Rural adjustment or structural transformation? Discovering the destinations of exiting farm families. The findings of this research will assist local, State and Federal governments to intervene effectively in processes of regional and rural structural adjustment. It will generate economic benefits by recommending policies that facilitate growth and promote sustainable rural businesses while at the same time sheltering rural communities and individual households from adverse outcomes. It will con ....Rural adjustment or structural transformation? Discovering the destinations of exiting farm families. The findings of this research will assist local, State and Federal governments to intervene effectively in processes of regional and rural structural adjustment. It will generate economic benefits by recommending policies that facilitate growth and promote sustainable rural businesses while at the same time sheltering rural communities and individual households from adverse outcomes. It will contribute social benefits by identifying policies to improve the outcomes of rural adjustment for families and individuals. The new knowledge it provides will inform the politics of regional change and remove some of the uncertainties that currently impede the implementation of rural adjustment policies.Read moreRead less
Satellite-Based Radio Occultation for Atmospheric Sounding, Weather Forecasting and Climate Monitoring in the Australian Region. Global climate change and its associated risks are serious issues because the resultant storms, fires, floods, droughts and cyclones are weather events affecting Australia. However, the predictability of such phenomena is seriously limited due to sparse atmospheric sensor distribution. This project will investigate new space-borne and ground-based radio occultation tec ....Satellite-Based Radio Occultation for Atmospheric Sounding, Weather Forecasting and Climate Monitoring in the Australian Region. Global climate change and its associated risks are serious issues because the resultant storms, fires, floods, droughts and cyclones are weather events affecting Australia. However, the predictability of such phenomena is seriously limited due to sparse atmospheric sensor distribution. This project will investigate new space-borne and ground-based radio occultation techniques, atmospheric sounding technologies and their fusion to overcome such constraints. This project is dedicated to developing superior national capabilities in anticipating, analysing and investigating critical meteorological threats to Australia. This research will significantly upgrade Australia's meteorological services and contribute to the global community.Read moreRead less
Reengineering a dynamic vegetation model to explore the stability of Australian terrestrial carbon. Overseas models do not represent Australian biophysical processes well: our flora and fauna are unique and our soils are old and nutrient poor. In contrast, the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) is a world-class framework for estimating current carbon processes. By building NCAS expertise into an overseas model of soil and vegetation processes we can develop the capacity to increase our con ....Reengineering a dynamic vegetation model to explore the stability of Australian terrestrial carbon. Overseas models do not represent Australian biophysical processes well: our flora and fauna are unique and our soils are old and nutrient poor. In contrast, the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) is a world-class framework for estimating current carbon processes. By building NCAS expertise into an overseas model of soil and vegetation processes we can develop the capacity to increase our confidence in future projections of carbon and vegetation change. Our proposal, linking Universities, CSIRO and the Australian Greenhouse Office establishes a team that is internationally competitive. It will enhance local expertise and local model development to ensure national policy development is underpinned by world-class science.Read moreRead less
Integrating climate adaptation into rainforest restoration plantings. This project aims to investigate the impact of within species adaptation to climate on restoratoin success in the Australian Wet Tropics. For a suite of six species of tropical tree frequently employed in rainforest restoration plantings in northeast Queensland, this project aims to test the hypothesis that collecting seed from populations in similar ecoclimatic settings to the planting site will result in superior seedling gr ....Integrating climate adaptation into rainforest restoration plantings. This project aims to investigate the impact of within species adaptation to climate on restoratoin success in the Australian Wet Tropics. For a suite of six species of tropical tree frequently employed in rainforest restoration plantings in northeast Queensland, this project aims to test the hypothesis that collecting seed from populations in similar ecoclimatic settings to the planting site will result in superior seedling growth and survival. The expected outcome is to provide practical advice to restoration practitioners about the importance of matching the provenance of seed source to planting sites, and opportunities for selecting provenances pre-adapted to predicted future climatic conditions at planting sites.Read moreRead less
Modelling policy interventions to protect Australia's food security in the face of environmental sustainability challenges . This project will use an innovative scenario modelling approach to quantify the potential impacts of population growth and emerging climate and environmental challenges on Australia’s future food security. In collaboration with an advisory committee it will specify and prioritise policy solutions in terms of their social and economic credentials.
Private Land Conservation in a Dynamically Changing and Risky World. Climate change, and the increasing risk of drought, heatwaves, and fire, have major implications for the design and effectiveness of private land conservation programs. This project aims to generate new knowledge about the effect of climate change on adoption and outcomes of private land conservation agreements. It will use an innovative social-ecological approach focused on koalas. Expected outcomes include an innovative frame ....Private Land Conservation in a Dynamically Changing and Risky World. Climate change, and the increasing risk of drought, heatwaves, and fire, have major implications for the design and effectiveness of private land conservation programs. This project aims to generate new knowledge about the effect of climate change on adoption and outcomes of private land conservation agreements. It will use an innovative social-ecological approach focused on koalas. Expected outcomes include an innovative framework to help make decisions about private land conservation investments under climate change. This should provide significant benefits for government and non-government organisations by providing solutions to climate-proof their conservation investments on private land in a rapidly changing world.Read moreRead less
Fires, black carbon, greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon balance of southern sclerophyll forests. Ecologically sustainable forest management requires an understanding of the role of fire in the carbon balance of native forests, and in Australia's overall carbon balance. Fires are crucial to both this carbon balance and to the ecology of the forests. This project will help forest managers make decisions about using prescribed fire to manage fuels while at the same time managing carbon. An ....Fires, black carbon, greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon balance of southern sclerophyll forests. Ecologically sustainable forest management requires an understanding of the role of fire in the carbon balance of native forests, and in Australia's overall carbon balance. Fires are crucial to both this carbon balance and to the ecology of the forests. This project will help forest managers make decisions about using prescribed fire to manage fuels while at the same time managing carbon. An aim of management is to identify fire regimes that will optimise the carbon outcome as well as provide protection to life and property. This project will help managers meet that aim by developing a quantitative understanding of how much stable, black carbon (charcoal) is produced and how it affects other soil processes.Read moreRead less
Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-be ....Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-being. This project will develop a framework and software system for evaluating and applying indicators in common planning and reporting situations. The project will benefit Australian organisations by a) developing clear, practical sustainability goals; b) lowering cost of reporting compliance and c) improving sustainability practices.Read moreRead less
Electron flow in iron hyper-enriched acidifying coastal environments: reaction paths and kinetics of iron-sulfur-carbon transformations. Iron hyper-enriched acidifying coastal lowlands have a direct social, economic and environmental impact on communities in many parts of Australia. This project will determine how iron transforms and accumulates. The new knowledge will be of immediate relevance for the remediation of coastal plains.
Global Citizenship and the Agency of the Museum Sector in Climate Change Interventions. Australia plays an important role in the global response to climate change. This project will benefit Australian communities by building capacity to more effectively respond to and make informed decisions about climate change by looking to the museum sector as change-agents, well-equipped to operate as a global network. It will develop institutional capacity to communicate high-level state of the art knowledg ....Global Citizenship and the Agency of the Museum Sector in Climate Change Interventions. Australia plays an important role in the global response to climate change. This project will benefit Australian communities by building capacity to more effectively respond to and make informed decisions about climate change by looking to the museum sector as change-agents, well-equipped to operate as a global network. It will develop institutional capacity to communicate high-level state of the art knowledge about climate change to produce better informed citizens; provide forums where diverse interests can meet; and produce new avenues for Australian communities to interact and contribute to local and global debates and decision-making on climate change.Read moreRead less