Samford Ecological Research Facility
Newsletter
Professor Peter Grace
Federal Minister visits SERF for
greenhouse gas emissions research
SERF Director
IFE Theme Leader –
Healthy Ecosystems and
Environmental Monitoring
Professor of Global Change
Phone 07 3138 9283
Email [email protected]
QUT researchers Professor Peter Grace, Dr Clemens Scheer and
Dr David Rowlings received $3 million of Australian Government
funding for three research projects looking at nitrogen use efficiency
in Australian agricultural soils.
The Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator
Joe Ludwig, recently announced the funding of 17 projects by a
network of 12 universities, government agencies and research
institutions on the efficient use of nitrogen in agriculture.
QUT has been part of an international consortium that has developed
an automated greenhouse gas measurement system operating in a
network of research centres around the globe. The centres measure
nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide emissions in real time.
Minister Ludwig, during his visit to SERF, had the opportunity to
see the QUT-designed equipment in the field gathering greenhouse
gas emission data from the forest and grassland areas. Dr Scheer
and Dr Rowlings, researchers within the Healthy Ecosystems
and Environmental Monitoring theme at IFE, demonstrated the
techniques and equipment used to gather real-time emissions data
and how it can be used to improve farm management practices.
Professor Grace said, ‘We know that farming produces about
20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions globally and nitrogen
fertiliser accounts for about 75 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions.
These research projects and others like them provide important
baseline data that will be used for modelling and providing farmers
and governments with information to lower greenhouse gas
emissions while maintaining productivity’.
SERF is not part of the Climate Change Filling the Research
Gap (FtRG) program, which is part of the Carbon Farming
Futures program under the Securing a Clean Energy Future plan.
Nevertheless, SERF has an important role in this research program.
Equipment and techniques that are used in the nitrous oxide
research program and other research projects are often tested at
SERF, to ensure that they stand up to the harsh Australian field
conditions.
Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF)
Institute for Future Environments (IFE)
Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434 Brisbane Queensland, 4001 Australia
Phone +61 7 3138 7009 Fax +61 7 3138 4438 Email [email protected]
www.serf.qut.edu.au | www.qut.edu.au/ife
The SERF property was bequeathed to QUT by renowned Queensland entomologist Dr Elizabeth Nesta Marks. QUT would like to acknowledge
the generosity and ongoing support of the Marks family.
QUT would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the Queensland Government in the establishment of the Institute for
Future Environments and the Science and Engineering Centre.
CRICOS No. 00213J
Michelle Gane
SERF Manager
IFE Program and Projects
Support Coordinator
Phone 07 3138 2466
Email [email protected]
Dr Ian Williamson
SERF Research and
Education Leader
Senior Lecturer, QUT Science
and Engineering Faculty
Phone 07 3138 2779
Email [email protected]
Annabelle Ramsay
SERF Outreach Leader
IFE Project Officer
Phone 07 3138 7009
Email [email protected]
From the Director
SERF information
session
It is with great excitement that I write this
from the new Science and Engineering
Centre at QUT’s Gardens Point campus. The
former Institute for Sustainable Resources
is now part of the much larger Institute for
Future Environments. This is an exciting time
for research at SERF as the new centre and
institute provide a new collaborative space
and opportunities to build on the research
activities at SERF.
QUT held its fifth annual SERF information
session this year. On a cool evening in
June, more than 50 people from the
Marks family, neighbours, local community
and QUT staff and students gathered
at SERF. The evening provided a great
opportunity to hear and see the latest
research results from the existing work,
an update on some of the longer term
projects and plans for new research at
SERF. Guests were able to meet the new
SERF Field Technician, Marcus Yates.
Researchers and QUT students continue to
use SERF in a variety of ways. Lecturers and
students from the Earth and Environmental
Sciences and Biological Sciences schools
visited SERF again this year and the
students learnt techniques for small mammal
trapping, bird surveys, nocturnal surveys
and pitfall trapping. The annual visit from this
undergraduate course is providing a great
dataset on small mammals at SERF.
SERF Director Professor Peter Grace (left) and Senator Joe Ludwig inspect
a manual greenhouse emissions chamber at SERF.
© QUT 2012 19244
QUT’s Professor Peter Grace, who is the theme leader for Healthy
Ecosystems and Environmental Monitoring at the Institute for Future
Environments (IFE), said the projects would focus on reducing the
amount of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide produced by
the agricultural use of nitrogen fertilisers, while maintaining crop and
pasture production levels.
December 2012
SERF also had its share of distinguished
guests when a federal minister visited QUT’s
field station. Senator Joe Ludwig, Minister
for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry,
announced the funding for a national network
of research into nitrogen use efficiency in
Australian agricultural soils.
A team of CSIRO botanists undertook an
intensive one-hectare vegetation survey
where every tree with an outside bark
diameter over 10 centimetres was measured.
In total, 692 trees were counted and
identified. The most abundant species of
tree was Lophostemon suaveolens (swamp
box), with 412 specimens identified.
CRICOS No. 00213J
QUT welcomes Marcus Yates, our SERF
Field Technician. Marcus, in a short space
of time, has become a valuable member of
the SERF team by providing on-the-ground
support for researchers and students using
SERF. As the number of research projects
and environmental monitoring equipment
at SERF grows, so does the ongoing
maintenance work. Marcus is from the
Samford community and his local
knowledge is greatly welcomed.
The annual community information
session was held in June and we used this
opportunity to introduce Marcus to the local
community. Dr David Rowlings gave a
talk on the soils and carbon and nitrogen
cycling research underway at SERF and
PhD student Jason Wimmer gave an
insightful talk on local bird species and
acoustic sensors.
Dan Baldassarre and his team of researchers
from Cornell University, New York State, are
back at SERF continuing their research on
the red-back fairy-wren in the Samford Valley.
Finally, congratulations to David Benfer,
winner of the 2011 Dr E.N. Marks
Sustainability Award. David undertook a
student project looking at how fire affects
native and lantana seedlings.
Regards
Professor Peter Grace
SERF Director
The first presenter for the evening was
Dr David Rowlings, who gave a detailed
overview of the South-east Queensland
Peri-urban Supersite research program.
SERF is the central location looking at the
effects of land use change in the Samford
Valley on the surrounding ecosystems.
The research project, called Supersite
for short, has an impressive amount of
automated environmental monitoring
equipment collecting a vast array of
detailed information. Dr Rowlings shared
the results of this intensive monitoring
campaign and gave the audience
an insight into some of the land use
processes in the surrounding area.
This included preliminary results from
the eddy co-variance flux station, the
automated greenhouse gas measurement
system, soil moisture sensors and the
water quality and gauging station in
Samford Creek.
Continues over
SERF information session (continued)
Susan Harvey, a QUT student, filmed
the fire hazard reduction burn that was
undertaken last year and put together
a short film on the event. The film was
screened at the information session. It
can be viewed at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=9qaaX-3cnxE.
•
the research into comparisons between
acoustic sensor technology and
traditional biodiversity survey techniques
•
the large data volumes generated by
acoustic sensors
•
the advantages of acoustic sensors in
terms of temporal and spatial coverage
PhD student Jason Wimmer gave the
audience an update on one of QUT’s
most innovative research tools, the
acoustic sensor. Jason’s general overview
of acoustic sensing research at SERF
covered:
•
the challenges of sensor data analysis
and sensor data analysis techniques,
including sampling strategies and
automated approaches.
•
the roles of acoustic sensors in
monitoring biodiversity
Jason also played several bird vocalisations
recorded by the acoustic sensors at SERF.
Through Jason’s work, SERF has an
impressive bird list, and an enthusiastic
discussion about birds continued with the
local community long after his presentation
had finished.
After the presentations were finished,
everyone gathered for some nibbles
and drinks, and many stories about the
property were shared.
If you wish to attend next year’s
annual event, please contact Annabelle
Ramsay on (07) 3138 7009 or
[email protected].
Introducing Marcus Yates, SERF Field Technician
We would like to welcome local resident Marcus Yates to the
SERF team as the SERF Field Technician. Marcus joined QUT in
July 2011 and is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the
environmental monitoring and scientific research equipment at
SERF. He also assists QUT researchers with their long-term
ecological research as well as assisting with some of the
undergraduate field classes that visit SERF.
A team of researchers from Cornell University, New York, will
once again call SERF home for six months. PhD candidate
Dan Baldassarre and four research assistants are currently
undertaking comprehensive research into the behaviour and
genetics of the Australian red-backed fairy-wren.
The female red-backed fairy-wren has a brown plumage and
some males also have a brown, female-like plumage. Half way
along the Queensland coastline the colour of the fairy-wren
changes from a brilliant red to a vibrant orange.
The Cornell University researchers are investigating the mating
rituals of the fairy-wren and how its plumage colour affects its
breeding success. The team is hoping to provide answers on
the evolutionary causes and consequences of the variation in
its reproductive behaviour.
Dan has found SERF to be a ‘great boon’ to his work:
rain water; he is replanting rainforest and creating an orchard and
vegetable garden. Before joining the SERF team, Marcus worked in
the forestry business on revegetation projects, including rainforest
regeneration projects and re-establishing riparian zones. He is
currently studying environmental science, majoring in ecology
and conservation.
One of the many roles that Marcus fulfils is assisting Dr David
Rowlings in the collection of data from 38 soil moisture probes
scattered around SERF, as well as the eddy covariance carbon
dioxide flux station and the Automated Greenhouse Gas
Measurement System. Marcus also works with Institute for Future
Environments researcher Martin Labadz collecting data and
providing ongoing maintenance to the water quality and gauging
station. He also collects water samples, acoustic sensor data, leaf
litter samples and biomass samples.
‘Staying at SERF while conducting this research is a
phenomenal experience. The facilities at SERF are incredible
and more than sufficient to house my four volunteer field
assistants and me comfortably. The QUT students who
remodelled the barracks truly did a wonderful job. We are
also very happy to be able to support QUT and interact with
Cornell University research team at SERF, Dan Baldassarre at far right
the staff and faculty affiliated with SERF. Michelle, Annabelle
and Marcus are very helpful and supportive with logistics.
Furthermore, there is a healthy population of red-backed
fairy-wrens located on the SERF property, and we are able
to study these birds and compare them to the birds at Lake
Samsonvale. In short, SERF is a great boon to my research and
I am very much looking forward to staying here again when I
continue my research next year.’
Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award winner 2011
We are proud to announce David Benfer as the winner of the 2011
Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award.
David is a third-year undergraduate student completing a Bachelor
of Applied Science (majoring in ecology).
In addition to supporting this research,
Marcus is responsible for maintaining the
forest walking trails for easy but environmentally
sensitive access to other parts of the property, keeping fire breaks
cleared and, in his spare time, tackling the ongoing weed problem.
David participated in a number of undergraduate activities at SERF
in 2011. During the unit Ecological Systems David had to undertake
a small research project with his fellow students. His project
examined native and lantana seedlings after a low-intensity burn,
to provide some information about how fire might affect lantana
and native species, and therefore how fire might best be used as a
management tool.
SERF also hosted a team of CSIRO botanists who undertook an
intensive one-hectare vegetation survey as part of the Supersite
research project. Marcus assisted them in certain parts of the
survey, and in the process expanded his botanical knowledge.
He is currently slowly creating a SERF herbarium collection of the
known (264) species of vegetation found on the property. This will
be a useful library that can be accessed by students, staff and
visitors to SERF, and it will be an important part of our ongoing
commitment to sustainable land management.
David’s work is highly relevant to our understanding of the ecology
of native plants at SERF, and to the long-term management
of problem weeds. If management can be based on scientific
knowledge then we are far more likely to achieve sustainable
management outcomes for native plants and animals at SERF.
On a personal note, Marcus has a great interest in sustainable
forestry and agriculture. He is currently establishing his own
property as a self-sustaining ecosystem providing timber and
David’s student project was an important contribution to the SERF
knowledge base. A copy of his student paper can be found on the
SERF website at www.serf.qut.edu.au/about/highlights.
Marcus Yates, SERF Field Technician
CRICOS No. 00213J
Cornell University researchers call SERF home
SERF Director, Professor Peter Grace (left) presents David Benfer with his award
SERF information session (continued)
Susan Harvey, a QUT student, filmed
the fire hazard reduction burn that was
undertaken last year and put together
a short film on the event. The film was
screened at the information session. It
can be viewed at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=9qaaX-3cnxE.
•
the research into comparisons between
acoustic sensor technology and
traditional biodiversity survey techniques
•
the large data volumes generated by
acoustic sensors
•
the advantages of acoustic sensors in
terms of temporal and spatial coverage
PhD student Jason Wimmer gave the
audience an update on one of QUT’s
most innovative research tools, the
acoustic sensor. Jason’s general overview
of acoustic sensing research at SERF
covered:
•
the challenges of sensor data analysis
and sensor data analysis techniques,
including sampling strategies and
automated approaches.
•
the roles of acoustic sensors in
monitoring biodiversity
Jason also played several bird vocalisations
recorded by the acoustic sensors at SERF.
Through Jason’s work, SERF has an
impressive bird list, and an enthusiastic
discussion about birds continued with the
local community long after his presentation
had finished.
After the presentations were finished,
everyone gathered for some nibbles
and drinks, and many stories about the
property were shared.
If you wish to attend next year’s
annual event, please contact Annabelle
Ramsay on (07) 3138 7009 or
[email protected].
Introducing Marcus Yates, SERF Field Technician
We would like to welcome local resident Marcus Yates to the
SERF team as the SERF Field Technician. Marcus joined QUT in
July 2011 and is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the
environmental monitoring and scientific research equipment at
SERF. He also assists QUT researchers with their long-term
ecological research as well as assisting with some of the
undergraduate field classes that visit SERF.
Cornell University researchers call SERF home
A team of researchers from Cornell University, New York, will
once again call SERF home for six months. PhD candidate
Dan Baldassarre and four research assistants are currently
undertaking comprehensive research into the behaviour and
genetics of the Australian red-backed fairy-wren.
The female red-backed fairy-wren has a brown plumage and
some males also have a brown, female-like plumage. Half way
along the Queensland coastline the colour of the fairy-wren
changes from a brilliant red to a vibrant orange.
The Cornell University researchers are investigating the mating
rituals of the fairy-wren and how its plumage colour affects its
breeding success. The team is hoping to provide answers on
the evolutionary causes and consequences of the variation in
its reproductive behaviour.
Dan has found SERF to be a ‘great boon’ to his work:
rain water; he is replanting rainforest and creating an orchard and
vegetable garden. Before joining the SERF team, Marcus worked in
the forestry business on revegetation projects, including rainforest
regeneration projects and re-establishing riparian zones. He is
currently studying environmental science, majoring in ecology
and conservation.
One of the many roles that Marcus fulfils is assisting Dr David
Rowlings in the collection of data from 38 soil moisture probes
scattered around SERF, as well as the eddy covariance carbon
dioxide flux station and the Automated Greenhouse Gas
Measurement System. Marcus also works with Institute for Future
Environments researcher Martin Labadz collecting data and
providing ongoing maintenance to the water quality and gauging
station. He also collects water samples, acoustic sensor data, leaf
litter samples and biomass samples.
‘Staying at SERF while conducting this research is a
phenomenal experience. The facilities at SERF are incredible
and more than sufficient to house my four volunteer field
assistants and me comfortably. The QUT students who
remodelled the barracks truly did a wonderful job. We are
also very happy to be able to support QUT and interact with
Cornell University research team at SERF, Dan Baldassarre at far right
the staff and faculty affiliated with SERF. Michelle, Annabelle
and Marcus are very helpful and supportive with logistics.
Furthermore, there is a healthy population of red-backed
fairy-wrens located on the SERF property, and we are able
to study these birds and compare them to the birds at Lake
Samsonvale. In short, SERF is a great boon to my research and
I am very much looking forward to staying here again when I
continue my research next year.’
Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award winner 2011
We are proud to announce David Benfer as the winner of the 2011
Dr E.N. Marks Sustainability Award.
David is a third-year undergraduate student completing a Bachelor
of Applied Science (majoring in ecology).
In addition to supporting this research,
Marcus is responsible for maintaining the
forest walking trails for easy but environmentally
sensitive access to other parts of the property, keeping fire breaks
cleared and, in his spare time, tackling the ongoing weed problem.
David participated in a number of undergraduate activities at SERF
in 2011. During the unit Ecological Systems David had to undertake
a small research project with his fellow students. His project
examined native and lantana seedlings after a low-intensity burn,
to provide some information about how fire might affect lantana
and native species, and therefore how fire might best be used as a
management tool.
SERF also hosted a team of CSIRO botanists who undertook an
intensive one-hectare vegetation survey as part of the Supersite
research project. Marcus assisted them in certain parts of the
survey, and in the process expanded his botanical knowledge.
He is currently slowly creating a SERF herbarium collection of the
known (264) species of vegetation found on the property. This will
be a useful library that can be accessed by students, staff and
visitors to SERF, and it will be an important part of our ongoing
commitment to sustainable land management.
David’s work is highly relevant to our understanding of the ecology
of native plants at SERF, and to the long-term management
of problem weeds. If management can be based on scientific
knowledge then we are far more likely to achieve sustainable
management outcomes for native plants and animals at SERF.
On a personal note, Marcus has a great interest in sustainable
forestry and agriculture. He is currently establishing his own
property as a self-sustaining ecosystem providing timber and
David’s student project was an important contribution to the SERF
knowledge base. A copy of his student paper can be found on the
SERF website at www.serf.qut.edu.au/about/highlights.
Marcus Yates, SERF Field Technician
CRICOS No. 00213J
SERF Director, Professor Peter Grace (left) presents David Benfer with his award
Samford Ecological Research Facility
Newsletter
Professor Peter Grace
Federal Minister visits SERF for
greenhouse gas emissions research
SERF Director
IFE Theme Leader –
Healthy Ecosystems and
Environmental Monitoring
Professor of Global Change
Phone 07 3138 9283
Email [email protected]
QUT researchers Professor Peter Grace, Dr Clemens Scheer and
Dr David Rowlings received $3 million of Australian Government
funding for three research projects looking at nitrogen use efficiency
in Australian agricultural soils.
The Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator
Joe Ludwig, recently announced the funding of 17 projects by a
network of 12 universities, government agencies and research
institutions on the efficient use of nitrogen in agriculture.
QUT has been part of an international consortium that has developed
an automated greenhouse gas measurement system operating in a
network of research centres around the globe. The centres measure
nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide emissions in real time.
Minister Ludwig, during his visit to SERF, had the opportunity to
see the QUT-designed equipment in the field gathering greenhouse
gas emission data from the forest and grassland areas. Dr Scheer
and Dr Rowlings, researchers within the Healthy Ecosystems
and Environmental Monitoring theme at IFE, demonstrated the
techniques and equipment used to gather real-time emissions data
and how it can be used to improve farm management practices.
Professor Grace said, ‘We know that farming produces about
20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions globally and nitrogen
fertiliser accounts for about 75 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions.
These research projects and others like them provide important
baseline data that will be used for modelling and providing farmers
and governments with information to lower greenhouse gas
emissions while maintaining productivity’.
SERF is not part of the Climate Change Filling the Research
Gap (FtRG) program, which is part of the Carbon Farming
Futures program under the Securing a Clean Energy Future plan.
Nevertheless, SERF has an important role in this research program.
Equipment and techniques that are used in the nitrous oxide
research program and other research projects are often tested at
SERF, to ensure that they stand up to the harsh Australian field
conditions.
Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF)
Institute for Future Environments (IFE)
Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434 Brisbane Queensland, 4001 Australia
Phone +61 7 3138 7009 Fax +61 7 3138 4438 Email [email protected]
www.serf.qut.edu.au | www.qut.edu.au/ife
The SERF property was bequeathed to QUT by renowned Queensland entomologist Dr Elizabeth Nesta Marks. QUT would like to acknowledge
the generosity and ongoing support of the Marks family.
QUT would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the Queensland Government in the establishment of the Institute for
Future Environments and the Science and Engineering Centre.
CRICOS No. 00213J
Michelle Gane
SERF Manager
IFE Program and Projects
Support Coordinator
Phone 07 3138 2466
Email [email protected]
Dr Ian Williamson
SERF Research and
Education Leader
Senior Lecturer, QUT Science
and Engineering Faculty
Phone 07 3138 2779
Email [email protected]
Annabelle Ramsay
SERF Outreach Leader
IFE Project Officer
Phone 07 3138 7009
Email [email protected]
From the Director
SERF information
session
It is with great excitement that I write this
from the new Science and Engineering
Centre at QUT’s Gardens Point campus. The
former Institute for Sustainable Resources
is now part of the much larger Institute for
Future Environments. This is an exciting time
for research at SERF as the new centre and
institute provide a new collaborative space
and opportunities to build on the research
activities at SERF.
QUT held its fifth annual SERF information
session this year. On a cool evening in
June, more than 50 people from the
Marks family, neighbours, local community
and QUT staff and students gathered
at SERF. The evening provided a great
opportunity to hear and see the latest
research results from the existing work,
an update on some of the longer term
projects and plans for new research at
SERF. Guests were able to meet the new
SERF Field Technician, Marcus Yates.
Researchers and QUT students continue to
use SERF in a variety of ways. Lecturers and
students from the Earth and Environmental
Sciences and Biological Sciences schools
visited SERF again this year and the
students learnt techniques for small mammal
trapping, bird surveys, nocturnal surveys
and pitfall trapping. The annual visit from this
undergraduate course is providing a great
dataset on small mammals at SERF.
SERF Director Professor Peter Grace (left) and Senator Joe Ludwig inspect
a manual greenhouse emissions chamber at SERF.
© QUT 2012 19244
QUT’s Professor Peter Grace, who is the theme leader for Healthy
Ecosystems and Environmental Monitoring at the Institute for Future
Environments (IFE), said the projects would focus on reducing the
amount of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide produced by
the agricultural use of nitrogen fertilisers, while maintaining crop and
pasture production levels.
December 2012
SERF also had its share of distinguished
guests when a federal minister visited QUT’s
field station. Senator Joe Ludwig, Minister
for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry,
announced the funding for a national network
of research into nitrogen use efficiency in
Australian agricultural soils.
A team of CSIRO botanists undertook an
intensive one-hectare vegetation survey
where every tree with an outside bark
diameter over 10 centimetres was measured.
In total, 692 trees were counted and
identified. The most abundant species of
tree was Lophostemon suaveolens (swamp
box), with 412 specimens identified.
QUT welcomes Marcus Yates, our SERF
Field Technician. Marcus, in a short space
of time, has become a valuable member of
the SERF team by providing on-the-ground
support for researchers and students using
SERF. As the number of research projects
and environmental monitoring equipment
at SERF grows, so does the ongoing
maintenance work. Marcus is from the
Samford community and his local
knowledge is greatly welcomed.
The annual community information
session was held in June and we used this
opportunity to introduce Marcus to the local
community. Dr David Rowlings gave a
talk on the soils and carbon and nitrogen
cycling research underway at SERF and
PhD student Jason Wimmer gave an
insightful talk on local bird species and
acoustic sensors.
Dan Baldassarre and his team of researchers
from Cornell University, New York State, are
back at SERF continuing their research on
the red-back fairy-wren in the Samford Valley.
Finally, congratulations to David Benfer,
winner of the 2011 Dr E.N. Marks
Sustainability Award. David undertook a
student project looking at how fire affects
native and lantana seedlings.
Regards
Professor Peter Grace
SERF Director
The first presenter for the evening was
Dr David Rowlings, who gave a detailed
overview of the South-east Queensland
Peri-urban Supersite research program.
SERF is the central location looking at the
effects of land use change in the Samford
Valley on the surrounding ecosystems.
The research project, called Supersite
for short, has an impressive amount of
automated environmental monitoring
equipment collecting a vast array of
detailed information. Dr Rowlings shared
the results of this intensive monitoring
campaign and gave the audience
an insight into some of the land use
processes in the surrounding area.
This included preliminary results from
the eddy co-variance flux station, the
automated greenhouse gas measurement
system, soil moisture sensors and the
water quality and gauging station in
Samford Creek.
Continues over