Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources. Clean water is predicted to become the world’s most valuable asset during this century, necessitating the improved monitoring of Australia’s limited water resources. Using a new and integrated monitoring approach, this project expects to develop and implement novel passive sampling technologies to monitor a range of water pollutants, specifically toxic ionised organic chemicals of emerging concern. The outcomes of this projec ....Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources. Clean water is predicted to become the world’s most valuable asset during this century, necessitating the improved monitoring of Australia’s limited water resources. Using a new and integrated monitoring approach, this project expects to develop and implement novel passive sampling technologies to monitor a range of water pollutants, specifically toxic ionised organic chemicals of emerging concern. The outcomes of this project will create cost-effective tools to advance the detection of emerging chemicals in drinking, ground, surface and waste waters. The technology will benefit millions of Australians by safeguarding essential water resources.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
Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-of ....Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-off and wastewater discharges. Through an in-depth study on several rivers, estuaries and reservoirs in South East Queensland, this project will provide data to enable reliable estimation of such emissions in Australia, and deliver knowledge and tool support for the development of strategic catchment management strategies.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
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
Deeper and broader life cycle risk assessment - extending the frontier for hybrid methodologies. This project is about combining detailed and global perspectives of environmental health risk from different fields of planning practice. It aims to improve the depth and breadth of the types of information used by government regulators and the community in decisions about the development of capital works.
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
'Streamlining search and destroy': development of a robust prioritisation framework for weed eradication using Hawkweed species. Introduced species are one of the greatest threats to our biodiversity and agriculture, as evidenced by the ARC’s National Research Priority: Safeguarding Australia. This project will advance Australia’s ability to protect itself from invaders by developing tools that guide cost-effective detection and response. Our project will have a direct effect on the planning a ....'Streamlining search and destroy': development of a robust prioritisation framework for weed eradication using Hawkweed species. Introduced species are one of the greatest threats to our biodiversity and agriculture, as evidenced by the ARC’s National Research Priority: Safeguarding Australia. This project will advance Australia’s ability to protect itself from invaders by developing tools that guide cost-effective detection and response. Our project will have a direct effect on the planning and management of Hawkweed control in Victoria and New South Wales. The framework delivered will have direct application to numerous other weeds (and relevance to other pests and diseases) within and beyond Australia. Read moreRead less
Multi-Objective Optimal Operation of Urban Water Supply Systems. In recent past, there has been a significant shift away from development of new water resources to optimal operation of existing reservoir systems. This project aims to develop a decision support framework to determine optimum operating rules of existing reservoir systems that consider a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, with a strong focus on decision analysis of alternative operating rules. The results of the ....Multi-Objective Optimal Operation of Urban Water Supply Systems. In recent past, there has been a significant shift away from development of new water resources to optimal operation of existing reservoir systems. This project aims to develop a decision support framework to determine optimum operating rules of existing reservoir systems that consider a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, with a strong focus on decision analysis of alternative operating rules. The results of the project will enable water planners to manage their urban water systems efficiently and effectively under a range of long term and short term planning conditions including droughts, while reducing associated environmental impacts.Read moreRead less
Improving the Accuracy and Intelligibility of Decisions for Conservation using the Informed Regulator Rule. Standard conservation biology uses some obsolete statistical and experimental design methods that may damage conservation biology, the environment and the economy. This project intends to refine and test a methodology (the Informed Regulator Rule) to improve the quality and transparency of conservation studies, compliance monitoring and auditing. Building on research in the psychology of ....Improving the Accuracy and Intelligibility of Decisions for Conservation using the Informed Regulator Rule. Standard conservation biology uses some obsolete statistical and experimental design methods that may damage conservation biology, the environment and the economy. This project intends to refine and test a methodology (the Informed Regulator Rule) to improve the quality and transparency of conservation studies, compliance monitoring and auditing. Building on research in the psychology of statistical (mis)understanding, the project will test the Informed Regulator Rule by computer simulation and empirical tests of impact scenarios with emphasis on data from recent studies. The cognitive accessibility and utility of the rule will be assessed theoretically and in practice.Read moreRead less