Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining ....Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining rehabilitation sites. Expected outcomes include clear industry guidelines that refine seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration for current and future climates. This should provide significant benefits for improved ecological restoration outcomes when using native seed today and into the future.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC230100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources for the Future. The proposed ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources aims to train the next generation of geoscientists needed to enable resourcing of the transition to a high-tech, clean energy society. Training of PhD students and postdoctoral scientists will primarily focus on bridging the gap between mineral systems science, mineral exploration protocols and ore processing/metallurgical extraction. This will provide geoscientists with an essential ....ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources for the Future. The proposed ARC Training Centre in Critical Resources aims to train the next generation of geoscientists needed to enable resourcing of the transition to a high-tech, clean energy society. Training of PhD students and postdoctoral scientists will primarily focus on bridging the gap between mineral systems science, mineral exploration protocols and ore processing/metallurgical extraction. This will provide geoscientists with an essential understanding of the whole value chain of the critical resources of the future.
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A global standard for the status of Wetlands of International Importance. The project will develop and test a new global standard for the assessment and reporting on ecological condition of internationally important wetlands, listed under the Ramsar Convention. It has four aims: establishment of a strategic adaptive management and governance framework, a meta-analysis of the 2,303 internationally listed wetlands, development of a protocol for assessment and prediction and delivering a digital re ....A global standard for the status of Wetlands of International Importance. The project will develop and test a new global standard for the assessment and reporting on ecological condition of internationally important wetlands, listed under the Ramsar Convention. It has four aims: establishment of a strategic adaptive management and governance framework, a meta-analysis of the 2,303 internationally listed wetlands, development of a protocol for assessment and prediction and delivering a digital reporting platform for effective management. The project is significant because it tackles the decline of freshwater ecosystems, by targeting the most prominent wetlands. It also assists state and national governments to meet their obligations under the Ramsar Convention and most importantly guides more effective management.Read moreRead less
Three-dimensional Bayesian Modelling of Geological and Geophysical data. The project aims to develop technologies enabling rapid informed decision-making related to the management of natural resources, including critical metals, copper and water. This new technology will support a greener future, securing our energy future, our access to clean water and reduce the mining footprint. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capability in interoperable, integrated three-dimensional geological and geop ....Three-dimensional Bayesian Modelling of Geological and Geophysical data. The project aims to develop technologies enabling rapid informed decision-making related to the management of natural resources, including critical metals, copper and water. This new technology will support a greener future, securing our energy future, our access to clean water and reduce the mining footprint. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capability in interoperable, integrated three-dimensional geological and geophysical modelling in order to predictively characterise sub-surface geology. The outcome will be an open-source forecasting dashboard enabling decision making while considering underlying risk related to resource extractions and management with significant benefits to the Australian society (lower emissions, clean water).Read moreRead less
Is New Guinea the missing link for understanding Australia’s rainforests? This project aims to understand the extent to which the animals in Australia have shared histories with animals from the islands of Melanesia, and especially New Guinea. Key outcomes will be identification of hotspots of unique and high evolutionary diversity across both regions, and understanding of whether New Guinea has been an overall refuge or source for rainforest animals as Australia became more arid over the last 2 ....Is New Guinea the missing link for understanding Australia’s rainforests? This project aims to understand the extent to which the animals in Australia have shared histories with animals from the islands of Melanesia, and especially New Guinea. Key outcomes will be identification of hotspots of unique and high evolutionary diversity across both regions, and understanding of whether New Guinea has been an overall refuge or source for rainforest animals as Australia became more arid over the last 20 million years. Expected benefits include addressing fundamental gaps in our knowledge of the history of both the Australian continent and its resident biota such as when landbridges first formed with New Guinea, and the identification of priority areas for conservation investment in both Australian and Melanesia.Read moreRead less
Australian tropical rainforests in the face of climate change. This project aims to investigate the roles of increasing atmospheric water stress and rising carbon dioxide in driving changes in tree performance and species composition in Australian tropical rainforests. Forest census plots indicate increasing tree mortality, but the mechanisms through which this is occurring are unknown. Experiments will be conducted to unravel the underlying physiological processes. Community-level behavior will ....Australian tropical rainforests in the face of climate change. This project aims to investigate the roles of increasing atmospheric water stress and rising carbon dioxide in driving changes in tree performance and species composition in Australian tropical rainforests. Forest census plots indicate increasing tree mortality, but the mechanisms through which this is occurring are unknown. Experiments will be conducted to unravel the underlying physiological processes. Community-level behavior will be investigated with flux tower and remotely sensed data. The project expects to generate new knowledge of how Australian tropical rainforests are responding to climate change. The expected outcome is an enhanced capacity to understand and manage a highly valued component of the Australian forest estate.Read moreRead less
Deep time extinctions and environments in Australian underwater caves. This project aims to investigate the unique submerged Mt Gambier fossil deposits to determine the role environmental change had on large Australian mammal extinctions. By using a combination of technical diving and scientific expertise to study untouched fossil deposits from underwater caves, this project expects to provide greater understanding of past ecosystems and animals, advancements in geochronological techniques, and ....Deep time extinctions and environments in Australian underwater caves. This project aims to investigate the unique submerged Mt Gambier fossil deposits to determine the role environmental change had on large Australian mammal extinctions. By using a combination of technical diving and scientific expertise to study untouched fossil deposits from underwater caves, this project expects to provide greater understanding of past ecosystems and animals, advancements in geochronological techniques, and data critical to prepare Australians for action in protecting our biological heritage. Expected outcomes include insights into cave conservation and protection of underwater cave systems, updated policies on cave management, and promotion of our understanding of Australian geo-heritage through education and displays.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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