Wood density : a tool to find complementary species for the design of mixed species plantations

The successful establishment and growth of mixed-species forest plantations requires that complementary or facilitatory species be identified. This can be difficult in many tropical areas because the growth characteristics of endemic species are often unknown, particularly when grown at potentially higher densities in plantations than in natural forests. Here, we investigate whether wood density is a useful and readily accessible trait for choosing complementary species for mixed species plantations. Wood density represents the carbon investment per unit volume of stem with a trade-off generally found between fast (low wood density) and slow (high wood density) growing species. To do this, we use data collected from 18 highly diverse mixed species plantations (4–23 mostly native species) aged from 6 to 11 years at the time of data collection located on Leyte Island, Philippines. We found significant negative correlations between wood densities and the height of the most abundant species, as well as with measures of overall stand growth and tree diameter size distribution. Not only do species with denser woods have slower growth rates, but also mixed-species plantations with higher average wood density and higher stem density were also less productive, at least in these young plantations. Similarly, stands with a high diversity in wood densities were less productive. There is growing interest in making greater use of native multi-species mixtures in smallholder and community planting programs in the tropics, and our results show databases of wood density values may help improve their design. In the early development stages of plantations, canopy closure and rapid height growth are usually key silvicultural targets, and wood density values can predict the rapid height development of species. If plantations are being grown for the livelihood of small landholders then the best target is to choose some species with different wood densities. This allows an early harvest of low-wood density species for early income, and will also reduce competition for slower growing trees with higher wood densities for later income generation.

North West Music Festival in Port Hedland, Western Australia

A travel article about a music festival in Port Hedland, Western Australia. At first, the crowd gathers in small groups, as though we’ve arrived at a picnic day. Girls in long skirts wearing bands in their hair call out across the wide lawn of the Turf Club, and run over to meet friends. They sit cross-legged in the sun, half swaying to the music, chatting. On stage, Thelma Plum, a girl with a voice from the 1960s, circles her lyrics with her hands. You wonder if she’s casting a spell, an appeal to the decade of revolutions...

Sex-specific roost selection by bats in clearfell harvested plantation forest : improved knowledge advises management

To maximize energetic savings, female bats often roost communally whilst pregnant or with non-volant dependents, whereas male bats more often roost alone; however, differences in selection of roosts by sex have not often been investigated. Better understanding of female colony locations could focus management to protect the majority of bats. New Zealand's long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) roost in exotic plantation forest, where sex-specific roost selection has not been investigated, and therefore such management is not possible. We investigated sex-specific roost selection by long-tailed bats for the first time. Roosts and paired nonroosts were characterized testing predictions that males and females select roosts that differ from non-roosts, and males and females select different roosts. Females and males chose Pinus radiata roosts that differed from non-roost trees. Results suggest each sex chose roosts that maximized energetic savings. Female bats used roosts closer to water sources, that warmed earlier in the day, which allowed maintenance of high temperatures. Males appeared to choose roosts that allowed torpor use for long periods of the day. Males may be less selective with their roost locations than females, as they roosted further from water sources. This could allow persistence of male bats in marginal habitat. As all female long-tailed bats chose roosts within 150 m of waterways, management to protect bats could be focused here. To protect bats least able to escape when roosts are harvested, harvest of forest stands selected by female bats as roost sites should be planned when bats are not heavily pregnant nor have non-volant dependents.

Home range and habitat selection by a threatened bat in exotic plantation forest

Individuals' home ranges are constrained by resource distribution and density, population size, and energetic requirements. Consequently, home ranges and habitat selection may vary between individuals of different sex and reproductive conditions. Whilst home ranges of bats are well-studied in native habitats, they are often not well understood in modified landscapes, particularly exotic plantation forests. Although Chalinolobus tuberculatus (Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera) are present in plantation forests throughout New Zealand their home ranges have only been studied in native forest and forest-agricultural mosaic and no studies of habitat selection that included males had occurred in any habitat type. Therefore, we investigated C. tuberculatus home range and habitat selection within exotic plantation forest. Home range sizes did not differ between bats of different reproductive states. Bats selected home ranges with higher proportions of relatively old forest than was available. Males selected edges with open unplanted areas within their home ranges, which females avoided. We suggest males use these edges, highly profitable foraging areas with early evening peaks in invertebrate abundance, to maintain relatively low energetic demands. Females require longer periods of invertebrate activity to fulfil their needs so select older stands for foraging, where invertebrate activity is higher. These results highlight additional understanding gained when data are not pooled across sexes. Mitigation for harvest operations could include ensuring that areas suitable for foraging and roosting are located within a radius equal to the home range of this bat species.

The importance of exotic plantation forest for the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

Environmental certification schemes have stimulated increasing interest in biodiversity and its management within exotic plantation forests. These schemes expect management to be scientifically-based, even though little is known about how often, or which, native species use exotic plantation forests. Greater knowledge of the ecology of native species within exotic plantation forests is required to advise management and reduce risks to native species, particularly those that are rare, such as the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus). Long-tailed bats use exotic plantation forests throughout New Zealand but need protection from the impacts of forest management, and particularly clear-fell harvest, that is achievable only through a better understanding of their biology. The consequences of the current reduced re-planting, and the conversion of plantation forests into pasture resulting in smaller forested areas, should not be ignored because they may be associated with reductions in long-tailed bat populations. We review the current knowledge of long-tailed bats' use of exotic plantation forests, and report for the first time which exotic plantations long-tailed bats are known to use. We make recommendations for the design of monitoring programmes to detect long-tailed bats within plantation forests, and for research into the effects of forest management, especially logging, and comment on the likely impacts of reductions in forested areas on long-tailed bats.

Queensland's film culture: The challenges of local film distribution and festival exhibition

Organisations at the centre of the state’s industry, such as Screen Queensland, have undergone substantial and ongoing changes in the last five years. Other organisations funded by Screen Queensland, such as QPIX, Queensland’s only film development centre, have recently closed. The Brisbane International Film Festival has been restructured to become the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival as of 2014. In an uncertain industry currently characterised by limited funding and diminishing support structures, local emerging filmmakers require significant initiatives and a sophisticated understanding of how to best utilise fledgling distribution models as part of a tailored strategy for their content. This essay includes interviews with emerging Brisbane filmmakers who have used a combination of traditional and contemporary approaches to exhibition and distribution thus far in their careers. It argues that for these filmmakers, while film festivals do function as crucial platforms for exposure, in the current digital market they cannot be relied upon as the only platform in securing further mainstream or commercial release. They can, however, be incorporated into an alternative distribution model that shows awareness of the contemporary situation in Australia. The research findings are arguably indicative of the challenges faced by filmmakers statewide, and suggest that further support strategies need to be considered to revive Queensland’s film culture and provide immediate support for emerging filmmakers. Queensland’s film sector is currently in the midst of significant change.

Festival focus : Brisbane International Film Festival

In 2012, the Brisbane International Film Festival officially came of age, celebrating its twenty-first birthday. The festival has emerged from a tumultuous adolescence and redefined its position on the Australian festival circuit as an advocate of locally made films and documentary filmmaking in particular. Brisbane’s International Film Festival opened in 1992 and has since been attended by more than 400,000 filmgoers. The festival is held annually and showcases a diverse range of feature films, documentaries, short films, animation and experimental work, children’s films and retrospectives.

Cost-effective suppression and eradication of invasive predators

Introduced predators can have pronounced effects on naïve prey species; thus, predator control is often essential for conservation of threatened native species. Complete eradication of the predator, although desirable, may be elusive in budget-limited situations, whereas predator suppression is more feasible and may still achieve conservation goals. We used a stochastic predator-prey model based on a Lotka-Volterra system to investigate the cost-effectiveness of predator control to achieve prey conservation. We compared five control strategies: immediate eradication, removal of a constant number of predators (fixed-number control), removal of a constant proportion of predators (fixed-rate control), removal of predators that exceed a predetermined threshold (upper-trigger harvest), and removal of predators whenever their population falls below a lower predetermined threshold (lower-trigger harvest). We looked at the performance of these strategies when managers could always remove the full number of predators targeted by each strategy, subject to budget availability. Under this assumption immediate eradication reduced the threat to the prey population the most. We then examined the effect of reduced management success in meeting removal targets, assuming removal is more difficult at low predator densities. In this case there was a pronounced reduction in performance of the immediate eradication, fixed-number, and lower-trigger strategies. Although immediate eradication still yielded the highest expected minimum prey population size, upper-trigger harvest yielded the lowest probability of prey extinction and the greatest return on investment (as measured by improvement in expected minimum population size per amount spent). Upper-trigger harvest was relatively successful because it operated when predator density was highest, which is when predator removal targets can be more easily met and the effect of predators on the prey is most damaging. This suggests that controlling predators only when they are most abundant is the "best" strategy when financial resources are limited and eradication is unlikely. © 2008 Society for Conservation Biology.

Managing moose harvests by the seat of your pants

Moose populations are managed for sustainable yield balanced against costs caused by damage to forestry or agriculture and collisions with vehicles. Optimal harvests can be calculated based on a structured population model driven by data on abundance and the composition of bulls, cows, and calves obtained by aerial-survey monitoring during winter. Quotas are established by the respective government agency and licenses are issued to hunters to harvest an animal of specified age or sex during the following autumn. Because the cost of aerial monitoring is high, we use a Management Strategy Evaluation to evaluate the costs and benefits of periodic aerial surveys in the context of moose management. Our on-the-fly "seat of your pants" alternative to independent monitoring is management based solely on the kill of moose by hunters, which is usually sufficient to alert the manager to declines in moose abundance that warrant adjustments to harvest strategies. Harvests are relatively cheap to monitor; therefore, data can be obtained each year facilitating annual adjustments to quotas. Other sources of "cheap" monitoring data such as records of the number of moose seen by hunters while hunting also might be obtained, and may provide further useful insight into population abundance, structure and health. Because conservation dollars are usually limited, the high cost of aerial surveys is difficult to justify when alternative methods exist. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

A three dimensional virtual medical imaging computed tomography suite: Innovation in education

Aims: The Medical Imaging Training Immersive Environment(MITIE) Computed Tomography(CT) system is an innovative virtual reality (VR) platform that allows students to practice a range of CT techniques. The aim of this pilot study was to harvest user feedback about the educational value of teh application and inform future pedagogical development. This presentation explores the use of this technology for skills training. Background: MITIE CT is a 3D VR environment that allows students to position a patient,and set CT technical parameters including IV contrast dose and dose rate. As with VR initiatives in other health disciplines the software mimics clinical practice as much as possible and uses 3D technology to enhance immersion and realism. The software is new and was developed by the Medical Imaging Course Team at a provider University with funding from a Health Workforce Australia 'Simulated Learning Environments' grant Methods: Current third year medical imaging students were provided with additional 1 hour MITIE laboratory tutorials and studnet feedback was collated with regard to educational value and performance. Ethical approval for the project was provided by the university ethics panel Results: This presentation provides qualitative analysis of student perceptions relating to satisfaction, usability and educational value. Students reported high levels of satisfaction and both feedback and assessment results confirmed the application's significance as a pre-clinical tool. There was a clear emerging theme that MITIE could be a useful learning tool that students could access to consolidate their clinical learning, either on campus or during their clinical placement. Conclusion: Student feedback indicates that MITIE CT has a valuable role to play in the clinial skills training for medical imaging students both in the academic and clinical environment. Future work will establish a framework for an appropriate supprting pedagogy that can cross the boundary between the two environments

Terra Preta (Agriculture+Art+Algorithm)

Terra Preta is a site-specific bio-energy project which aims to create a synergy between the public and the pre-existing engineered landscape of Freshkills Park on Staten Island, New York. The project challenges traditional paradigms of public space by proposing a dynamic and ever-changing landscape. The initiative allows the publuc to self-organise the landscape and to engage in 'algorithmic processes' of growth, harvest and space creation.

Gentlemen Songsters

This project was initially envisaged as a compare and contrast proposition between two performances in music venues, a year apart, at the Melbourne Ukulele Festivals 2013 and 2014. The covert intermedial incorporation of scripted, theatrical elements into an ostensibly musical performance was the initial focus. However, the opportunity arose to continue the creative practice towards a performance outcome at the Queensland Cabaret Festival at the Brisbane Powerhouse in June of 2014. This expanded project was titled ‘Gentlemen Songsters’ and enabled a refinement and honing of the event beyond what was initially planned. In addition to the composition, recording and curation of original songs, this process involved two cycles of performance, videography, transcription, re-writing and re-performance. Led by this creative practice, the research investigated the potential for sonata and song cycle as influences on performance structure, in the creation and performance of Composed Theatre. This manifested as a theatricalisation of compositional processes. Performed by ‘Tyrone and Lesley’, performance personae of David Megarrity (lyricist/composer/performer/ukulele) and Samuel Vincent (composer, musician, performer), Gentlemen Songsters played at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of its inaugural Queensland Cabaret Festival on June 13 2014

Reducing the environmental impact of road construction

The practice of road construction and maintenance is inherently lean and efficient; a result of the economic benefits that are gained by minimizing wasted resources. In this age of conservation and environmental management, the inbuilt sustainability of existing road construction practices is being developed and extended to produce variety of environmentally sustainable options. A new concept of a “sustainable road” has emerged through both academia and industry, and is defined to be a road that is: - constructed to reduce environmental impacts; - designed to optimise the alignment (vertical and horizontal including considerations of ecological constraints and operational use by vehicles); - resilient to future environmental and economic pressures (e.g. climate change and resource scarcity); - adaptable to changing uses including increased travel volumes, greater demand for public and active (cycling and walking) transport, and; - able to harvest the energy to power itself.

Practical guidelines for planning and implementing fauna translocations

A successful translocation involves many complex factors, including a genetically appropriate source population that can sustain harvest, social and governmental support, assessment of disease transmission risk and a release site with appropriately secure habitat that can support population establishment and persistance. This information is typically discussed during staturory approval processes and can take considerable time. However, following approval, for translocations of most fauna, the initial critical step involves the inherently stressful process of capture, holding, transportation and release. This process is unpredictable and novel, and is especially challenging for wild animals when they are confined in close proximity to conspecifics and humans. In contrast, captive-reared animals have to cope with the unfamiliar challenges of finding food and shelter, along with coping with competition and predation. Little has been written in the scientific literature about the translocation process. This is unsurprising because this process has usually been the realm of skilled practioners, often with animal husbandry backgrounds, rather than research scientists. Highly skilled intuition, observation and the translocation practioner's equivalent of a 'green thumb' often guides the way. However, theory and experimentation, particularly on the effects of stress, is available and this work is invaluable for a successful translocation. Here, we provide a brief description of the translocation process, and discussion of what stress is and how it can be managed. We then provide practical guidelines for the successful translocation of invertebrates, lizards, turtles, passerine birds, marsupials and bats, using examples from Australia and New Zealand.

Effect of nitrification inhibitors (DMPP and 3MP+ TZ) on soil nitrous oxide emissions from a sub-tropical vegetable production system in Queensland, Australia

The use of nitrification inhibitors, in combination with ammonium based fertilisers, has been promoted recently as an effective method to reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from fertilised agricultural fields, whilst increasing yield and nitrogen use efficiency. Vegetable cropping systems are often characterised by high inputs of nitrogen fertiliser and consequently elevated emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) can be expected. However, to date only limited data is available on the use of nitrification inhibitors in sub-tropical vegetable systems. A field experiment investigated the effect of the nitrification inhibitors (DMPP & 3MP+TZ) on N2O emissions and yield from a typical vegetable production system in sub-tropical Australia. Soil N2O fluxes were monitored continuously over an entire year with a fully automated system. Measurements were taken from three subplots for each treatment within a randomized complete blocks design. There was a significant inhibition effect of DMPP and 3MP+TZ on N2O emissions and soil mineral N content directly following the application of the fertiliser over the vegetable cropping phase. However this mitigation was offset by elevated N2O emissions from the inhibitor treatments over the post-harvest fallow period. Cumulative annual N2O emissions amounted to 1.22 kg-N/ha, 1.16 kg-N/ha, 1.50 kg-N/ha and 0.86 kg-N/ha in the conventional fertiliser (CONV), the DMPP treatment, the 3MP+TZ treatment and the zero fertiliser (0N) respectively. Corresponding fertiliser induced emission factors (EFs) were low with only 0.09 - 0.20% of the total applied fertiliser lost as N2O. There was no significant effect of the nitrification inhibitors on yield compared to the CONV treatment for the three vegetable crops (green beans, broccoli, lettuce) grown over the experimental period. This study highlights that N2O emissions from such vegetable cropping system are primarily controlled by post-harvest emissions following the incorporation of vegetable crop residues into the soil. It also shows that the use of nitrification inhibitors can lead to elevated N2O emissions by storing N in the soil profile that is available to soil microbes during the decomposition of the vegetable residues over the post-harvest phase. Hence the use of nitrification inhibitors in vegetable systems has to be treated carefully and fertiliser rates need to be adjusted to avoid excess soil nitrogen during the postharvest phase.