Setting Geographic Priorities for Integrated Landscape Restoration in a Fragmented Agricultural Region. This research project aims to develop the theory and application of integrated landscape restoration in a fragmented agricultural region - the Mt. Lofty Ranges of South Australia. Spatially explicit priorities will be set for the type and location of habitat to be restored for the benefit of the natural biodiversity within a physical environmental, economic and social context. Heuristic and op ....Setting Geographic Priorities for Integrated Landscape Restoration in a Fragmented Agricultural Region. This research project aims to develop the theory and application of integrated landscape restoration in a fragmented agricultural region - the Mt. Lofty Ranges of South Australia. Spatially explicit priorities will be set for the type and location of habitat to be restored for the benefit of the natural biodiversity within a physical environmental, economic and social context. Heuristic and optimisation models will be created within a Geographic Information System (GIS) and assessed for their ability to set such priorities in integrated landscape restoration. The techniques will help sustain ecological, physical and human systems in many other over-cleared regions.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
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
Demonstrating the impacts of ground tank closure on biodiversity and landscape function in southeast Australian rangelands. Despite incentives for improving biodiversity outcomes in pastoral landscapes pastoralists are resistant to strategic tank closure. Research will monitor the effects of total-closure, partial-closure and fencing of ground tanks on biodiversity. Results of research will be built into a model to assist land managers in decision making. The research will be conducted in conjun ....Demonstrating the impacts of ground tank closure on biodiversity and landscape function in southeast Australian rangelands. Despite incentives for improving biodiversity outcomes in pastoral landscapes pastoralists are resistant to strategic tank closure. Research will monitor the effects of total-closure, partial-closure and fencing of ground tanks on biodiversity. Results of research will be built into a model to assist land managers in decision making. The research will be conducted in conjunction with land management authorities thus outcomes can be readily passed on to relevant user groups. The project will aid in the adoption of sustainable land management practices in relation to total grazing pressure and biodiversity. The research within arid woodland and shrubland communities is applicable to a large area of Australia's rangelands.Read moreRead less
Better water management through more focus on ecological and social sciences. Current water resources management, focusing on gains of economic efficiency in the short term under the assumption of steady-state conditions, has generally failed to respond to both catchment environmental degradation and to the increasing complexity of human–environment interactions. This project will develop a new approach to water resources management by relating management practices based on ecological understand ....Better water management through more focus on ecological and social sciences. Current water resources management, focusing on gains of economic efficiency in the short term under the assumption of steady-state conditions, has generally failed to respond to both catchment environmental degradation and to the increasing complexity of human–environment interactions. This project will develop a new approach to water resources management by relating management practices based on ecological understanding to the social mechanisms behind these practices at water catchments. It will improve the predictability and precision of water resources management and increase our ability to maintain our options for a sustainable future. This will have a profound effect on catchment sustainability, a globally significant problem.Read moreRead less
Biodiversity conservation, vegetation restoration and landscape design. There has been considerable recent activity through major Government-funded programs to restore native vegetation. Despite extensive expenditure, the biodiversity conservation values of restoration remain very poorly known. This innovative project will address this major knowledge gap. It will generate quality data and new principles to guide restoration that maximizes biodiversity conservation. The principal aim is to estim ....Biodiversity conservation, vegetation restoration and landscape design. There has been considerable recent activity through major Government-funded programs to restore native vegetation. Despite extensive expenditure, the biodiversity conservation values of restoration remain very poorly known. This innovative project will address this major knowledge gap. It will generate quality data and new principles to guide restoration that maximizes biodiversity conservation. The principal aim is to estimate tree planting effects on vertebrates and assess whether the effects are consistent across different landscapes, farm units and regions. New insights from the project will aid the design of cost-effective and ecologically-effective restoration programs for future landscapes in rural Australian production environments.Read moreRead less
Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative im ....Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative importance of air pollution from planned and unplanned bushfires vs. wood heaters, agricultural burning and other sources of air pollution will be determined. Our study will enable evidence-based bushfire smoke management, help formulate national air quality standards and shape policies regarding biomass smoke and bushfire management.Read moreRead less
An innovative approach to maximising catchment water yield in a changing climate. Australia is facing a crisis in water availability and management within many of the continent's major cities and the Murray-Darling and Sydney Basins. Risk to water resources will also be exacerbated by climate change. Past solutions of increasing water supply by building dams are no longer easily implemented because of the significant environmental consequences. To maximise yield, better management of current res ....An innovative approach to maximising catchment water yield in a changing climate. Australia is facing a crisis in water availability and management within many of the continent's major cities and the Murray-Darling and Sydney Basins. Risk to water resources will also be exacerbated by climate change. Past solutions of increasing water supply by building dams are no longer easily implemented because of the significant environmental consequences. To maximise yield, better management of current resources is required, dependent on understanding what factors affect water yield and how they may be better manipulated. This project innovatively integrates ecological and hydrological processes by modelling the expression of water use by vegetation and its management and water availability at fine resolutions.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the secrets of mangrove conservation success. This project aims to address the deterioration of mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves support fisheries, shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. The project aims to identify social-economic conditions that enable effective conservation in mangroves over multiple spatial scales. The project will use state of the art datasets and innovative modelling approaches to understand how factors such as population, governance and access to markets i ....Unlocking the secrets of mangrove conservation success. This project aims to address the deterioration of mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves support fisheries, shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. The project aims to identify social-economic conditions that enable effective conservation in mangroves over multiple spatial scales. The project will use state of the art datasets and innovative modelling approaches to understand how factors such as population, governance and access to markets influence changes in mangrove extent and restoration success. Expected outcomes include implementation of more effective environmental programs in Australia and overseas. This should provide significant benefits, including more cost-effective allocation of resources and increased delivery of ecosystem services.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL130100090
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,417,754.00
Summary
Restore or protect: could habitat restoration ever be a better investment than habitat protection for biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation? Australia's multi-billion dollar national investment programs in nature conservation vacillate between two grand paradigms - prevention and cure. This project will resolve this contest by developing the first rigorous quantitative framework for deciding whether protecting habitat is better than restoring habitat.