Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL190100003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,108,997.00
Summary
A unified dynamic vegetation model for Australia. This project aims to synthesise current theory and data to develop a predictive, process-based model for Australian vegetation dynamics in response to environmental change. The existing theory and data are extensive, but fragmented. This project will deliver a crucial missing link in Australian ecosystem science, unifying these data in an integrative quantitative framework that can identify the critical limiting factors for different vegetation t ....A unified dynamic vegetation model for Australia. This project aims to synthesise current theory and data to develop a predictive, process-based model for Australian vegetation dynamics in response to environmental change. The existing theory and data are extensive, but fragmented. This project will deliver a crucial missing link in Australian ecosystem science, unifying these data in an integrative quantitative framework that can identify the critical limiting factors for different vegetation types, and predict their dynamics and resilience. It will transform our understanding of Australian vegetation form and function, and place it in a global context, with significant ongoing benefits for land management, fire management, agriculture and conservation.Read moreRead less
Extreme Heat: A new driver of desert mammal assemblages . Heat waves cause more deaths than any other severe weather event and are becoming longer, more frequent and more intense. Consequently, extreme heat may soon rival predation and rainfall as a major driver of desert mammal assemblages. This project will investigate how heat wave attributes (duration, intensity, frequency), species attributes (physiology, behaviour, plasticity) and landscape features (refuges, fire, grazing) interact and co ....Extreme Heat: A new driver of desert mammal assemblages . Heat waves cause more deaths than any other severe weather event and are becoming longer, more frequent and more intense. Consequently, extreme heat may soon rival predation and rainfall as a major driver of desert mammal assemblages. This project will investigate how heat wave attributes (duration, intensity, frequency), species attributes (physiology, behaviour, plasticity) and landscape features (refuges, fire, grazing) interact and contribute to lethal and sublethal effects of extreme heat on desert mammals. Modelling will predict changes in desert mammal assemblages under different climatic and land management scenarios. Results will inform fire and grazing management, threatened species recovery programs and arid zone restoration. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101611
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,040.00
Summary
Snow, shrub and climate feedbacks: impacts of shrub expansion in the Australian alpine zone. This project aims to understand the mechanisms promoting shrub expansion in alpine areas and the consequences of a shrub-dominated landscape in terms of shrubs as hydrological mediators and as biodiversity and ecosystem modifiers. Some shrub species trap wind-blown snow, thereby facilitating seedling survival through soil insulation and increases to meltwater. However, if adaptive and plastic responses t ....Snow, shrub and climate feedbacks: impacts of shrub expansion in the Australian alpine zone. This project aims to understand the mechanisms promoting shrub expansion in alpine areas and the consequences of a shrub-dominated landscape in terms of shrubs as hydrological mediators and as biodiversity and ecosystem modifiers. Some shrub species trap wind-blown snow, thereby facilitating seedling survival through soil insulation and increases to meltwater. However, if adaptive and plastic responses to climate change allows, shrub expansion will have significant negative impacts on alpine biodiversity and ecosystem function. This project will tease apart the interacting effects of snow, recruitment and adaptation to provide models of shrub increase and determine how shrubs modify alpine ecosystem processes and upper catchment hydrology.Read moreRead less
Integrating remote sensing, landscape flux measurements, and phenology to understand the impacts of climate change on Australian landscapes. This project aims to combine satellite data with field tower measurements to more accurately map the water and carbon status of Australian landscapes. This will provide valuable information on land surface changes and improve model predictions of water balance, productivity, and health in response to climate change and land use impacts.
A global-scale analysis of functional traits in the face of global change. This project uses a global collaboration to develop a novel method for determining the response of extremely diverse animal taxa to global change. The method focusses on morphological traits and their functions and will improve conservation efforts by predicting the types of ecological processes and species threatened.
What fungal features are key to developing environmental resilience? The aim of this project is to identify key mechanisms contributing to environmental resilience within the east Antarctic soil mycobiome. We will use cutting-edge approaches to perform comparative phenotypic and genomic analyses on cold-adapted fungi against temperate species counterparts. Intended outcomes include an enhanced capacity to contribute substantially to the fungal tree of life while gaining new knowledge on fungal a ....What fungal features are key to developing environmental resilience? The aim of this project is to identify key mechanisms contributing to environmental resilience within the east Antarctic soil mycobiome. We will use cutting-edge approaches to perform comparative phenotypic and genomic analyses on cold-adapted fungi against temperate species counterparts. Intended outcomes include an enhanced capacity to contribute substantially to the fungal tree of life while gaining new knowledge on fungal adaptations in a model ecosystem at the limits of life. Significant benefits to the Royal Botanical Gardens and Domain Trust is delivery on their mission to quantify and qualify fungal biodiversity, and building of a restore and renew program that will inform future management and restoration of Australian ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Forty million Australians: the future of our biodiversity. Many countries have experienced rapid increases in human numbers and natural-resource use. The project will use measured effects on biodiversity from such countries, combined with models of potential changes in Australia's population and climate, to forecast how our biodiversity may be affected up to 2050, and then to plan how to minimize negative impacts.
Understanding and reversing the habitat shifts that have endangered the broad-headed snake. Extinction rates for vertebrate species are higher in southern Australia than almost anywhere else in the world, and saving endangered taxa is critical to biodiversity conservation. To do this effectively, researchers need to understand the processes that threaten wild populations, and to develop novel solutions to those problems in close collaboration with wildlife management authorities and other stake ....Understanding and reversing the habitat shifts that have endangered the broad-headed snake. Extinction rates for vertebrate species are higher in southern Australia than almost anywhere else in the world, and saving endangered taxa is critical to biodiversity conservation. To do this effectively, researchers need to understand the processes that threaten wild populations, and to develop novel solutions to those problems in close collaboration with wildlife management authorities and other stakeholders. This project will build such an understanding and collaboration, focusing on an endangered snake species. We propose ambitious landscape-scale field experiments that will simultaneously test hypotheses on threatening processes, and restore habitat quality to reverse population declines.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668008
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
Advanced stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer for investigations on carbon and nutrient cycling processes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The effective use of innovative stable isotope techniques, particularly in combination with other advanced technologies (eg bio-molecular and nuclear magnetic resonance), has resulted in exciting advances in the understanding and management of critically important carbon and nutrient cycling processes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This applic ....Advanced stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer for investigations on carbon and nutrient cycling processes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The effective use of innovative stable isotope techniques, particularly in combination with other advanced technologies (eg bio-molecular and nuclear magnetic resonance), has resulted in exciting advances in the understanding and management of critically important carbon and nutrient cycling processes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This application seeks to purchase an advanced isotope ratio mass spectrometer for supporting and undertaking current and potential new leading research projects with the collaborating institutions, particularly in the above- and below-ground processes in terrestrial ecosystems, and nutrient transformations and impacts in aquatic ecosystems in response to global change and management options.Read moreRead less