Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100203
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
Advanced Geochemical Facility for Climate and Environmental Change Research: a Western Australian/Indian Ocean focus. Research outcomes from this new facility will empower government bodies, resource industries, and indigenous stakeholders with key baseline information to ensure the sustainable and sensitive development of west Australia's unique coastal and offshore regions, across heavily populated and pristine environments. This includes projecting future impacts on local industries (eg. ener ....Advanced Geochemical Facility for Climate and Environmental Change Research: a Western Australian/Indian Ocean focus. Research outcomes from this new facility will empower government bodies, resource industries, and indigenous stakeholders with key baseline information to ensure the sustainable and sensitive development of west Australia's unique coastal and offshore regions, across heavily populated and pristine environments. This includes projecting future impacts on local industries (eg. energy, fisheries, tourism), rising shorelines with critical implications for existing and developing communities, and enhancing the resilience of habitats at risk. These are crucial to mitigate the impacts from environmental change that could severely affect our regional and national economies, as well as the style and quality of life of current and future generations.Read moreRead less
Dynamics of animal mediated vegetation establishment and persistence in disturbed landscapes. This project aims to provide strategies and commercial products for the best management of animals in plant community restoration. Ensuring effective seed dispersal and minimizing levels of herbivory will reduce resources expended on restoration and ensure sustainable ecosystems. A small reduction in the costs of individual plant protection not only improves the success of rehabilitation programs but sa ....Dynamics of animal mediated vegetation establishment and persistence in disturbed landscapes. This project aims to provide strategies and commercial products for the best management of animals in plant community restoration. Ensuring effective seed dispersal and minimizing levels of herbivory will reduce resources expended on restoration and ensure sustainable ecosystems. A small reduction in the costs of individual plant protection not only improves the success of rehabilitation programs but save millions of dollars throughout the mining industry and rural areas generally. It will also save thousands of dollars in culling programs. An extension of our study will target roadside hazards where kangaroos and traffic have high impact rates.Read moreRead less
The ARC Earth System Science Research Network. The ARC Earth System Science Network incorporates data collectors, modellers and impacts researchers to address the impacts of climate change and variability on Human, biological and physical systems. Our capacity to adapt to changes in water availability, agricultural productivity, the likelihood of species extinctions, and risks to human health will be enhanced through the Network's use of frontier technologies. The enhanced capacity to use data a ....The ARC Earth System Science Research Network. The ARC Earth System Science Network incorporates data collectors, modellers and impacts researchers to address the impacts of climate change and variability on Human, biological and physical systems. Our capacity to adapt to changes in water availability, agricultural productivity, the likelihood of species extinctions, and risks to human health will be enhanced through the Network's use of frontier technologies. The enhanced capacity to use data and model the Earth System will allow policymakers to make more informed decisions with regard to water, biodiversity, human health, industry and agriculture sustainability; thereby enhancing the national capacity to respond to climate change and variability and securing our common interest.Read moreRead less
Understanding coastal biodiversity: The impact of marine production subsidies upon arid coastal environments. Many of the Earth's coastlines have productive seas next to arid terrestrial habitats. Much of the coastline of Western Australia is arid. Our project will determine if biodiversity in fringing terrestrial areas is controlled by the supply of marine plant material that is transported to land by waves, wind and birds. A consequence of increasing coastal usage is associated growing anthrop ....Understanding coastal biodiversity: The impact of marine production subsidies upon arid coastal environments. Many of the Earth's coastlines have productive seas next to arid terrestrial habitats. Much of the coastline of Western Australia is arid. Our project will determine if biodiversity in fringing terrestrial areas is controlled by the supply of marine plant material that is transported to land by waves, wind and birds. A consequence of increasing coastal usage is associated growing anthropogenic pressures on the coastal environment. Our aim is to enhance awareness of the interactions that occur between terrestrial and marine systems, and hence to increase the capacity of the public and private sector to manage marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the interface between them.Read moreRead less
Factors influencing the reovery of orchids and their mycorrhizal fungi in the post-mining landscape. Australian terrestrial orchids are highly vulnerable to reductions in soil fungus diversity after disturbance, due to their highly specific associations with soil fungi. This project would investigate how mycorrhizal fungal diversity and spatial variability changes with time during restoration of jarrah forest vegetation after bauxite mining. The impact of mycorrhizal fungi and other soil and ha ....Factors influencing the reovery of orchids and their mycorrhizal fungi in the post-mining landscape. Australian terrestrial orchids are highly vulnerable to reductions in soil fungus diversity after disturbance, due to their highly specific associations with soil fungi. This project would investigate how mycorrhizal fungal diversity and spatial variability changes with time during restoration of jarrah forest vegetation after bauxite mining. The impact of mycorrhizal fungi and other soil and habitat factors on orchid taxonomic diversity and habitat preferences in rehabilitated bauxite mine soils will be investigated. The post-mining environment will also be contrasted with undisturbed jarrah forest to understand why some orchids are common and others rare in these environments.Read moreRead less
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
Nature, culture and belonging in urban landscapes: an anthropological investigation into environmental beliefs, values and practices in Perth, Western Australia. This project explores contesting attitudes towards native and introduced plant and animal species in an urban Australian setting. It will document complex beliefs, values and practices associated with gardens, parks and pet-keeping in Perth, Western Australia, in order to investigate urban conceptions of what 'belongs' in local living e ....Nature, culture and belonging in urban landscapes: an anthropological investigation into environmental beliefs, values and practices in Perth, Western Australia. This project explores contesting attitudes towards native and introduced plant and animal species in an urban Australian setting. It will document complex beliefs, values and practices associated with gardens, parks and pet-keeping in Perth, Western Australia, in order to investigate urban conceptions of what 'belongs' in local living environments. Building on previous research in rural locations, the study will address links between urban environmental attitudes, and citizens' diverse senses of personal and cultural identity. The project will contribute to an emergent anthropological approach to the study of Australian society and promises outcomes of both academic and practical significance.Read moreRead less
Novel species interactions arising from synergistic environmental changes. Synergistic environmental changes, including climate and land use change, are altering Australia's ecosystems and creating novel species assemblages. We know little about how these assemblages develop and function, and yet they are likely to become more pervasive and provide a significant conservation and restoration challenge. We aim to improve our understanding of the factors affecting the creation of novel plant assemb ....Novel species interactions arising from synergistic environmental changes. Synergistic environmental changes, including climate and land use change, are altering Australia's ecosystems and creating novel species assemblages. We know little about how these assemblages develop and function, and yet they are likely to become more pervasive and provide a significant conservation and restoration challenge. We aim to improve our understanding of the factors affecting the creation of novel plant assemblages (through invasions and changes in species' ranges) in the York Gum woodlands of Western Australia. We will examine how novel assemblages function, improve the ability to predict potential ongoing changes in assemblages and provide guidance for the management of these and other internationally important plant communities.Read moreRead less
Wandoo crown decline - an ecophysiological diagnosis. Eucalyptus wandoo forests and woodlands once covered a large area in SW Western Australia. Remnants of these ecosystems are now threatened by the Wandoo Crown Decline syndrome. We hypothesise that the progressive dieback of branches is due to drought stress, causing irreversible damage to water supply and/or predisposing trees to fungal disease. The project aims at identifying the physiological mechanism of Wandoo Crown Decline. This knowledg ....Wandoo crown decline - an ecophysiological diagnosis. Eucalyptus wandoo forests and woodlands once covered a large area in SW Western Australia. Remnants of these ecosystems are now threatened by the Wandoo Crown Decline syndrome. We hypothesise that the progressive dieback of branches is due to drought stress, causing irreversible damage to water supply and/or predisposing trees to fungal disease. The project aims at identifying the physiological mechanism of Wandoo Crown Decline. This knowledge is imperative for the assessment of risks for wandoo populations and for the formulation of management options.Read moreRead less
Assessment of the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of subterranean animals from calcrete aquifers in central western Australia. Recently a rich and diverse subterranean invertebrate fauna (stygofauna) was unexpectedly discovered from numerous isolated calcrete aquifers associated with palaeodrainage channels in central Western Australia. Our recent taxonomic and molecular studies have suggested that stygofaunas within each aquifer may be highly endemic. We aim to test this hypothesis by in ....Assessment of the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of subterranean animals from calcrete aquifers in central western Australia. Recently a rich and diverse subterranean invertebrate fauna (stygofauna) was unexpectedly discovered from numerous isolated calcrete aquifers associated with palaeodrainage channels in central Western Australia. Our recent taxonomic and molecular studies have suggested that stygofaunas within each aquifer may be highly endemic. We aim to test this hypothesis by investigating the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of stygofauna from three major calcrete regions. We further aim to document the environmental conditions and variability within the aquifers and to develop rigorous sampling protocols. Such data are essential for the development of appropriate strategies for sustainable management of subterranean water and their ecosystems.Read moreRead less