system resilience. This project seeks to determine the impact of Pongamia meal on cattle production efficiency, meat quality and methane emissions. Through quantification of carbon sequestration potential in tree plantations, whole-farm modelling will elucidate production scenarios capable of achieving the reductions needed for a carbon neutral Australian beef industry.Read moreRead less
Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability in the Context of Melanesian Mining Projects. This is an interdisciplinary study of Melanesian understandings of socio-economic and environmental sustainability in the context of mining projects. It entails research into traditional ecological knowledge and assessment of ways that local understandings and expectations compromise programs based on Western scientific principles. It will examine local ideas about land use and food security, and the ....Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability in the Context of Melanesian Mining Projects. This is an interdisciplinary study of Melanesian understandings of socio-economic and environmental sustainability in the context of mining projects. It entails research into traditional ecological knowledge and assessment of ways that local understandings and expectations compromise programs based on Western scientific principles. It will examine local ideas about land use and food security, and the social and cultural factors that determine responses to impacts of mining projects. The project will involve collaborative, interdisciplinary research, integrating social and cultural analysis and environmental and agrarian studies. It will contribute to current debates on environmentalism, mining impact and sustainable development.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
Sustainability and urban design: An evaluation of the impact of liveable neighbourhoods. This 5-year prospective research study is consistent with ARC's sustainability and health priorities. The aim is to examine the relationship between urban design and a number of health-related, sustainability and social outcomes including walking, cycling, transportation mode choice, perceived and real safety and sense of community (n=2438). The study is unique because it evaluates the impact of a state g ....Sustainability and urban design: An evaluation of the impact of liveable neighbourhoods. This 5-year prospective research study is consistent with ARC's sustainability and health priorities. The aim is to examine the relationship between urban design and a number of health-related, sustainability and social outcomes including walking, cycling, transportation mode choice, perceived and real safety and sense of community (n=2438). The study is unique because it evaluates the impact of a state government's subdivision control guidelines on a range of health, social, economic and sustainability outcomes. Funding has been received to study the health-related outcomes. This application seeks additional funding to support related? as yet unfunded - studies raised by our multi-sector industry partners. Read moreRead less
Hydrogen generation by subsurface iron mineral transformations. Aim
The aim of this project is to elucidate key factors responsible for natural hydrogen generation in Australian subsurface environments.
Significance
Large amounts of this valuable resource are produced naturally with estimates of production rates of this “gold” hydrogen at least 100 times the annual demand for this critical resource.
Expected Outcomes
Based on improved understanding of the source of natural hydrogen, predictive ....Hydrogen generation by subsurface iron mineral transformations. Aim
The aim of this project is to elucidate key factors responsible for natural hydrogen generation in Australian subsurface environments.
Significance
Large amounts of this valuable resource are produced naturally with estimates of production rates of this “gold” hydrogen at least 100 times the annual demand for this critical resource.
Expected Outcomes
Based on improved understanding of the source of natural hydrogen, predictive tools will be developed that will assist in assessing the viability in Australia of hydrogen exploration and engineered retrieval.
Benefits
Ready access to naturally produced hydrogen could enable Australia to replace hydrogen that is currently generated via the use of unabated hydrocarbons.Read moreRead less
Co-variant analysis and statistical modelling for improved crop yield. This project plans to develop mathematical tools that will help to identify cereal plant varieties with the highest yield. This is a critical responsibility of plant breeders and many Australian breeders acquire and store important information related to the issue. However, there are as yet no mathematical tools that are able to co-analyse the heterogeneous and high-dimensional data in order to understand how external and int ....Co-variant analysis and statistical modelling for improved crop yield. This project plans to develop mathematical tools that will help to identify cereal plant varieties with the highest yield. This is a critical responsibility of plant breeders and many Australian breeders acquire and store important information related to the issue. However, there are as yet no mathematical tools that are able to co-analyse the heterogeneous and high-dimensional data in order to understand how external and internal factors correlate with the major growth and development stages at the crop level. This project seeks to develop and implement mathematical and statistical tools to analyse genetic, agronomic and phenomic factors that affect plant performance, to deliver advanced yield prediction.Read moreRead less
Exploiting subterranean clover genetic variation for methane mitigation and ruminant health challenges to the Australian livestock industries. Subterranean clover is the most widely sown annual pasture legume species in southern Australia. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and has been sown over an estimated area of 22 million hectares. This project will provide breeders with a genomic resource for future breeding programs focused on methane emission mitigation and ruminant health. The foc ....Exploiting subterranean clover genetic variation for methane mitigation and ruminant health challenges to the Australian livestock industries. Subterranean clover is the most widely sown annual pasture legume species in southern Australia. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and has been sown over an estimated area of 22 million hectares. This project will provide breeders with a genomic resource for future breeding programs focused on methane emission mitigation and ruminant health. The focused marker assisted breeding will lead to more efficient and effective breeding of elite cultivars for sustainable and profitable farming systems to benefit the wool and meat industries. Low methanogenic pastures with low isoflavone content offer an exciting avenue for agriculture to reduce its carbon footprint whilst maintaining or improving profitability.Read moreRead less
The Betaproteobacteria: could they play a key role in nitrogen fixation on infertile soils with legumes adapted to climate change? Microbial biosecurity is often overlooked when introducing agricultural species to Australia. As we research new legume species to make our $44 billion agricultural industries robust in the face of a changing climate, we need to be aware of the implications of the associated introduction of (beneficial) microbes. By exploring the globe for plants from regions that al ....The Betaproteobacteria: could they play a key role in nitrogen fixation on infertile soils with legumes adapted to climate change? Microbial biosecurity is often overlooked when introducing agricultural species to Australia. As we research new legume species to make our $44 billion agricultural industries robust in the face of a changing climate, we need to be aware of the implications of the associated introduction of (beneficial) microbes. By exploring the globe for plants from regions that already have the climate we are transitioning towards, we have discovered new perennial forage legumes from which we can build a robust agriculture in the arid regions of southern Australia. This will have enormous national benefit in rural regions. This project will research the essential microbial inoculants associated with these new plants.Read moreRead less
Genomics to rust proof the humble oat. This project aims to reduce the impact of the damaging and currently intractable fungal pathogen crown rust (OCR) in Australian oat production. The expected project outcomes are: new sources of enduring high value resistance to OCR, tools to accelerate the use of these resistances, and locally adapted OCR resistant oat germplasm for use in developing profitable oat varieties. The project will use new approaches to tap very recently released genomic resource ....Genomics to rust proof the humble oat. This project aims to reduce the impact of the damaging and currently intractable fungal pathogen crown rust (OCR) in Australian oat production. The expected project outcomes are: new sources of enduring high value resistance to OCR, tools to accelerate the use of these resistances, and locally adapted OCR resistant oat germplasm for use in developing profitable oat varieties. The project will use new approaches to tap very recently released genomic resources and unique oat/ OCR resources assembled over many years. It will lead to responsible stewardship of broadly effective OCR resistance in grazing/milling/hay oats, increasing grower profitability, reducing reliance on fungicides, and underpinning planned growth in our export oat market. Read moreRead less
Braced batter micropile group: New design theory and performance framework. Braced batter micropile group: New design theory and performance framework. This project aims to research the design and performance of innovative biomimetic braced battered micropile group footings. This project will test Surefoot, the new concrete free footing, in the laboratory, in the field, and through numerical and analytical modelling. Surefoot’s mechanisms of action are poorly understood but clearly more complex ....Braced batter micropile group: New design theory and performance framework. Braced batter micropile group: New design theory and performance framework. This project aims to research the design and performance of innovative biomimetic braced battered micropile group footings. This project will test Surefoot, the new concrete free footing, in the laboratory, in the field, and through numerical and analytical modelling. Surefoot’s mechanisms of action are poorly understood but clearly more complex than current micropile theory; this project will research the mechanism of load transfer from micropiles to the soil and soil response.Read moreRead less