Our Research: Research Program 3
Program Leaders:
Professor Richard Hobbs and Dr Katinka Ruthrof
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr Leonie Valentine
Strategic Goal for the Program:
To acquire and disseminate key restoration techniques required to restore biodiversity values of declining trees, woodlands and forests.
Program Challenge:
The massive decline of forest and woodland species on the Swan Coastal Plain and elsewhere in Western Australia has caused a marked change in the structure and functioning of the affected ecosystems. As the investigation into the cause for the decline continues, a parallel and immense effort to restore these degraded ecosystems is needed. The current challenge is to devise methods of restoring both biodiversity and ecological processes in degraded landscapes, and ways of monitoring and benchmarking the improvement at the local and landscape scales for each unit of effort. A large overarching project on key elements needing to be restored, and specific but intertwined projects focusing on fauna, flora and soil biota will identify key restoration techniques required to return trees, woodlands and forests to a healthy state within intact and sustainable biodiversity values.
Project 3.1. Identifying key elements of ecosystem health and resilience
Project Leader/s: Prof. R. Hobbs
Project Team: Research Assist. Prof. V. Cramer
Objective: To identify key ecosystem components and processes that need to be managed and restored in different woodland ecosystems to maintain ecosystem health and resilience in a rapidly changing environment.
<< Page top
Project 3.2. Mitigating ecosystem decline: increasing restoration success of vegetation in degraded woodland ecosystems
Project Leader/s: Dr K. Ruthrof
Project Team: Prof. B. Dell, Prof. G. Hardy, Dr. G. Keighery
Objective: Increase the restoration success of declining trees, woodlands and forest communities.
<< Page top
Project 3.3. Mitigating ecosystem decline: fauna
Project Leader/s: Dr T. Fleming
Project Team: Prof. G. Hardy, Prof. B. Dell, Dr Michael Craig
Objective: There are three key steps to this research Program: 1) identify native fauna species and ecological process (e.g. pollination, seed dispersal, etc.) that are impacted by declines; 2) identify key habitat elements required for fauna species that have been disrupted by decline processes; and 3) to inform and guide restoration management techniques towards mitigating detrimental effects.
<< Page top
Project 3.4. Mitigating ecosystem decline: manipulation of soil biota
Project Leader/s: Prof. B. Dell
Project Team: Prof. G. Hardy, Dr. Ruthrof, Dr. N. Bougher, A/Prof. Cai, Prof. Xueying, Dr. G. O’Hara
Objective: to increase the success of restoration activities with the use of beneficial soil biota.
<< Page top
|
Home
