New research supersite will tell woodlands climate story

The CSIRO and the Department of Environment and Conservation WA (DEC) are leading the establishment of the new research Supersite in 2011, part of an Australia-wide network of sites for monitoring the environment supported by Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network (TERN).

A focus of the Supersite will be a 36 metre tall ‘OzFlux’ climate station at the former Credo Station near Kalgoorlie, which is managed by DEC for conservation, to monitor the energy, water and carbon balance of mature eucalypt woodland that is representative of natural landscapes across these regions.

“The GWW region is extraordinary in that it has remained relatively intact since European settlement, owing to the variable rainfall and lack of readily accessible groundwater suitable for livestock,” says Dr Suzanne Prober, CSIRO.

“The GWW is thus of great ecological interest because it provides a unique opportunity to study how relatively intact ecosystems function and adapt to climate change.”

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Dr Suzanne Prober, CSIRO”The GWW is thus of great ecological interest because it provides a unique opportunity to study how relatively intact ecosystems function and adapt to climate change.”

Ian Kealley DEC Goldfields Regional Manager said “locating the research site and associated activities at Credo is very exciting for the Goldfields and entirely compatible with the plans DEC is developing for Credo including management for multiple use, recreation and conservation, and development of a field study centre base around the homestead. Credo has great potential in these areas.”

The Supersite extends into the adjacent wheatbelt region, and aims to address nationally and regionally significant land management issues relevant to agriculture, mining, pastoralism and biodiversity.

“Research at the GWW supersite aims to improve our knowledge of ecological processes that underpin effective restoration, and guide climate resilient restoration of the WA wheatbelt,” says Dr Craig Macfarlane, CSIRO.

The GWW Supersite is one of several across Australia being established to build a long-term ecological database for managing Australian ecosystems.

The GWW Supersite aims to increase the fundamental understanding of GWW ecology and inform contemporary management decisions in south-western Australian region. The Supersites are also part of TERN’s Multi-Scale Plot Network facility, which will link long-term site, plot and transect studies across Australia.

Media Resources

• Images available at: New research supersite will tell woodlands climate story
• Background information available at: The Great Western Woodlands