PLAGA: Pastoral Lease Assessment using Geospatial Analysis. This project improves the capacity of Natural Resource Management (NRM) and land administration agencies to record, monitor and communicate changes in land condition across the large spatial scales characteristic of rangelands. Pastoralists also benefit through improved capacity to promote, defend, understand and if necessary change their management activities on the basis of scientific data. By further developing and operationalising t ....PLAGA: Pastoral Lease Assessment using Geospatial Analysis. This project improves the capacity of Natural Resource Management (NRM) and land administration agencies to record, monitor and communicate changes in land condition across the large spatial scales characteristic of rangelands. Pastoralists also benefit through improved capacity to promote, defend, understand and if necessary change their management activities on the basis of scientific data. By further developing and operationalising this new approach to rangeland monitoring in a project integrating human extension expertise, specifically prepared monitoring products, and the associated software, the project will confirm the benefits that satellite technology can provide to land administrators and the grazing industry in monitoring and sustainably managing rangelands.Read moreRead less
Vision and remote sensing: using nature's technology to examine the health of The Great Barrier Reef and Moreton Bay. We aim to use what is known and what we will discover about animals visual systems to examine environmental health on The Great Barrier Reef and Moreton Bay. Technology and knowledge from 8 university departments, 4 industry partners, and 7 international collaborators will be combined to both learn and provide information. The innovative aspect of our approach is to examine the w ....Vision and remote sensing: using nature's technology to examine the health of The Great Barrier Reef and Moreton Bay. We aim to use what is known and what we will discover about animals visual systems to examine environmental health on The Great Barrier Reef and Moreton Bay. Technology and knowledge from 8 university departments, 4 industry partners, and 7 international collaborators will be combined to both learn and provide information. The innovative aspect of our approach is to examine the world with the eyes of birds, fish and invertebrates. Tricks animals employ to solve visual tasks will be implemented at scales of instrumentation from hand-held to remote sensing and used to address problems such as coral reef bleaching.Read moreRead less
Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on s ....Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on soil properties and plant persistence. The project aims to enhance capacity of conservation agencies across Australia to effectively implement fires while maintaining biodiversity values. This should provide significant benefits for informed management of the large numbers of threatened species under their protection.Read moreRead less