Tracking natural regeneration in the Mallee using quantitative imagery techniques

Project description

A long-term, landscape scale restoration project has been underway for over a decade in the Riverland Biosphere, an area almost one million hectares north of the River Murray, in the South Australian Mallee. After being predominately pastoral stations for much of the 20th century, many destocked and transitioned to conservation land, although the legacy of nearly 200 stock dams remained. Over time these dams have been decommissioned (closed), as a permanent, large-scale measure to remove the artificial water from the landscapes, and thus reduce browsing and grazing pressure of goats, kangaroos and rabbits on the vegetation. The intention is that landscape recovery of vegetation will ensue. These dam sites were often in natural soakages, claypans or other depressions, and it is important to monitor how these sites recover, and whether vegetation returns after the major restoration works. Understanding the new flow of water across the semi-arid landscape is also important for vegetation resilience and management in the future. We need up to date methods, testing new technology, for monitoring the vegetation change in and around these dam sites. Student project/s could include:

• Revisiting all dam sites and capturing repeat photo points and video footage to align with previous photo monitoring
• Comparing vegetation change over time, to the dam’s landscape position, time since closure, closure technique, and surrounding vegetation community.
• Trialling high resolution surface terrain modelling to monitor water pooling, erosion risk, soil and sediment accretion over time.
• Testing other imagery methods such as high-res orthophotography or NDVI imagery with drones
• Recommending the most effective and quantitative monitoring program for the future, based on trialling these different techniques

Co-supervisors

Industry Partner: Craig Gillespie, Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board (SA Government)

Further information

Link to a blog for Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board showing some footage of Mooraninna Dam and the type of vegetation recovery: https://www.landscape.sa.gov.au/mr/blog/rainfall-reveals-the-benefits-of-mallee-restoration

Assumed knowledge

Some knowledge or interest in different imagery techniques mentioned above. Use of GIS software.

Industry involvement

Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board (SA Government)

Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.