Climate and health benefits of restoring tropical peat swamp forests. This project aims to investigate the climate and health benefits of restoring the tropical peat swamp forests. The project will integrate novel, field-based paleo-reconstruction of the historical conditions, satellite observations of temperature and rainfall, and high-resolution modelling of the regional climate processes under different restoration scenarios. It will use this information to determine how restoration activitie ....Climate and health benefits of restoring tropical peat swamp forests. This project aims to investigate the climate and health benefits of restoring the tropical peat swamp forests. The project will integrate novel, field-based paleo-reconstruction of the historical conditions, satellite observations of temperature and rainfall, and high-resolution modelling of the regional climate processes under different restoration scenarios. It will use this information to determine how restoration activities affect the regional climate, how changes in climate affect peatland fires and regional smoke haze, and how changes to regional climate and smoke haze affect human respiratory health and heat stress.Read moreRead less
Satellite tracking of health threats from grass pollen exposure. This project aims to discover why pollen exposure has increased since the 1960s. Grass pollens are the main environmental allergen source in Australia and the primary cause of allergic diseases. This project will investigate the ecological causes of changing pollen allergen exposures through integrating 40 years of satellite data, field phenology cameras, and pollen traps that track grass pollen sources, their evolution and impact ....Satellite tracking of health threats from grass pollen exposure. This project aims to discover why pollen exposure has increased since the 1960s. Grass pollens are the main environmental allergen source in Australia and the primary cause of allergic diseases. This project will investigate the ecological causes of changing pollen allergen exposures through integrating 40 years of satellite data, field phenology cameras, and pollen traps that track grass pollen sources, their evolution and impact areas. The outcomes are expected to advance knowledge of environmental drivers and enable more accurate pollen forecasts that alleviate the medical and socioeconomic burden of allergic diseases, estimated to cost 30 billion dollars.Read moreRead less
Impacts of habitat disruption and global change on liana-tree interactions. This project will test whether tropical rainforests in Australia, the Amazon, and Borneo respond similarly to key environmental threats, habitat fragmentation and global-change phenomena. If forests in all three regions are affected similarly, then research in tropical Australia could help predict the fate of imperilled rainforests around the world.
Modelling the potential of large-scale revegetation to reduce the impacts of climate change in semi-arid Australia. This project will contribute to Australia's capacity to respond to climate change and to the ecologically sustainable management of our natural resources. It will provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential of large-scale revegetation to moderate climate change, and to identify limitations to adaptation.
Beyond discrete landscape metrics: spatial analysis tools and surface textural measures for quantifying gradients in landscape structure. The project will make an important contribution to an Environmental Sustainable Australia, especially the sustainable use and management of Australia's biodiversity. The focus is Australia's biodiversity hotspots in northern Australia, where fauna species are threatened as a result of habitat modification and biological invasions. The landscape analysis tools ....Beyond discrete landscape metrics: spatial analysis tools and surface textural measures for quantifying gradients in landscape structure. The project will make an important contribution to an Environmental Sustainable Australia, especially the sustainable use and management of Australia's biodiversity. The focus is Australia's biodiversity hotspots in northern Australia, where fauna species are threatened as a result of habitat modification and biological invasions. The landscape analysis tools and supporting knowledge will allow for more effective landscape-level conservation strategies to be developed in northern regions by assisting researchers and managers to answer key questions about how to manage the structure of native vegetation for the long-term conservation of fauna populations. The project will also deliver benefits for conserving marine biodiversity. Read moreRead less
The capacity of forests to protect regional climate under global warming. The project plans to develop a new understanding of the capacity of forests to increase moisture recycling, which enhances cloud and precipitation processes and exerts a cooling influence on the land surface. Deforestation and climate change are major global challenges. The role of forests in the carbon cycle is well recognised. Less attention is given to their role in the energy and water cycles, and their capacity to reg ....The capacity of forests to protect regional climate under global warming. The project plans to develop a new understanding of the capacity of forests to increase moisture recycling, which enhances cloud and precipitation processes and exerts a cooling influence on the land surface. Deforestation and climate change are major global challenges. The role of forests in the carbon cycle is well recognised. Less attention is given to their role in the energy and water cycles, and their capacity to regulate regional climate. The project plans to apply an innovative land use-climate scenario modelling to quantify the impacts of deforestation and afforestation on the climate of northern Australia and south-east Asia under global warming. It also plans to evaluate the capacity of restoring forests to offset regional climate change, to inform regional land use planning and climate mitigation and adaptation.Read moreRead less
Rehabilitating a changing landscape: using the latest advances in koala ecology to direct adaptive management. The koala has been identified as one of the world's flagship species suffering from environmental change. In contrast to the decline of koalas in New South Wales generally, the eucalypts planted in Gunnedah to combat salinity led to an increase in koalas. However, the startlingly high death rate of Gunnedah koalas (25 per cent of the population) in the heatwave during the drought in 200 ....Rehabilitating a changing landscape: using the latest advances in koala ecology to direct adaptive management. The koala has been identified as one of the world's flagship species suffering from environmental change. In contrast to the decline of koalas in New South Wales generally, the eucalypts planted in Gunnedah to combat salinity led to an increase in koalas. However, the startlingly high death rate of Gunnedah koalas (25 per cent of the population) in the heatwave during the drought in 2009 must be understood. There are also new threats brought about by intensive land modification. This project aims to determine the effects of environmental change on the koala population through a study of landscape ecology, leaf chemistry, disease epidemiology and koala movements. This aims to lead to better management decisions for arboreal fauna.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL100100150
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,668,132.00
Summary
Advancing Australian Leadership in Tropical Conservation Science. Tropical forests are vital for Australia. They protect coral reefs, reduce flooding and soil erosion, and help stabilise the climate by promoting life-giving rainfall and storing massive stocks of carbon that would otherwise worsen global warming. They also sustain stunning biodiversity and provide livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Via a dynamic environmental research and policy program, this project will p ....Advancing Australian Leadership in Tropical Conservation Science. Tropical forests are vital for Australia. They protect coral reefs, reduce flooding and soil erosion, and help stabilise the climate by promoting life-giving rainfall and storing massive stocks of carbon that would otherwise worsen global warming. They also sustain stunning biodiversity and provide livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Via a dynamic environmental research and policy program, this project will promote sustainable forest use in tropical Australia, the imperilled Asia-Pacific region, and beyond. It will build world-leading research capacity, strengthen ties with Australia's neighbours, and provide Australian scientists with an array of new challenges and research opportunities.Read moreRead less