Federation University, based in Ballarat and with campuses all over Australia, facilitates regionally relevant and internationally recognised research activity in a number of key focus areas.
One of these key areas of research is landscape restoration. Determining knowledge and management tools for landscapes in transition, including the rehabilitation of damaged lands and waterscapes is a key area of this research. Other areas of research include ecosystems, fauna ecology and conservation management.
Carbon Landscapes is working in partnership with Federation University over a range of projects such as the Brush-tailed Phascogale Habitat Project, Gariwerd Restoration Project, and Stony Rises Rewilding Project.
The Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) at Federation University is a global leader in data interoperability and has developed many award-winning web-based spatial information and knowledge portals.
CeRDI’s eResearch in the natural environment collaborative research program spans a range of areas, including groundwater, soil health, water and estuary health, natural resource management planning and biodiversity.
Carbon Landscapes is working in partnership with CeRDI to develop interoperable spatial assessment tools to better inform how our projects are making a positive impact on the environment.
EnviroDNA use cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) technology for wildlife detection and monitoring. Animals leave traces of their own DNA, including skin cells, hair, and scales and EnviroDNA collect these samples, such as water, soil or scats and analyse these to detect what native wildlife, pests and introduced species are present.
eDNA is an innovative, sensitive, and cost-effective technique that is increasingly being adopted to inform biodiversity surveys.
Carbon Landscapes is working in partnership with EnviroDNA to determine what fauna species call our Stony Rises and Gariwerd properties their home.
The Great Australian Platypus Search is one of the biggest citizen science projects in the world. Using eDNA technology to determine aquatic fauna in Victoria’s waterways, the data will help determine where platypus are to help conserve these populations but also where they do not occur so that these waterways can be managed appropriately to bring populations back.
Carbon Landscapes partnered with La Trobe University and other organisations such as Odonata, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Arthur Rylah Institute, EnviroDNA and the World Wide Fund for Nature (include links) to develop the project.
More on the Great Australian Platypus Search can be found here.
