Reading the isotopic archive: carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios as recorders of plant physiological processes. This project will investigate how plant physiological processes are reflected in stable isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in plant tissues. Results will contribute towards a mechanistic understanding of the processes that cause isotopic modifications, thereby enabling an improved interpretation of naturally occurring stable isotope signals.
Linking risks to ecosystems with risks to human well-being. This project aims to provide theory and practical guidelines to integrate ecosystem science into policy and action to address human well-being. Ecosystem risk assessment provides critical information for conservation, and has compelling but unexplored relationships with human health and nature’s benefits to people. The research will identify ecosystem measures that highlight areas of risk to human well-being as well as biodiversity. Exp ....Linking risks to ecosystems with risks to human well-being. This project aims to provide theory and practical guidelines to integrate ecosystem science into policy and action to address human well-being. Ecosystem risk assessment provides critical information for conservation, and has compelling but unexplored relationships with human health and nature’s benefits to people. The research will identify ecosystem measures that highlight areas of risk to human well-being as well as biodiversity. Expected outcomes include new standards for including ecosystem change in policy frameworks globally and in Australia, such as natural capital accounting and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Benefits include improved ways of meeting and tracking progress on Australia’s international commitments.Read moreRead less
How will the biodiversity crisis affect vital ecosystem functions? Loss of biodiversity due to environmental change is a potentially serious issue for the sustainability of ecosystems. Predictions on how biodiversity loss will affect ecosystem functions and services require a well-developed understanding of its effects on plant litter decomposition, because this process is a key component of the global carbon cycle. This project will advance this understanding by addressing several key questions ....How will the biodiversity crisis affect vital ecosystem functions? Loss of biodiversity due to environmental change is a potentially serious issue for the sustainability of ecosystems. Predictions on how biodiversity loss will affect ecosystem functions and services require a well-developed understanding of its effects on plant litter decomposition, because this process is a key component of the global carbon cycle. This project will advance this understanding by addressing several key questions (for example, relative importance of decomposition versus other drivers of environmental change; and temporal variation in biodiversity effects on decomposition), using forest streams as model systems. These experiments will mimic realistic extinction events across climatic gradients, enabling predictions to be made at large scales.Read moreRead less
Understanding the importance of lianas for forest health and management. This project aims to assess the impact of lianas (woody vines) and their removal on forest health and value. New field infrastructure, removal experiments and global datasets will be used to compare forest health under varying liana dominance, determine whether lianas are preventing recovery, and to predict regional and global impacts. The project expects to generate new knowledge regarding ecosystem function and global cha ....Understanding the importance of lianas for forest health and management. This project aims to assess the impact of lianas (woody vines) and their removal on forest health and value. New field infrastructure, removal experiments and global datasets will be used to compare forest health under varying liana dominance, determine whether lianas are preventing recovery, and to predict regional and global impacts. The project expects to generate new knowledge regarding ecosystem function and global change biology, building collaboration between ecologists, economists and forest managers. The project expects to have significant implications for forest health and the global economy. The expected benefit will be implementation of restoration methods in priority areas and subsequently improved forest health.Read moreRead less
Cascading effects of Australia's ecological extinctions on biodiversity and ecosystem function. The current rate of species extinctions is so extensive that it has been described as the “sixth mass extinction”. In Australian ecosystems, extinctions and declines of mammals have been dramatic, with formerly abundant species now “ecologically extinct”, meaning they are too rare to continue to play important ecological roles. The loss of entire functional guilds may have cascading effects on biodive ....Cascading effects of Australia's ecological extinctions on biodiversity and ecosystem function. The current rate of species extinctions is so extensive that it has been described as the “sixth mass extinction”. In Australian ecosystems, extinctions and declines of mammals have been dramatic, with formerly abundant species now “ecologically extinct”, meaning they are too rare to continue to play important ecological roles. The loss of entire functional guilds may have cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem function. This project uses a multi-scalar experimental approach to investigate the broader impacts of mammal declines on Australian ecosystems, accounting for interactions with climate. The outcomes will include new insights into the pre-European state of Australian ecosystems and more realistic targets for ecosystem restoration.Read moreRead less
Maintaining biodiversity and ecological resilience in the face of global environmental change. This project addresses the two great challenges facing scientists trying to predict the effects of global change on Australia’s ecosystems: i) What factors most exacerbate the total impact of global change? ii) How do the complex responses of so many interacting species actually translate into altered structural properties of the web of life?
From prediction to adaptation: responding to rapid ecosystem shifts under climate change. Nobody knows exactly how climate change will affect the ecosystems on which we depend for our own existence, though negative impacts are widely predicted. This project integrates mathematical, economic and ecological approaches to learn about the most effective way to spend limited funds for sustaining ecosystems threatened by climate change.
Drought effects on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling mediated by rhizosphere processes. There is much uncertainty about how drought caused by global warming will affect agricultural sustainability in Australia. This project will provide new knowledge about plant-soil interactions affecting carbon and nutrient cycling and will make predictions about long-term soil carbon storage and agricultural productivity in response to drought.
Vulnerability of Australian savannas to climate change and variability. Australian savannas are productive and are culturally and biologically significant landscapes, but they are vulnerable to climate change. This project will determine savanna function (carbon and water balance) for the present and assess how sensitive they have been to past climate variability. The project will then address how they may respond to future climate change.
Bridging the gap between crop pollination services and pollinator health. Insect pollinators play an integral role in the quantity and quality of production for many food crops, yet there is growing concern that in agricultural landscapes, the limited availability of floral and non-floral resources might be contributing to global pollinator health declines. This project will synthesize global datasets, develop new methodological tools and conduct new, targeted empirical work to develop an integ ....Bridging the gap between crop pollination services and pollinator health. Insect pollinators play an integral role in the quantity and quality of production for many food crops, yet there is growing concern that in agricultural landscapes, the limited availability of floral and non-floral resources might be contributing to global pollinator health declines. This project will synthesize global datasets, develop new methodological tools and conduct new, targeted empirical work to develop an integrated approach to pollinator resource management with the explicit objectives of maintaining both wild pollinator health and to support crop pollination service delivery in modified systems.Read moreRead less