Research

The bulk of this commentary has little to do with the content of the Report to the NSW Natural Resources Commission. The report addresses the consequences of the 2019/20 fires for the objectives and outcomes of the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (i.e. forest health, threatened species conservation, water quality and aquatic biodiversity). The 2019/20 fires have rendered forests, in relation to these objectives and outcomes, in a highly vulnerable state because of their magnitude and severity. This vulnerability will be ongoing and challenging to deal with because the efficacy of all facets of fire management (e.g. preparation, prevention, suppression) will be adversely affected by climate change.

Minister of Agriculture Adam Marshall and Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke have opened the $2.1 million state-of-the-art glasshouse precinct at the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Cowra Agricultural Research and Advisory Station. Mr Marshall said the new facility would advance the State’s research and development capabilities, enabling new science to help increase the productivity and profitability of the agriculture sector.

Researchers from The University of Western Australia recently completed the final report for the LHI Galapagos shark research project, which has been running since January 2018. This research used acoustic listening stations around LHI waters to track Galapagos sharks fitted with internal acoustic tags to determine their movement patterns, as well as identifying where, when and how frequently these sharks interact with fishing vessels.

People proliferated across Australia, which was then a part of Sahul, from about 40 000 years ago when megafauna finally disappeared long before the Last Glacial Maximum. Aboriginal burning initially turned much biomass into charcoal, reducing browse, changing vegetation and causing megafaunal extinctions. It created ecosystems whose health and safety depend on constant human input of mild fire.

Australian wheat growers are on track to benefit from one of the best combinations of price and yield in Australian history, according to the NAB October Rural Commodities Wrap released.

John O'Donnell. In contrast to the temperate southern regions of Australia, fire events in Central Australia are driven by above average rainfall in the preceding years, rather than below average rainfall or drought in the current year. Widespread fire events in Central Australia were found to be associated with two or more consecutive years of above-average rainfall. Fuel loads in long-unburnt grassland can get to high levels.

Queensland copper mine waste could deliver a key ingredient for the renewable energy revolution thanks to a three-year international study. Qld Resources Minister Scott Stewart announced a three-way agreement between the Queensland Government,  Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)  and  the University of Queensland  which will examine whether cobalt – a globally-sought-after critical mineral and a key battery ingredient – can be retrieved economically from old copper mine tailings.

Australia’s commercial plantation estate stood at 1.8 million hectares in 2019-20 according to statistics released by ABARES. ABARES Acting Executive Director, Dr Jared Greenville, said the report shows the softwood estate remained relatively stable at about one million hectares. “However, the hardwood estate declined by about 200 thousand hectares compared to the previous estimate for 2014-15," Dr Greenville said.

As Queensland grain growers start thinking about what  to plant next season, based on how crops performed this year, the latest Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) sowing guide could help inform their decision making. The newly released GRDC 2022 Queensland Winter Crop Sowing Guide contains the latest information for wheat, barley and chickpea varieties.

Australian Wool Innovation will spend an extra $950,000 to accelerate research into flystrike genomics and new extension workshops on breeding for natural flystrike resistance ... "Evidence of increasing blowfly resistance to chemicals and the shortage in shearers are extra reasons why AWI will speed up this work:” AWI Chairman Jock Laurie.

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent, with water a scarce commodity and a major environmental, biological and socio-economic issue for many communities across the state. Now, thanks to UniSA researcher Dr Alaa Ahmed, new cost-effective technology can pinpoint sites in the central Flinders Ranges where precious groundwater is likely to be found, handing a lifeline to residents in that region.

Australia is set for a second consecutive bumper winter harvest, with total production forecast to come in just five per cent shy of last year’s near-record crop, according to Rabobank. In its just-released Australian Winter Crop 2021/22 Production, Price and Inputs Forecast, the specialist agribusiness bank estimates the nation will harvest 52.87 million tonnes of winter grains, oilseeds and pulses this season. While down five per cent on last year’s crop, this is still a hefty 25 per cent above the five-year average.

New research from the University of Wollongong, a partner at the NSW Bushfire Research Hub, has found climate change will expose larger areas of forest in coastal NSW to higher frequency and more intense fires, amplifying the changes to fire regimes brought about by the 2019/20 fires ... Amongst other findings: Previous timber harvesting did not increase the fire extent or severity of the 2019/20 fires. However, there is potential for cumulative impacts in harvested landscapes that are subject to fire, particularly in the next 5 to 10 years.

A new independent report titled 'Decarbonisation Pathways for the Australian Cement and Concrete Sector' confirms the Australian industry's ambition of net zero carbon cement and concrete to Australian society by 2050 is achievable.

There was nothing new or unexpected about the recently announced NSW Natural Resources Commission research on timber harvesting and koalas ... There’s nothing in the NRC report that actually deserves a tick. It’s a well-established historical and scientific fact that koalas are an irruptive species which responds positively to soft new growth ... Declining trees continuously resprout soft young growth until they eventually run out of resources. Koalas breed up in declining forests.

Scientists at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, have uncovered a new type of Hendra virus in flying foxes, confirming the virus can be found across a broad region of the country. A paper detailing the findings has been published just days after the new genetic type (HeV-g2) was detected in a horse near Newcastle in New South Wales, the most southern case of Hendra yet recorded.  

Effective management of feral animals can play a part in achieving net zero emissions in Australia by 2050, according to Andreas Glanznig, CEO of the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions ... Mr Glanznig cited Centre analysis which has previously found that controlling rabbits, feral goats and camels at scale has the potential to make a significant contribution to emission reduction targets: by reducing the impact of feral herbivores on native vegetation, our native grasses, shrubs and young trees enabling them to act as a more effective carbon sink.

Timber NSW welcomes research conducted over three years released by the Natural Resource Commissioner and NSW Chief Scientist, Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte who states that, “koala density was higher than anticipated in the surveyed forests and was not reduced by selective harvesting.” “This very significant finding totally vindicates the skilful ability of the forest managers to care for the land under their responsibility and protect koalas,” said Timber NSW CEO Maree McCaskill.

Research released into koala response to forestry has found that the nutritional quality of trees is critical for koala survival and selective harvesting did not have an adverse impact upon koala numbers on surveyed NSW north coast state forests ... These findings have emerged from a three-year research program independently overseen by the NSW Natural Resources Commission.

The professional association representing some 1,000 forest scientists, researchers and professional forest land managers  in Australia will soon be known by a new name. The Institute of Foresters of Australia and Australian Forest Growers (IFA/AFG) has announced it will launch a new identity at its upcoming national conference, which will be held in Launceston and online in a hybrid model, from 11 to 14 October 2021.

Scientists are exploring the use of mobile polliniser units to improve cross-pollination in netted apple orchards in a new trial being delivered through Hort Innovation in partnership with the University of Adelaide.   Over the past 14 months, scientists have been working with apple growers in the Adelaide Hills as part of the project, which aims to solve the challenges involved in using honey bees to cross-pollinate in undercover settings.

The Murray Regional Strategy Group (MRSG), which represents eight organisations across the NSW Murray, is conducting a monitoring program to clearly communicate the risks and benefits of water delivery through our region ... In order to help stop repeating the meaningless destruction that we have witnessed on the Murray, MRSG has developed the NSW Murray Valley Adaptive Road Map, which aims to deliver solutions to existing problems with water flows and management.