Research

While a truly catastrophic disaster is by definition unmanageable, emergency managers can still help reduce loss of life and property and assist in sustaining the continuity of affected communities.  

An extra-terrestrial parcel of Australian Golden wattle seeds has returned safely to earth and is undergoing biosecurity screening following its journey into space.  

Local businesses need to adapt and innovate to keep up with the constantly changing world and build resilience into their business. Advance Rockhampton is teaming up with key players in the business innovation and AI industries to show how emerging technologies can help Rockhampton businesses thrive.

Grain growers in Victoria’s Mallee region are being urged to ‘walk through paddocks’ to check for signs of mouse activity and crop damage and apply bait where necessary to help drive down numbers before spring.

Climate change has already cost every farm across Australia $30,000 each year in profit over the past two decades, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, and profits could slashed in half by 2050 due to ongoing environmental changes.

The latest ABARES Water Market Outlook report indicates water allocation prices in the southern Murray-Darling Basin are likely to remain low in 2021–22.

Crocodile populations in Queensland continue to recover after the reptiles were almost hunted to extinction before being protected in the 1970s, a new state government survey shows ... “The population recovery has been relatively slow and highly variable across the ranges of species since the unregulated hunting of estuarine crocodiles for their skins was banned,” says Dr Matt Brien.

Softs stole the show in July, as frost hit the heart of the Brazilian arabica coffee belt and also impacted sugar. The worst frost in 27 years led to ICE Arabica jumping by 27% and Robusta by 12% so far in July (coffee trees are very susceptible to frost damage), while sugar jumped 4.7%.

Collection significance assessment - In June, Melanie Piddocke from Queensland Museum visited the Island to undertake a Collection Significance Assessment of the collections held at the Lord Howe Island Museum. Cataloguing online - The Museum committee has also commenced cataloguing the artefacts held in the collection on a web-based system called eHive. Signal archive accessible at the museum - the museum now has a very accessible digital archive of all issues of the Island newspaper, The Lord Howe Island Signal.

A new paper reviewing the science behind claims that forest management and timber harvesting worsened the 2019/20 bushfires has been welcomed by the professional association representing some 1,000 scientific and professional forest land managers in Australia.

A lower-than-expected Australian dollar combined with good seasonal conditions continue to buoy the outlook for Australian agriculture, according to NAB’s July Rural Commodities Wrap.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences’ latest Insights report examines the effects of recent and possible future changes in climate on the profitability of Australian farms.

Western Australian grain growers are being urged to "walk through paddocks" to check for mouse activity and crop damage to determine whether they need to start baiting programs this season.

Growcom has welcomed the release of a new Australian-Grown Horticulture Sustainability Framework by industry R&D corporation Hort Innovation.

The COVID-19 pandemic risks having a deep and lasting impact on Australia’s first responder community. New research highlighting alarming rates of anxiety, depression and burnout potentially leaves Australia with a scar that’s harder to heal that the disease itself.

China’s anti-dumping duties have seriously disrupted Australia’s wine trade, the latest research report from ABARES has found. The report, Australian wine in China: Impact of China’s anti-dumping duties, investigates the short- to medium-term consequences of China’s punitive anti-dumping measures on Australian wine exports.

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and Optus have released findings of a joint nationwide project to improve bushfire resilience of critical telecommunications. The research analysed where there is risk of damage to the network and where upgrades could reduce vulnerability to future bushfire events.

A ‘warm’ COVID-19 vaccine suitable for remote and resource-limited locations lacking access to cold storage supply chains is one step closer following an international collaboration between scientists from India and Australia.

Cultural burning doesn't just occur in northern Australia. Across southern Australia, many Indigenous people are practicing and promoting cultural fire management, yet the emergency management sector has limited experience in collaborating with them on fire management.

More nitrogen isn’t always better – especially in a drier year – when producing quality hay is the key to farm returns. That’s according to research funded by AgriFutures Export Fodder Program as part of the National Hay Agronomy (NHA) Project ... The NHA project is a four-year investment by the AgriFutures Export Fodder Program and aims to address current knowledge gaps in the Australian export fodder industry.

Kevin Tolhurst, Jerry Vanclay. Some ecologists and conservationists, opposed to timber harvesting, are trying to use bushfire disasters as a lever to stop native forest harvesting, but their case is based on opinion, beliefs and selective science. A 2016 study of over 1 million hectares burnt by wildfire in the 2003 fires in Victoria, showed that fire severity across the landscape was driven by weather conditions, slope aspect, fuel levels, atmospheric stability, and the scale of the fires. There was no discernible impact of timber harvesting on fire severity at the landscape scale.

John O'Donnell. After the large bushfires impacting on towns and cities in recent years, it is opportune to review potential bushfire protection opportunities for towns and cities across Australia ... The focus of this document is on exploring all opportunities to best protect towns and cities from bushfires, optimising resident safety and optimising firefighter safety.