Eucalypt growth in past and future environments - a novel approach to understanding the impacts of atmospheric CO2 and climate. The impact of climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 on Australia's plantation and native forests is a major concern for government and land managers. These forests are important for environmental, aesthetic, and economic purposes, including carbon sequestration and trading. Forests use large amounts of water, reducing stream flow and water supplies for rural and u ....Eucalypt growth in past and future environments - a novel approach to understanding the impacts of atmospheric CO2 and climate. The impact of climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 on Australia's plantation and native forests is a major concern for government and land managers. These forests are important for environmental, aesthetic, and economic purposes, including carbon sequestration and trading. Forests use large amounts of water, reducing stream flow and water supplies for rural and urban communities. Knowledge generated from the proposed project will provide insight into mechanisms driving productivity and water use of forests in current and future environments. The knowledge will be used by land managers and government to develop strategies to cope with future impacts of climate change.Read moreRead less
About time: Climate change adaptation in Australian industries. This project aims to assist the most vulnerable industries in Australia as they adapt to climate change. By investigating the interplay between industry practices and climate impacts, the project proposes to develop a theoretical conceptualization of time. This is significant in addressing the temporal tension between financial short-termism and future climate commitments. The expected outcomes include advancing the scholarly discus ....About time: Climate change adaptation in Australian industries. This project aims to assist the most vulnerable industries in Australia as they adapt to climate change. By investigating the interplay between industry practices and climate impacts, the project proposes to develop a theoretical conceptualization of time. This is significant in addressing the temporal tension between financial short-termism and future climate commitments. The expected outcomes include advancing the scholarly discussion of time and the creation of a practical tool in the form of digital stories that will make sustainable futures actionable. This benefits Australian industries by strengthening their capacity to meet the future challenges of climate change.Read moreRead less
Assessing the adaptive capacity of hospital facilities to cope with climate-related extreme weather events: A risk management approach. Given Australia's and New Zealand's relatively high exposure to climate extremes, the social, economic and health benefits of better managed hospital facilities are significant. Floods, bushfires, heatwaves and cyclones cost Australia over $1.4bn/year and New Zealand over NZ$43m/yr in disruption to communities, business productivity and damage to infrastructure. ....Assessing the adaptive capacity of hospital facilities to cope with climate-related extreme weather events: A risk management approach. Given Australia's and New Zealand's relatively high exposure to climate extremes, the social, economic and health benefits of better managed hospital facilities are significant. Floods, bushfires, heatwaves and cyclones cost Australia over $1.4bn/year and New Zealand over NZ$43m/yr in disruption to communities, business productivity and damage to infrastructure. This research will help to mitigate these costs by protecting populations from the health risks associated with such events. The potential benefits will be most significant for those vulnerable communities at high risk such as the aged, the obese, the ill and those geographically exposed to more extreme weather events.Read moreRead less
Making less space for carbon: cultural research for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The project meets the pressing need for a national response to climate change. The National Climate Change Adaptation Framework identifies a number of cultural changes needed within the next five years to adapt to existing climate change. Profound cultural transformations are also urgently needed to mitigate future change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The true national benefit of this work shoul ....Making less space for carbon: cultural research for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The project meets the pressing need for a national response to climate change. The National Climate Change Adaptation Framework identifies a number of cultural changes needed within the next five years to adapt to existing climate change. Profound cultural transformations are also urgently needed to mitigate future change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The true national benefit of this work should be assessed in terms of the costs of not funding it. Australia's capacity to adapt will only ever be partial without the new and fundamental insights provided by cultural geographic research. Read moreRead less
Rural adjustment or structural transformation? Discovering the destinations of exiting farm families. The findings of this research will assist local, State and Federal governments to intervene effectively in processes of regional and rural structural adjustment. It will generate economic benefits by recommending policies that facilitate growth and promote sustainable rural businesses while at the same time sheltering rural communities and individual households from adverse outcomes. It will con ....Rural adjustment or structural transformation? Discovering the destinations of exiting farm families. The findings of this research will assist local, State and Federal governments to intervene effectively in processes of regional and rural structural adjustment. It will generate economic benefits by recommending policies that facilitate growth and promote sustainable rural businesses while at the same time sheltering rural communities and individual households from adverse outcomes. It will contribute social benefits by identifying policies to improve the outcomes of rural adjustment for families and individuals. The new knowledge it provides will inform the politics of regional change and remove some of the uncertainties that currently impede the implementation of rural adjustment policies.Read moreRead less
Quantifying tree and soil respiration and their responses to global change. The Australian Greenhouse Office, as well as independent analysis, recognizes that belowground processes must be better quantified if Australia's contributions to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GG) are to be firmly based. A major issue is the lack of dedicated research focused on soil and plant root emissions of GG and, in particular, a lack of testing of methodologies suited to Australian soils and con ....Quantifying tree and soil respiration and their responses to global change. The Australian Greenhouse Office, as well as independent analysis, recognizes that belowground processes must be better quantified if Australia's contributions to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GG) are to be firmly based. A major issue is the lack of dedicated research focused on soil and plant root emissions of GG and, in particular, a lack of testing of methodologies suited to Australian soils and conditions. This project will address these concerns. We will also be addressing the clear need for further training of PhD qualified researchers in the field of climate change. Read moreRead less
How will Eucalypt tree architecture and growth adapt to future atmospheric CO2 and drought? This work is fundamental to understanding how growth and water use by Australia's forests will be modified in the future by global change. The changes in tree leaf area and canopy structure that we seek to understand will determine forest responses to increasing atmospheric CO2 and drought. It is essential to study these changes on Australian species, because they differ from forest species elsewhere in h ....How will Eucalypt tree architecture and growth adapt to future atmospheric CO2 and drought? This work is fundamental to understanding how growth and water use by Australia's forests will be modified in the future by global change. The changes in tree leaf area and canopy structure that we seek to understand will determine forest responses to increasing atmospheric CO2 and drought. It is essential to study these changes on Australian species, because they differ from forest species elsewhere in having been largely shaped by water availability. This fundamental work will flow into predictions of future forest growth and water use in Australia, with consequences for land and water resource management as well as forestry.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100202
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Interplay between plasticity and senescence. This project aims at bridging two fundamental human stressors together in a quantitative genetic framework. The environment changes globally on a huge scale coupled with effect on the age-structures and genetic composition of countless populations by over-harvesting and exploitation. This project will provide significant benefits, such as potential strategies of dealing with future human-induced changes more effectively.
Occupant comfort in naturally ventilated and mixed-mode spaces within air-conditioned offices. The Australian Greenhouse Office indicates that air conditioning is responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Australia's commercial sector. The sector's uptake of energy efficient strategies and sustainable design will depend on post-occupancy evaluated exemplars that have been demonstrated to enhance, rather than detract from, workplace amenity, worker satisfaction and prod ....Occupant comfort in naturally ventilated and mixed-mode spaces within air-conditioned offices. The Australian Greenhouse Office indicates that air conditioning is responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Australia's commercial sector. The sector's uptake of energy efficient strategies and sustainable design will depend on post-occupancy evaluated exemplars that have been demonstrated to enhance, rather than detract from, workplace amenity, worker satisfaction and productivity. Naturally ventilated spaces within air-conditioned offices can readily be designed into new buildings, and retrofitted to many existing buildings. This project will document how such spaces are used, and interpret their costs/benefits to workers, organisations and environment.
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Tectonic versus biological processes: What controls the long-term global carbon cycle? A major debate in Earth system analysis concerns two competing hypotheses on the driving forces behind dramatic changes in atmospheric CO2 over geological time. One hypothesis considers tectonic/geological processes to be the major driving force. The other argues that it is the competition between plants and animals that drives the long-term CO2 cycle. We propose to test these hypotheses using a novel set of g ....Tectonic versus biological processes: What controls the long-term global carbon cycle? A major debate in Earth system analysis concerns two competing hypotheses on the driving forces behind dramatic changes in atmospheric CO2 over geological time. One hypothesis considers tectonic/geological processes to be the major driving force. The other argues that it is the competition between plants and animals that drives the long-term CO2 cycle. We propose to test these hypotheses using a novel set of global oceanic palaeo-age grids and subduction models for the last 180 million years. This will allow us to appraise key tectonic carbon cycle components such as mantle degassing, seafloor weathering and sediment subduction.Read moreRead less