A molecular ecophysiological assessment of the importance of using local provenance seed in plant biodiversity restoration. The rehabilitation of Australia's unique plant diversity, following disturbance, is an increasingly important activity nationally, involving industry, government and community. The use of local seeds is recognised as best practise, but how local is local? We will use molecular tools to identify the extent of local seed transfer zones, conduct trials to assess the relative ....A molecular ecophysiological assessment of the importance of using local provenance seed in plant biodiversity restoration. The rehabilitation of Australia's unique plant diversity, following disturbance, is an increasingly important activity nationally, involving industry, government and community. The use of local seeds is recognised as best practise, but how local is local? We will use molecular tools to identify the extent of local seed transfer zones, conduct trials to assess the relative performance of local and non-local seeds (is there a home-site advantage?), and assess the consequences of mixing provenances for future generations. We will work closely with industry and community restoration practitioners to improve the effectiveness of restoration, with benefits flowing nationally through general provenance guidelines.Read moreRead less
PHYTOREMEDIATION OF BIOSOLIDS AND SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS AT THE WESTERN TREAMENT PLANT, WERRIBEE. This project will provide a scientifically-sound basis for the practical implementation of phytoremediation technology to remove or stabilize metal and metalloid contaminants in soils and biosolid stockpiles at Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant at Werribee. Through glasshouse and field trials it will identify plants suitable for the use in large-scale phytoremediation of bioso ....PHYTOREMEDIATION OF BIOSOLIDS AND SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS AT THE WESTERN TREAMENT PLANT, WERRIBEE. This project will provide a scientifically-sound basis for the practical implementation of phytoremediation technology to remove or stabilize metal and metalloid contaminants in soils and biosolid stockpiles at Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant at Werribee. Through glasshouse and field trials it will identify plants suitable for the use in large-scale phytoremediation of biosolids and soils to which these have been applied, underpinned by a greater understanding of the controls of contaminant bioavailability.Read moreRead less
Catchment restoration: generating prescriptions for evidence-based best practice in the future, from experience of the past. Catchment management programs, supported by substantial government finances, have been leading landscape rehabilitation measures across Australia for more than a decade. Few, if any, projects assessed the outcomes of the measures in terms of action success, plant survivability, landscape stabilisation and water resource benefit. This project will audit the proposed and act ....Catchment restoration: generating prescriptions for evidence-based best practice in the future, from experience of the past. Catchment management programs, supported by substantial government finances, have been leading landscape rehabilitation measures across Australia for more than a decade. Few, if any, projects assessed the outcomes of the measures in terms of action success, plant survivability, landscape stabilisation and water resource benefit. This project will audit the proposed and actual rehabilitation measures undertaken in five catchments and assess the modern condition of plantations, catchments and waterways. Lessons from this audit will generate prescriptions that will be integrated into a web decision support system optimising the outcomes from future catchment management in terms of biodiversity, landscape stability and stream condition.Read moreRead less
Restoring riverine ecosystems: effective model-based planning and monitoring. Australia's riverine ecosystems are considerably degraded and require efficient and immediate attention to restore them to a sustainable condition. Restoration activities at all levels will benefit from the development of a robust framework that will improve understanding of restoration responses at both species and ecosystem levels. This will in turn enhance substantially the ability of managers of restoration project ....Restoring riverine ecosystems: effective model-based planning and monitoring. Australia's riverine ecosystems are considerably degraded and require efficient and immediate attention to restore them to a sustainable condition. Restoration activities at all levels will benefit from the development of a robust framework that will improve understanding of restoration responses at both species and ecosystem levels. This will in turn enhance substantially the ability of managers of restoration projects to identify realistic goals and provide a context for rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of management interventions. This will result in scarce resources for conservation being directed to efforts with the greatest ecological benefits for stressed Australian lowland rivers.Read moreRead less
Indicators of river condition: are they useful for environmental management? Indicators, that can be used to measure the condition of rivers, are an important part of environmental management but there has only been limited evaluation of their role and performance. Using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) as an example, this project will explore the use of indicators in management tasks including: 1) assessing current condition; 2) detecting change; 3) providing early warning of a critical chan ....Indicators of river condition: are they useful for environmental management? Indicators, that can be used to measure the condition of rivers, are an important part of environmental management but there has only been limited evaluation of their role and performance. Using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC) as an example, this project will explore the use of indicators in management tasks including: 1) assessing current condition; 2) detecting change; 3) providing early warning of a critical change; and 4) priority setting. Through links with Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the outcomes of this project will improve indicator selection and use by catchment managers.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354804
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impac ....ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impacts of contaminated soil and wastes, and land remediation. By facilitating communication, the network enhances national and international research coordination, interaction with regulators, end-users, industry, and other stakeholders, achievement of critical mass for new initiatives, enhances research training and contributes to a critical National Priority.Read moreRead less
Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining ....Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining rehabilitation sites. Expected outcomes include clear industry guidelines that refine seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration for current and future climates. This should provide significant benefits for improved ecological restoration outcomes when using native seed today and into the future.Read moreRead less
Planning for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation; Kanyapella Basin Case Study. Australia's ephemeral wetlands are being lost or degraded primarily through drainage. There is a pressing need to conserve the ecological character of remaining systems, and rehabilitate degraded ones. Rehabilitation is invariably constrained by water availability, community expectations and uncertainty about ecosystem responses to different water regimes. This project applies the adaptive management mod ....Planning for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation; Kanyapella Basin Case Study. Australia's ephemeral wetlands are being lost or degraded primarily through drainage. There is a pressing need to conserve the ecological character of remaining systems, and rehabilitate degraded ones. Rehabilitation is invariably constrained by water availability, community expectations and uncertainty about ecosystem responses to different water regimes. This project applies the adaptive management model to wetland rehabilitation. Adaptive management addresses uncertainty through experiments integrated into the rehabilitation process. It uses monitoring, and information feedback loops to inform current management actions. A generic model for the adaptive management of wetland rehabilitation will be developed which will predict responses to different re-wetting scenarios.Read moreRead less
Novel approaches to ecologically sustainable and safe rehabilitation of gold mine tailings. Gold is a major export commodity for Australia and the gold mining industry provides employment and infrastructure for rural Australian communities. However, gold is often found in arsenopyrite rich ore bodies which, after the extraction process, have the potential to release toxic quantities of arsenic into the environment. The University of Melbourne, Stawell Gold Mines P/L. and Native Seeds P/L. are co ....Novel approaches to ecologically sustainable and safe rehabilitation of gold mine tailings. Gold is a major export commodity for Australia and the gold mining industry provides employment and infrastructure for rural Australian communities. However, gold is often found in arsenopyrite rich ore bodies which, after the extraction process, have the potential to release toxic quantities of arsenic into the environment. The University of Melbourne, Stawell Gold Mines P/L. and Native Seeds P/L. are collaborating to ensure the rehabilitation of arseniferous wastes is environmentally safe and sustainable. Research will investigate the selection of plant species, factors affecting plant survival, plant uptake of arsenic and prevention of excess movement of arsenic into the food-chain.Read moreRead less
Combining recycled water use, biofuel production and phytoremediation of contaminated land and biosolids. The storage of biosolids, by-products of sewage treatment, is an environmentally unsustainable practice exacerbated by the presence of inorganic and organic contaminants. Phytoremediation is a plant-based technology which is potentially a cost-effective option for progressive long-term and sustainable clean-up of contaminated soils and sediments. Combining metal extraction by plants with r ....Combining recycled water use, biofuel production and phytoremediation of contaminated land and biosolids. The storage of biosolids, by-products of sewage treatment, is an environmentally unsustainable practice exacerbated by the presence of inorganic and organic contaminants. Phytoremediation is a plant-based technology which is potentially a cost-effective option for progressive long-term and sustainable clean-up of contaminated soils and sediments. Combining metal extraction by plants with reuse of wastewater and the production of a biofuel will provide multiple benefits of a cleaner environment, water conservation, waste reduction, carbon capture and a reduction in fossil fuel use. Development of such a low-cost combined bioenergy/remediation system will be of considerable local/regional benefit and national significance.Read moreRead less