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
A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship betwee ....A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship between in-prison and post-prison vocational education and employment programs, employment and recidivism. It aims to identify effective elements, strategies, program and policy directions in offender training and employment. This is a unique partnership amongst key academics in the field, peak national bodies, correctional and employment organisations.Read moreRead less
Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will ....Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration and its components. This project aims to demonstrate how temperate evergreen forests could buffer against climate change. Soil respiration returns around half the carbon taken up by forests to the atmosphere. This project will characterise and quantify how microbes and roots in soils depend on temperature and substrate supply, and so predict how rising temperatures and drought will affect forests as natural carbon sequestration sinks. This project will resolve the roles of environmental drivers of soil respiration across forests; integrate mechanistic understanding of differing plant and microbial responses to temperature within a common modelling framework; and evaluate the implications of this knowledge in predictions of climatic impacts on terrestrial carbon cycling.Read moreRead less
Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both ha ....Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both hand-held and automated systems to preserve one of the most iconic bridges in the world. This will reduce maintenance frequency and cost, restore the beauty of the bridge, retain its engineering significance and provide a baseline process for cleaning of other historical large scale metal and stone heritage objects.Read moreRead less
Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. This project aims to close important scientific and practical application gaps around the most effective ways to restore and manage vegetation on farms. Although restoration programs to increase native vegetation cover are essential for integrating agricultural production with biodiversity conservation, critical scientific questions remain about how biot ....Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. Novel experimental and longitudinal analyses to promote woodland biota. This project aims to close important scientific and practical application gaps around the most effective ways to restore and manage vegetation on farms. Although restoration programs to increase native vegetation cover are essential for integrating agricultural production with biodiversity conservation, critical scientific questions remain about how biota responds to temporal increases in vegetation cover. This project will combine novel spatiotemporal analyses of long-term datasets and a blocked and replicated experiment comparing planting strategies that connect woodland patches vs augmentation strategies that increase individual patch size. Anticipated outcomes are better designed and implemented restorations to maximise benefits for biota.Read moreRead less
More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full s ....More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full suite of benefits derived from protected areas. The framework will provide a robust evidence base for the range of benefits provided by private protected areas. This will be vital to manage and grow Australia’s protected area network to reduce biodiversity and environmental declines, and meet international commitments.Read moreRead less
Linking phytoplankton to fisheries using zooplankton size spectra. This project aims to develop innovative numerical methods to understand the dynamics, carbon export, and trophic structure of zooplankton. The trophic links between phytoplankton, zooplankton and fisheries are unknown. The size- frequency distribution of zooplankton (size spectrum) is an innovative method for estimating their growth, predation and production as food for fish. Analysis of a global synthesis of zooplankton size dis ....Linking phytoplankton to fisheries using zooplankton size spectra. This project aims to develop innovative numerical methods to understand the dynamics, carbon export, and trophic structure of zooplankton. The trophic links between phytoplankton, zooplankton and fisheries are unknown. The size- frequency distribution of zooplankton (size spectrum) is an innovative method for estimating their growth, predation and production as food for fish. Analysis of a global synthesis of zooplankton size distributions from tropical to polar environments are expected to reveal these vital rates of pelagic ecosystems. The zooplankton rates will reveal, for the first time, the link between phytoplankton and fisheries, and will significantly improve ecosystem models and global assessments of environmental change.Read moreRead less
Resolving the role of dryland flooding in the global carbon cycle. Aquatic sources of carbon dioxide and methane are globally significant, but unknown for flooded drylands. The aim of this project is to use an innovative combination of well-integrated methodologies to determine if flooded drylands release large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. This project is significant because this release of carbon dioxide and methane has not previously been accounted for and may change the magnitude of ....Resolving the role of dryland flooding in the global carbon cycle. Aquatic sources of carbon dioxide and methane are globally significant, but unknown for flooded drylands. The aim of this project is to use an innovative combination of well-integrated methodologies to determine if flooded drylands release large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. This project is significant because this release of carbon dioxide and methane has not previously been accounted for and may change the magnitude of the global terrestrial carbon dioxide sink and account of some of the planet’s missing sources of methane. The outcomes of this project will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the global carbon cycle and earth climate system, and inform future management of these systems.
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Mapping and Modelling the Ocean's Unseen Biodiversity. From the reef to the rainforest, Australia is famous for its unique biodiversity. Less well known is that Australia's coastline is predicted to be a global hotspot for biodiversity in marine microbes, the unseen life forces that maintain ocean health and productivity. This project aims to overcome historical technological and logistical hurdles by using cutting-edge sampling, genetic and modelling tools to provide the first models of microbi ....Mapping and Modelling the Ocean's Unseen Biodiversity. From the reef to the rainforest, Australia is famous for its unique biodiversity. Less well known is that Australia's coastline is predicted to be a global hotspot for biodiversity in marine microbes, the unseen life forces that maintain ocean health and productivity. This project aims to overcome historical technological and logistical hurdles by using cutting-edge sampling, genetic and modelling tools to provide the first models of microbial diversity patterns and organismal range in Australian marine systems. This is expected to be a crucial step for understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that shape contemporary biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Marine urban development: how can ecology inform the design of multifunctional artificial structures? This project aims to experimentally manipulate the design of artificial structures to achieve multipurpose ecological objectives. Artificial structures such as buildings and roads have featured in terrestrial urban landscapes for many years, but have only more recently begun encroaching on aquatic environments. Most marine artificial structures lack the innovative design solutions required to mi ....Marine urban development: how can ecology inform the design of multifunctional artificial structures? This project aims to experimentally manipulate the design of artificial structures to achieve multipurpose ecological objectives. Artificial structures such as buildings and roads have featured in terrestrial urban landscapes for many years, but have only more recently begun encroaching on aquatic environments. Most marine artificial structures lack the innovative design solutions required to mitigate their ecological impacts and provide essential ecosystem services such as pollution abatement. This project will investigate the efficacy of these designs with both classical measures of diversity and structure and novel measures of ecosystem function. The project aims to provide essential information to inform the design of future marine urban developments.Read moreRead less