Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354582
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation be ....Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation between separate disciplines. Networking across all seven strands will create a broader linkage, spanning across palaeobiology, ecosystem function, vegetation structure, global change, ecophysiology, phylogeny, genomics, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory.Read moreRead less
ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ....ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory. Across this span, working groups will target nine identified opportunities for breakthrough research. Each research target needs input from two or more disciplines. Together, the nine targets link across disciplines, as a network that spans from genomic to planetary scales.Read moreRead less
Plant species economics and strategy-dimensions of plant ecology. Ecological strategies of plant species are differentiated mainly along economic dimensions. Four key dimensions are the leaf lifespan - leaf mass per area tradeoff, the seed mass - seed output tradeoff, the leaf size - twig size spectrum, and canopy height at maturity. Each dimension reflects a spectrum of allocation patterns. Costs, benefits, tradeoffs and correlations underpinning these strategy-dimensions will be investigated w ....Plant species economics and strategy-dimensions of plant ecology. Ecological strategies of plant species are differentiated mainly along economic dimensions. Four key dimensions are the leaf lifespan - leaf mass per area tradeoff, the seed mass - seed output tradeoff, the leaf size - twig size spectrum, and canopy height at maturity. Each dimension reflects a spectrum of allocation patterns. Costs, benefits, tradeoffs and correlations underpinning these strategy-dimensions will be investigated within Australia, and in collaboration with partner investigators overseas.Read moreRead less
Plant ecological strategies across species and an evolutionary-ecology vegetation model. This proposal is aimed at fundamental science about plant traits and water use and flammability. These vegetation processes underpin management of bushfires, water, salinity and carbon storage, which are national priorities for An Environmentally Sustainable Australia. The proposal pursues cost-benefit understanding of stem-leaf relations and of flammability, and aims also to develop an evolutionary-ecology ....Plant ecological strategies across species and an evolutionary-ecology vegetation model. This proposal is aimed at fundamental science about plant traits and water use and flammability. These vegetation processes underpin management of bushfires, water, salinity and carbon storage, which are national priorities for An Environmentally Sustainable Australia. The proposal pursues cost-benefit understanding of stem-leaf relations and of flammability, and aims also to develop an evolutionary-ecology vegetation model (EEVM). An EEVM will encapsulate the next generation of fundamental ecological science, with direct application for global change scenarios and for ecosystem management. This proposal forms a network among outstanding laboratories internationally for the purpose, and gives Australia a lead role.Read moreRead less
Leaf economics, and the acquisition and use of water and nitrogen for photosynthesis. Successful and sustainable management of both natural and human-modified ecosystems flows from advances in our understanding of the fundamentals of plant ecology. Improved understanding of acquisition and use of water and nutrients by plants should lead not only to better management in the present day, but better-founded management decisions under possible future scenarios such as global warming, higher atmosph ....Leaf economics, and the acquisition and use of water and nitrogen for photosynthesis. Successful and sustainable management of both natural and human-modified ecosystems flows from advances in our understanding of the fundamentals of plant ecology. Improved understanding of acquisition and use of water and nutrients by plants should lead not only to better management in the present day, but better-founded management decisions under possible future scenarios such as global warming, higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations or altered rainfall regimes. High-impact publications resulting from this project will sustain Australian leadership in environmental plant biology.Read moreRead less
Complex system dynamics: restoring riparian and riverine ecosystems. Attempts to restore damaged ecosystems reveal inadequacies in theories describing ecosystem structure and function. For rivers, it is unclear whether theories relating to fluvial geomorphology and ecosystem dynamics are adequate to predict system trajectories following restoration. We will use empirical data on a degraded river to develop cross-scale models of system function, and predict ecosystem structure and dynamics follow ....Complex system dynamics: restoring riparian and riverine ecosystems. Attempts to restore damaged ecosystems reveal inadequacies in theories describing ecosystem structure and function. For rivers, it is unclear whether theories relating to fluvial geomorphology and ecosystem dynamics are adequate to predict system trajectories following restoration. We will use empirical data on a degraded river to develop cross-scale models of system function, and predict ecosystem structure and dynamics following restoration. Following revegetation of riparian habitats and replacement of large woody debris in in-stream habitats of the river, we will test theoretical predictions about changes to physical processes, biotic community assemblage rules and food webs to develop improved ecosystem-based restoration guidelines.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989680
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Interuniversity Elemental and Structural Analytical Facility. The items in this proposal will form the first stage of a larger facility for Elemental and Structural analytical programs in materials engineering and the natural sciences. The vision is to create an analytical facility which will have at its core and at the outset true collaboration leading to great national benefit. The equipment will be available via on-line access management allowing equitable and transparent access for users fro ....Interuniversity Elemental and Structural Analytical Facility. The items in this proposal will form the first stage of a larger facility for Elemental and Structural analytical programs in materials engineering and the natural sciences. The vision is to create an analytical facility which will have at its core and at the outset true collaboration leading to great national benefit. The equipment will be available via on-line access management allowing equitable and transparent access for users from multiple institutions. The resulting facility will complement existing microstructural capabilities and networks and will be open for all researchers and collaborators to use, further enhancing the national benefit.Read moreRead less
When fire and water mix: do carbon dioxide-related water savings drive woody plant thickening and fire dynamics in a grassy woodland? Australia's woodland landscapes have experienced widespread shrub expansion in the last century due to changes in fire, grazing and atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project will endevour to fill critical gaps in the nexus between carbon dioxide-induced effects on vegetation and fire disturbance to help explain this phenomenon and help manage Australian woodlands i ....When fire and water mix: do carbon dioxide-related water savings drive woody plant thickening and fire dynamics in a grassy woodland? Australia's woodland landscapes have experienced widespread shrub expansion in the last century due to changes in fire, grazing and atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project will endevour to fill critical gaps in the nexus between carbon dioxide-induced effects on vegetation and fire disturbance to help explain this phenomenon and help manage Australian woodlands into the future.Read moreRead less
Feast or famine: how Australian plants stay productive under low phosphorus. Phosphorus (P) is in low supply in soils around the nation, and limits plant production in the Australian landscape, as well as for many tropical forests worldwide. How scarce P restricts photosynthetic capacity has remained elusive. We will determine how Australian plants achieve high phosphorus-use efficiency despite low P concentrations in leaves and soils. We will synthesise knowledge of how plants maintain producti ....Feast or famine: how Australian plants stay productive under low phosphorus. Phosphorus (P) is in low supply in soils around the nation, and limits plant production in the Australian landscape, as well as for many tropical forests worldwide. How scarce P restricts photosynthetic capacity has remained elusive. We will determine how Australian plants achieve high phosphorus-use efficiency despite low P concentrations in leaves and soils. We will synthesise knowledge of how plants maintain productivity with low P availability, and inform global models how to represent P biogeochemistry and photosynthesis to improve C-cycle estimates. The understanding of plant photosynthetic and P-saving mechanisms that emerge should provide benefits through improved ecological models and enhanced management of primary production.Read moreRead less
Refining Restoration Ecology: Is Range of Historical Variability an appropriate concept to guide ecosystem management and restoration? Ecosystem restoration is an urgent task in many Australian landscapes. Range of Historical Variability (RHV) theory provides an influential but largely untested framework to guide restoration activities. We will test the RHV proposition that biodiversity conservation is enhanced if the structure of altered ecosystems is restored within the pre-settlement range. P ....Refining Restoration Ecology: Is Range of Historical Variability an appropriate concept to guide ecosystem management and restoration? Ecosystem restoration is an urgent task in many Australian landscapes. Range of Historical Variability (RHV) theory provides an influential but largely untested framework to guide restoration activities. We will test the RHV proposition that biodiversity conservation is enhanced if the structure of altered ecosystems is restored within the pre-settlement range. Plants, vertebrates and invertebrates will be compared between ?unrestored? Callitris woodlands dominated by post-settlement regrowth, and ?restored? stands where regrowth has been reduced within the RHV. This will be the first test of RHV theory to encompass a range of taxonomic and functional groups at both local and landscape scales.Read moreRead less