Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354740
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
CaGaWaLo: regulation of carbon gain and water loss by woody vegetation. Trees and shrubs are widely perceived as central to solving problems of national and international significance. Seed funding is sought to facilitate establishment of a research network focused on their ability to sequester carbon and transmit water to the atmosphere. The proposed network is broadly based in plant physiology and ecology and contains a strong cross-section of leading international expertise in relevant sub- ....CaGaWaLo: regulation of carbon gain and water loss by woody vegetation. Trees and shrubs are widely perceived as central to solving problems of national and international significance. Seed funding is sought to facilitate establishment of a research network focused on their ability to sequester carbon and transmit water to the atmosphere. The proposed network is broadly based in plant physiology and ecology and contains a strong cross-section of leading international expertise in relevant sub-disciplines. By leveraging the huge pool of international expertise and focusing on a range of scales (from molecular to biosphere scales), this network will yield new ideas and approaches that will produce outputs and outcomes of national significance.Read moreRead less
Cellular automata model of forest stands to predict size-class distribution and survival. Existing forest growth models predict well stand level processes such as growth. However, they provide little information on forest structure and how this affects commercial forest products, risks of growing plantations and stand dynamics that determine carbon sequestration and water-use and result in age-related decline in productivity and self-thinning. By using newly developed technology to quantify in ....Cellular automata model of forest stands to predict size-class distribution and survival. Existing forest growth models predict well stand level processes such as growth. However, they provide little information on forest structure and how this affects commercial forest products, risks of growing plantations and stand dynamics that determine carbon sequestration and water-use and result in age-related decline in productivity and self-thinning. By using newly developed technology to quantify inter-tree competition, tree level resource supply, between tree genetic differences and the importance of chance events this project will draw on complexity theory to develop an innovative model that partitions stand level production to forecast the growth and size of individual trees.Read moreRead less
Combining hydrological information with a multi-regional, computable general equilibrium model. The model to be created will combine a unique amount of economic detail at the statistical division level with hydrological detail. Users will obtain better estimates than previously available on the regional and industrial impacts of different water scenarios. This will produce economic and social returns to the community through improved water policies in the following areas: urban-rural water alloc ....Combining hydrological information with a multi-regional, computable general equilibrium model. The model to be created will combine a unique amount of economic detail at the statistical division level with hydrological detail. Users will obtain better estimates than previously available on the regional and industrial impacts of different water scenarios. This will produce economic and social returns to the community through improved water policies in the following areas: urban-rural water allocation; climate change impact assessment; water reform and water trading; and the economic impacts of meeting environmental objectives. The model will thus provide a path-breaking tool for examining issues arising from COAG reforms and broader policy goals. Read moreRead less
Fate of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water repellent soil. The fate of endocrine system disrupting chemicals in soils has not been studied, even though some have been linked to human health effects. Many are found in municipal sewage wastes. This project will measure chemical concentrations in water repellent forest plantation soils irrigated with municipal wastewater. The outcome will be data specifically addressing (1) the risks when forest plantations are irrigated with municipal wastewa ....Fate of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water repellent soil. The fate of endocrine system disrupting chemicals in soils has not been studied, even though some have been linked to human health effects. Many are found in municipal sewage wastes. This project will measure chemical concentrations in water repellent forest plantation soils irrigated with municipal wastewater. The outcome will be data specifically addressing (1) the risks when forest plantations are irrigated with municipal wastewater in Victoria and, by extension applicable to other Australian ecosystems, (2) Environment Australia's stated need for information directly applicable to ecosystem and human health risk assessment of the environmental risks posed by endocrine disrupting chemicals.Read moreRead less
Water derivatives: conceptualisation, price modelling and economic impacts. Introducing water options is likely to provide farmers with more choices on trading their water allocation and enhance water price certainty. Recent seasons have accentuated the potential benefit of water options: regions with highly secure water in the past have suffered repeated shortfalls in allocations. Water options would alter the behaviour of water managers who would need to ensure sufficient carryover to future s ....Water derivatives: conceptualisation, price modelling and economic impacts. Introducing water options is likely to provide farmers with more choices on trading their water allocation and enhance water price certainty. Recent seasons have accentuated the potential benefit of water options: regions with highly secure water in the past have suffered repeated shortfalls in allocations. Water options would alter the behaviour of water managers who would need to ensure sufficient carryover to future seasons to allow for drought. Options markets may improve the allocation of water between competing users. Such markets, by reducing uncertainty, may reduce excessive adjustment costs arising from drought by improving water access security.Read moreRead less
Solving the water crisis in Australian cities and towns with options contracts between urban and rural water users. We will equip water resource managers with a powerful and effective tool for the allocation of water resources between rural and urban sectors. The importance of this bridge cannot be understated. To date urban centres have endured stringent water restrictions to manage dwindling urban suppliers, while ignoring the potential benefits of purchasing water from the irrigated agricul ....Solving the water crisis in Australian cities and towns with options contracts between urban and rural water users. We will equip water resource managers with a powerful and effective tool for the allocation of water resources between rural and urban sectors. The importance of this bridge cannot be understated. To date urban centres have endured stringent water restrictions to manage dwindling urban suppliers, while ignoring the potential benefits of purchasing water from the irrigated agriculture sector. Furthermore, rural communities have suffered hardship due to restricted agricultural production during times of drought. This research proposal represents an exciting solution to both problems and offers the tantalising prospect of water shortages in our capital cities and towns becoming distant memories.Read moreRead less
Systemic and adaptive water governance: lessons for Australia from China and South Africa. The way we manage catchments under climate change is one of Australia’s major public policy challenges. This project will give new direction to catchment management by developing a science-policy linked, systemic and adaptive water governance mechanism. By recommending policy options for more sustainable water use and creating favourable social-institutional factors for the implementation of these policy o ....Systemic and adaptive water governance: lessons for Australia from China and South Africa. The way we manage catchments under climate change is one of Australia’s major public policy challenges. This project will give new direction to catchment management by developing a science-policy linked, systemic and adaptive water governance mechanism. By recommending policy options for more sustainable water use and creating favourable social-institutional factors for the implementation of these policy options in two Australian catchment authorities through comparative and parallel research in China and South Africa. This project directly addresses the national priority goals of “Water - a critical resource” and “Responding to climate change”. This project will also stress Australia's important role in this globally significant issue. Read moreRead less
Impacts of deforestation and afforestation on greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon and water resources in the Daly River catchment, north Australia. Over the last decade, north Australia have been viewed as a potentially exploitable resource, given issues of salinisation, soil acidification, over-allocation of water resources and rainfall declines in south Australian agricultural regions. Improved pastures and plantation forestry are two land uses that may expand in the NT. Clearing of savanna v ....Impacts of deforestation and afforestation on greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon and water resources in the Daly River catchment, north Australia. Over the last decade, north Australia have been viewed as a potentially exploitable resource, given issues of salinisation, soil acidification, over-allocation of water resources and rainfall declines in south Australian agricultural regions. Improved pastures and plantation forestry are two land uses that may expand in the NT. Clearing of savanna vegetation would be required, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions, soil health, water resources and dry season environmental flows. This project will track greenhouse emissions and water use from uncleared and cleared savanna that has been converted to pasture and timber plantations, providing critical understanding of the environmental implication of such land use change in savanna.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0346702
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$193,000.00
Summary
High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ICPMS). HPLC-ICP-MS is the most reliable cutting edge technology for speciation of metals and metalloids in biological and environmental matrices, and is essential for toxicological studies, which is a major aim behind NRCET's establishment. It will provide a very powerful utility to fill a badly needed knowledge gap for our research and serve the needs of both postgraduate students and postdoctoral fel ....High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ICPMS). HPLC-ICP-MS is the most reliable cutting edge technology for speciation of metals and metalloids in biological and environmental matrices, and is essential for toxicological studies, which is a major aim behind NRCET's establishment. It will provide a very powerful utility to fill a badly needed knowledge gap for our research and serve the needs of both postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. This technology will provide new opportunities in research. It will strengthen our linkages within Faculty of Heath Sciences and with our research partners in CQU, QUT and Griffith and enforce our strong national and international reputation.Read moreRead less
Optimal management of threatened amphibian metapopulations in urbanising landscapes. This project will enable the identification of optimal management strategies for many species threatened by the loss and fragmentation of their habitat, both in Australia and internationally. Our research will contribute to the recovery of the endangered Growling Grass Frog, and drive the conservation of wetland biodiversity on the fringe of Australia's fastest growing city. Both the methods and specific recomme ....Optimal management of threatened amphibian metapopulations in urbanising landscapes. This project will enable the identification of optimal management strategies for many species threatened by the loss and fragmentation of their habitat, both in Australia and internationally. Our research will contribute to the recovery of the endangered Growling Grass Frog, and drive the conservation of wetland biodiversity on the fringe of Australia's fastest growing city. Both the methods and specific recommendations for management that we develop will contribute to the goal of an environmentally-sustainable Australia. This project will expand Australia's capacity to solve conservation problems, and will promote biological diversity in urban environments, to the benefit of their human inhabitants.Read moreRead less