Regional contingencies in the relationship between aboveground biomass and litter in the world’s grasslands

Based on regional-scale studies, aboveground production and litter decomposition are thought to positively covary, because they are driven by shared biotic and climatic factors. Until now we have been unable to test whether production and decomposition are generally coupled across climatically dissimilar regions, because we lacked replicated data collected within a single vegetation type across multiple regions, obfuscating the drivers and generality of the association between production and decomposition. Furthermore, our understanding of the relationships between production and decomposition rests heavily on separate meta-analyses of each response, because no studies have simultaneously measured production and the accumulation or decomposition of litter using consistent methods at globally relevant scales. Here, we use a multi-country grassland dataset collected using a standardized protocol to show that live plant biomass (an estimate of aboveground net primary production) and litter disappearance (represented by mass loss of aboveground litter) do not strongly covary. Live biomass and litter disappearance varied at different spatial scales. There was substantial variation in live biomass among continents, sites and plots whereas among continent differences accounted for most of the variation in litter disappearance rates. Although there were strong associations among aboveground biomass, litter disappearance and climatic factors in some regions (e.g. U.S. Great Plains), these relationships were inconsistent within and among the regions represented by this study. These results highlight the importance of replication among regions and continents when characterizing the correlations between ecosystem processes and interpreting their global-scale implications for carbon flux. We must exercise caution in parameterizing litter decomposition and aboveground production in future regional and global carbon models as their relationship is complex.

Dry tropics water smart : a community based approach to residential outdoor water consumption

This paper discusses the Townsville City Council Dry Tropics Water Smart (DTWS) initiative, developed by TCC Integrated Sustainability Services (ISS) and Townsville Water, and informed by The University of Adelaide. The program draws on many years of experience by the TCC team to blend key community-based research approaches in order to develop this residential outdoor water conservation program. Several community pilots have been conducted to test different behaviour change strategies and messages. This paper outlines recent steps taken to develop the community trials, as guided by a combination of behaviour change theories including community-based social marketing and thematic communications methods. Some preliminary results are outlined focused on community uptake of different strategies, community perceptions of communication materials, and some insights into the effectiveness of outdoor water hardware.

Talking green: From Oz to Oz

This paper is an extension of Talking Green in Red States: Stories from the Great Plains (Gibson et al., 2014) that examined the communication strategies of planners involved in sustainability planning initiatives in the U.S. Great Plains. We expand these narratives beyond the Great Plains to Queensland, Australia by interviewing planners about their experiences when communicating and deliberating about issues of sustainability. Using a semi-formal structure, interviews are conducted as casual “coffee talks” (Maynard-Moody & Musheno, 2003). Together, these collected stories help us to understand how planners are “talking green” in conservative political atmospheres, across vastly differing geographies using an international comparative framework described by Reimer et al. (2014). The paper presents comparisons between the collected narratives, concerning similarities and differences in regard to the nuances of sustainability planning dialog. We relate the lessons learned about communication strategies of planners working in sustainability in Kansas and Queensland to the broader discourse of planning and politics, communicative planning and planning as storytelling, as they relate to sustainability planning in challenging situations. From this paper, the audience will better understand how: 1) to discuss environmental and sustainable planning in communities that have varying levels of distrust and suspicion towards these concepts; 2) to develop strategies to work around these planning communication issues, and; 3) international context affects these communication challenges.

Good choices, great future : an applied theatre prevention program to reduce alcohol-related risky behaviours during Schoolies

Introduction and Aims. The contextual and temporal factors of post-school celebratory events ('Schoolies') place young people at elevated risk of excessive drinking compared with other social occasions. This study investigates the impact of an applied theatre prevention program 'Choices' in reducing the risk of drinking and other risk behaviours during Schoolies celebrations. Design and Methods. Choices was delivered in the last term of Year 12 across 28 North Queensland schools. A total of 352 school leavers (43.1% male, mean age=17.14years) completed a questionnaire at Whitsunday Schoolies, Queensland, Australia on 23-24 November 2010. Nearly 49% of respondents had attended Choices. The survey included measures of alcohol use, illicit drug use and associated problems during Schoolies and a month prior to Schoolies. Results. After controlling for gender and pre-Schoolies drinking, school leavers who attended Choices were significantly less likely to report illicit drug use (OR=0.51, P<0.05) and problem behaviours (OR=0.40, P<0.01) than those who did not attend Choices. There was, however, no intervention effect in risky drinking (i.e. drank on 5 or more days, typical amount five or more standard drink and binge drank on 3 or more days) at Schoolies (OR=0.92, P=0.80). Discussion and Conclusions. Delivery of a youth-specific applied theatre prevention program employing a harm minimisation framework may be effective in reducing high-risk behaviours associated with alcohol consumption at celebratory events, even if young people expect to engage in excessive alcohol consumption. [Quek L-H, White A, Low C, Brown J, Dalton N, Dow D, Connor JP. Good choices, great future: An applied theatre prevention program to reduce alcohol-related risky behaviours during Schoolies. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:897–902]

How to plan and implement an environmental education program for a conservation area : lessons from Australia and Borneo

The Augo Wetland Forest Park, along with other conservation areas around the world, provides an opportunity for a personal connection with the natural world - an opportunity for creating ways to convince people to reverse the degradation of the planet. In this presentation I use the settings approach, as used by the World Health Organisation in health promotion, as a framework. The WHO’s 1986 Ottawa Charter states that "Health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life; where they learn, work, play, and love." I argue that, similarly, a conservation area provides a setting for people to connect with environmental issues and can be the place where positive behaviours and actions for the environment are created and enacted. In a wired and virtual world, such settings may be the only opportunity some people, especially children, get to connect with the environment. An evidence-based, intentionally designed and implemented environmental education program enhances the opportunities for the personal connection and subsequent action. Planning and implementing an Environmental education program for a conservation area requires an understanding of the principles of three domains: • Environmental Communication • Environmental Education • Environmental Interpretation In this presentation I define these domains and demonstrate how they become interdependent within the context of a particular setting such as a conservation area. I outline the principles of each domain and demonstrate how they can be enacted with reference to environmental education program case studies from settings in Australia and Borneo. The first case study is based around a proposal for a planned residential community at Eden’s Crossing, in Brisbane’s high growth Western corridor. The setting featured a number of important natural and heritage conservation characteristics and the developer wanted to be pro-active in informing the market what this development aims to achieve in terms of innovative community and environmental objectives. By designing an education and interpretation program in line with best practice education and interpretation principles the developers would be assisted in their efforts to build community, preserve heritage, and facilitate environmentally sensitive lifestyles for the future residents of Eden’s Crossing. Above all, the strategy focused on advancing sustainability in a way that made the Eden’s Crossing greenfield development significantly greener. It did this by interacting with prospective purchasers, and building knowledge about sustainability with a view to shaping the future community of Eden’s Crossing in terms of attitudes and behaviours. The second case study is based around the development of the Rainforest Interpretation Centre (RIC), now renamed the Rainforest Discovery Centre, an environmental education facility managed by the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and located at the edge of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in the East Malaysian state of Sabah (Borneo). This setting is of paramount importance for biodiversity conservation and research and a vital habitat for orang utan. As an Environmental Education Consultant I was tasked with developing an environmental education program for this setting as part of the SFD’s long- term strategy towards sustainable forest management. By employing the principles of Environmental Education and Environmental Interpretation I designed and implemented a program with three major components: • an environmental education component for visiting primary and secondary school groups. • an environmental education component for in-service and pre-service teachers and teacher educators. • a public awareness and environmental interpretation component which caters for the general public and tourists. From these modest beginnings the program has expanded and new facilities have been developed to meet the demands of visitors, teachers and students. The effectiveness of the program can be traced back to the grounding in the principles of best practice environmental education, communication and interpretation.

Common And Endangered Species: How Does Society Allocate Support For Their Conservation

Examines how society allocates support for species’ conservation when numbers involved are large and resources are limited. Rational behaviour suggests that species in urgent need of conservation will receive more support than those species that are common. However, we demonstrate that in the absence of balanced knowledge common species will receive support more than they would otherwise receive despite society placing high existence values on all species. Twenty four species, both common and endangered and some with a restricted distribution, are examined. We demonstrate that balanced information is vital in order to direct more support for species that are endangered than those that are not. Implications for conservation stemming from the findings are discussed.

Curriculum mapping of the Spatial Science Program, QUT : what was the cartography journey?

There are currently a number of issues of great importance affecting universities and the way in which their programs are now offered. Many issues are largely being driven top-down and impact both at a university-wide and at an individual discipline level. This paper provides a brief history of cartography and digital mapping education at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). It also provides an overview of what is curriculum mapping and presents some interesting findings from the program review process. Further, this review process has triggered discussion and action for the review, mapping and embedding of graduate attributes within the spatial science major program. Some form of practical based learning is expected in vocationally oriented degrees that lead to professional accreditation and are generally regarded as a good learning exposure. With the restructure of academic programs across the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering in 2006, spatial science and surveying students now undertake a formal work integrated learning unit. There is little doubt that students acquire the skills of their discipline (mapping science, spatial) by being immersed in the industry culture- learning how to process information and solve real-world problems within context. The broad theme of where geo-spatial mapping skills are embedded in this broad-based tertiary education course are examined with some focused discussion on the learning objectives, outcomes and examples of some student learning experiences

Analysis of alternative water sources for use in the manufacture of concrete

In Australia and many other countries worldwide, water used in the manufacture of concrete must be potable. At present, it is currently thought that concrete properties are highly influenced by the water type used and its proportion in the concrete mix, but actually there is little knowledge of the effects of different, alternative water sources used in concrete mix design. Therefore, the identification of the level and nature of contamination in available water sources and their subsequent influence on concrete properties is becoming increasingly important. Of most interest, is the recycled washout water currently used by batch plants as mixing water for concrete. Recycled washout water is the water used onsite for a variety of purposes, including washing of truck agitator bowls, wetting down of aggregate and run off. This report presents current information on the quality of concrete mixing water in terms of mandatory limits and guidelines on impurities as well as investigating the impact of recycled washout water on concrete performance. It also explores new sources of recycled water in terms of their quality and suitability for use in concrete production. The complete recycling of washout water has been considered for use in concrete mixing plants because of the great benefit in terms of reducing the cost of waste disposal cost and environmental conservation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of using washout water on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. This was carried out by utilizing a 10 week sampling program from three representative sites across South East Queensland. The sample sites chosen represented a cross-section of plant recycling methods, from most effective to least effective. The washout water samples collected from each site were then analysed in accordance with Standards Association of Australia AS/NZS 5667.1 :1998. These tests revealed that, compared with tap water, the washout water was higher in alkalinity, pH, and total dissolved solids content. However, washout water with a total dissolved solids content of less than 6% could be used in the production of concrete with acceptable strength and durability. These results were then interpreted using chemometric techniques of Principal Component Analysis, SIMCA and the Multi-Criteria Decision Making methods PROMETHEE and GAIA were used to rank the samples from cleanest to unclean. It was found that even the simplest purifying processes provided water suitable for the manufacture of concrete form wash out water. These results were compared to a series of alternative water sources. The water sources included treated effluent, sea water and dam water and were subject to the same testing parameters as the reference set. Analysis of these results also found that despite having higher levels of both organic and inorganic properties, the waters complied with the parameter thresholds given in the American Standard Test Method (ASTM) C913-08. All of the alternative sources were found to be suitable sources of water for the manufacture of plain concrete.

Feasibility of using telecommunications technology in a Cardiac-Diabetes Self-Management Program

Background: Evidence demonstrates self-management programs are an effective approach to assist patients with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes or cardiac conditions to modify their lifestyle for better managing their conditions. Using information technology (IT) has great potential to support self-management programs and assist patients to fulfill their goals in managing their conditions more efficiently and effectively. Examples of different types of technology used in self-management programs that have limited research support include: text messages, telephone followup, web-based programs, and other internet-assisted education. But little is known about the applicability and feasiability of different forms of technology for patients with chronic diseases such as those with type 2 diabetes and critical cardiac conditions. Furthermore, although there is some evidence of the benefits of using IT in supporting self-management programs, further research on the use of IT in such programs is recommended. Objective: To develop and pilot test an integrated Cardiac- Diabetes Self-Management Program (CDSMP) incorporating telephone and text-message follow-up. Methods: A pilot study using randomised controlled trial is conducted in the coronary care unit (CCU) in a Brisbane metropolitan hospital in Australia to collect data on patients with type 2 diabetes admitted to CCU. The main outcomes included self-efficacy levels, knowledge, and quality of life. Results: Initial results reveal that patients with diabetes admitted to the CCU in the experimental group did improve their self-efficacy, and knowledge levels. Acknowledgements: This Project is funded by QUT Early Career Researcher Research Grant

The great divide : bridging the gap

Learning Objective: To describe a collaborative system of clinical allocations using a dedicated, discipline specific administrative coordinator. Methods: The Clinical Placement Coordinator is the liaison person between the student, the academic staff and the clinical sites, and fills an important role in bridging the gap to enhance the student learning experience. With this in mind the Coordinator is very discipline focused and works closely with the academic staff who coordinate the clinical units within the program. This person is the ‘‘face’’ of QUT to the external stakeholders, and ensures that all parties experience a smooth process. This no mean feat given that there are over 350 students to be placed annually, across 14 separate clinical blocks ranging from 1 to 6 weeks in length at various sites. The processes involved in clinical placement allocation will be presented, and the roles of the staff in facilitating students’ placement preferences and matching with clinical site offers will be described. In many allied health programs in Australia, the clinical placement activity is carried out by an academic member of staff. However, this can result in delays in communications due to other workload requirements such as lecture, tutorial and practical class commitments. Having a dedicated knowledgeable administration officer has resulted in a person being available to take calls from clinical staff, meet with students to discuss allocation needs and ensure that academic staff are consulted if and when necessary. The Clinical Placement Coordinator is very much a part of the course team and attends professional meetings and conferences as an avenue of networking and meeting clinical staff. Results: The success in having a dedicated administrative officer as the Clinical Placement Coordinator acting as the conduit between academic staff and students, and the university and clinical staff has been highly successful to date. This was noted in commendations from the 2010 Course Accreditation Panel Report which stated: ‘‘The very positive perception in the professional community of Ms Margaret McBurney’s effective and efficient organization of student clinical placements. Students and clinical professionals commented favourably on the approachability of staff. There is confidence that program staff will follow up on issues raised urgently in clinical centres.’’

Bike share's impact on car use : evidence from the United States, Great Britain, and Australia

There are currently more than 400 cities operating bike share programs. Purported benefits of bike share programs include flexible mobility, physical activity, reduced congestion, emissions and fuel use. Implicit or explicit in the calculation of program benefits are assumptions regarding the modes of travel replaced by bike share journeys. This paper examines the degree to which car trips are replaced by bike share, through an examination of survey and trip data from bike share programs in Melbourne, Brisbane, Washing, D.C., London, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. A secondary and unique component of this analysis examines motor vehicle support services required for bike share fleet rebalancing and maintenance. These two components are then combined to estimate bike share’s overall contribution to changes in vehicle kilometres traveled. The results indicate that the estimated mean reduction in car use due to bike share is at least twice the distance covered by operator support vehicles, with the exception of London, in which the relationship is reversed, largely due to a low car mode substitution rate. As bike share programs mature, evaluation of their effectiveness in reducing car use may become increasingly important. This paper reveals that by increasing the convenience of bike share relative to car use and by improving perceptions of safety, the capacity of bike share programs to reduce vehicle trips and yield overall net benefits will be enhanced. Researchers can adapt the analytical approach proposed in this paper to assist in the evaluation of current and future bike share programs.

A rapid assessment of the effects of extreme weather on two Great Barrier Reef industries

In coastal areas, extreme weather events, such as floods and cyclones, can have debilitating effects on the social and economic viability of marine-based industries. In March 2011, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority implemented an Extreme Weather Response Program, following a period of intense flooding and cyclonic activity between December 2010 and February 2011. In this paper, we discuss the results of a project within the Program, which aimed to: (1) assess the impacts of extreme weather events on regional tourism and commercial fishing industries; and (2) develop and road-test an impact assessment matrix to improve government and industry responses to extreme weather events. Results revealed that extreme weather events both directly and indirectly affected all five of the measured categories, i.e. ecological, personal, social, infrastructure and economic components. The severity of these impacts, combined with their location and the nature of their business, influenced how tourism operators and fishers assessed the impact of the events (low, medium, high or extreme). The impact assessment tool was revised following feedback obtained during stakeholder workshops and may prove useful for managers in responding to potential direct and indirect impacts of future extreme weather events on affected marine industries. © 2013 Planning Institute Australia.

A method for risk analysis across governance systems : a great barrier reef case study

Healthy governance systems are key to delivering sound environmental management outcomes from global to local scales. There are, however, surprisingly few risk assessment methods that can pinpoint those domains and sub-domains within governance systems that are most likely to influence good environmental outcomes at any particular scale, or those if absent or dysfunctional, most likely to prevent effective environmental management. This paper proposes a new risk assessment method for analysing governance systems. This method is then tested through its preliminary application to a significant real-world context: governance as it relates to the health of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The GBR exists at a supra-regional scale along most of the north eastern coast of Australia. Brodie et al (2012 Mar. Pollut. Bull. 65 81-100) have recently reviewed the state and trend of the health of the GBR, finding that overall trends remain of significant concern. At the same time, official international concern over the governance of the reef has recently been signalled globally by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These environmental and political contexts make the GBR an ideal candidate for use in testing and reviewing the application of improved tools for governance risk assessment. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Bike share's impact on car use : evidence from the United States, Great Britain, and Australia

There are currently more than 700 cities operating bike share programs. Purported benefits of bike share include flexible mobility, physical activity, reduced congestion, emissions and fuel use. Implicit or explicit in the calculation of program benefits are assumptions regarding the modes of travel replaced by bike share journeys. This paper examines the degree to which car trips are replaced by bike share, through an examination of survey and trip data from bike share programs in Melbourne, Brisbane, Washington, D.C., London, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. A secondary and unique component of this analysis examines motor vehicle support services required for bike share fleet rebalancing and maintenance. These two components are then combined to estimate bike share’s overall contribution to changes in vehicle kilometers traveled. The results indicate an estimated reduction in motor vehicle use due to bike share of approx. 90,000 km per annum in Melbourne and Minneapolis/St. Paul and 243,291 km for Washington, D.C. London’s bike share program however recorded an additional 766,341 km in motor vehicle use. This was largely due to a low car mode substitution rate and substantial truck use for rebalancing of bicycles. As bike share programs mature, evaluation of their effectiveness in reducing car use may become increasingly important. Researchers can adapt the analytical approach proposed in this paper to assist in the evaluation of current and future bike share programs.

Priority threat management of invasive plant species in the Lake Eyre Basin

This project is led by scientists in conservation decision appraisal and brings together a group of experts working across the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB). The LEB covers a sixth of Australia, with an array of globally significant natural values that are threatened by invasive plants, among other things. Managers at various levels are investing in attempts to control, contain and eradicate these invasive plant species, under severe time and resources limitations. To date there has been no basin-wide assessment of which weed management strategies and locations provide the best investments for maximising outcomes for biodiversity per unit cost. Further, there has been no assessment of the extent of ecosystem intactness that may be lost without effective invasive plant species management strategies. Given that there are insufficient resources to manage all invasive plant species everywhere, this information has the potential to improve current investment decisions. Here, we provide a prioritisation of invasive plant management strategies in the LEB. Prioritisation was based on cost-effectiveness for biodiversity benefits. We identify the key invasive plant species to target to protect ecosystem intactness across the bioregions of the LEB, the level of investment required and the likely reduction in invasive species dominance gained per dollar spent on each strategy. Our focus is on strategies that are technically and socially feasible and reduce the likelihood that high impact invasive plant species will dominate native ecosystems, and therefore change their form and function. The outputs of this work are designed to help guide decision-making and further planning and investment in weed management for the Basin. Experts in weed management, policy-making, community engagement, biodiversity and natural values of the Basin, attended a workshop and agreed upon 12 strategies to manage invasive plants. The strategies focused primarily on 10 weeds which were considered to have a high potential for broad, significant impacts on natural ecosystems in the next 50 years and for which feasible management strategies could be defined. Each strategy consisted of one or more supporting actions, many of which were spatially linked to IBRA (Interim Biogeographical Regionalisation of Australia) bioregions. The first strategy was an over-arching recommendation for improved mapping, information sharing, education and extension efforts in order to facilitate the more specific weed management strategies. The 10 more specific weed management strategies targeted the control and/or eradication of the following high-impact exotic plants: mesquite, parkinsonia, rubber vine, bellyache bush, cacti, mother of millions, chinee apple, athel pine and prickly acacia, as well as a separate strategy for eradicating all invasive plants from one key threatened ecological community, the GAB (Great Artesian Basin dependant) mound springs. Experts estimated the expected biodiversity benefit of each strategy as the reduction in area that an invasive plant species is likely to dominate in over a 50-year period, where dominance was defined as more than 30% coverage at a site. Costs were estimated in present day terms over 50 years largely during follow up discussions post workshop. Cost-effectiveness was then calculated for each strategy in each bioregion by dividing the average expected benefit by the average annual costs. Overall, the total cost of managing 12 invasive plant strategies over the next 50 years was estimated at $1.7 billion. It was estimated that implementation of these strategies would result in a reduction of invasive plant dominance by 17 million ha (a potential 32% reduction), roughly 14% of the LEB. If only targeting Weeds of National Significance (WONS), the total cost was estimated to be $113 million over the next 50 years. Over the next 50 years, $2.3 million was estimated to eradicate all invasive plant species from the Great Artesian Basin Mound Springs threatened ecological community. Prevention and awareness programs were another key strategy targeted across the Basin and estimated at $17.5 million in total over 50 years. The cost of controlling, eradicating and containing buffel grass were the most expensive, over $1.5 billion over 50 years; this strategy was estimated to result in a reduction in buffel grass dominance of a million ha in areas where this species is identified as an environmental problem. Buffel grass has been deliberately planted across the Basin for pasture production and is by far the most widely distributed exotic species. Its management is contentious, having economic value to many graziers while posing serious threats to biodiversity and sites of high cultural and conservation interest. The strategy for containing and locally eradicating buffel grass was a challenge to cost based on expert knowledge, possibly because of the dual nature of this species as a valued pastoral grass and environmental weed. Based on our conversations with experts, it appears that control and eradication programs for this species, in conservation areas, are growing rapidly and that information on the most cost-effective strategies for this species will continue to develop over time. The top five most cost-effective strategies for the entire LEB were for the management of: 1) parkinsonia, 2) chinee apple, 3) mesquite, 4) rubber vine and 5) bellyache bush. Chinee apple and mother of millions are not WONS and have comparatively small populations within the semi-arid bioregions of Queensland. Experts felt that there was an opportunity to eradicate these species before they had the chance to develop into high-impact species within the LEB. Prickly acacia was estimated to have one of the highest benefits, but the costs of this strategy were high, therefore it was ranked 7th overall. The buffel grass strategy was ranked the lowest (10th) in terms of cost effectiveness. The top five most cost-effective strategies within and across the bioregions were the management of: 1) parkinsonia in the Channel Country, 2) parkinsonia in the Desert Uplands, 3) mesquite in the Mitchell Grass Downs, 4) parkinsonia in the Mitchell Grass Downs, and 5) mother of millions in the Desert Uplands. Although actions for several invasive plant species like parkinsonia and prickly acacia were concentrated in the Queensland part of the LEB, the actions involved investing in containment zones to prevent the spread of these species into other states. In the NT and SA bioregions of the LEB, the management of athel pine, parkinsonia and cacti were the main strategies. While outside the scientific research goals of study, this work highlighted a number of important incidental findings that led us to make the following recommendations for future research and implementation of weed management in the Basin: • Ongoing stakeholder engagement, extension and participation is required to ensure this prioritisation effort has a positive impact in affecting on-ground decision making and planning. • Short term funding for weed management was identified as a major reason for failure of current efforts, hence future funding needs to be secure and ongoing. • Improved mapping and information sharing is essential to implement effective weed management. • Due to uncertainties in the outcomes and impacts of management options, strategies should be implemented as part of an adaptive management program. The information provided in this report can be used to guide investment for controlling high-impact invasive plant species for the benefits of biodiversity conservation. We do not present a final prioritisation of invasive plant strategies for the LEB, and we have not addressed the cultural, socio-economic or spatial components necessary for an implementation plan. Cost-effectiveness depends on the objectives used; in our case we used the intactness of ecosystems as a surrogate for expected biodiversity benefits, measured by the extent that each invasive plant species is likely to dominate in a bioregion. When other relevant factors for implementation are considered the priorities may change and some actions may not be appropriate in some locations. We present the costs, ecological benefits and cost-effectiveness of preventing, containing, reducing and eradicating the dominance of high impact invasive plants through realistic management actions over the next 50 years. In doing so, we are able to estimate the size of the weed management problem in the LEB and provide expert-based estimates of the likely outcomes and benefits of implementing weed management strategies. The priorities resulting from this work provide a prospectus for guiding further investment in management and in improving information availability.