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Updates from the 2010 PIARN PhD scholarship holders

In 2010, PIARN awarded top-up scholarships to PhD students across a range of primary industries sectors and academic institutions. To finish off the year, each student provided PIARN with an update on their research progress.

A summary of each student's project and activities is provided below.

Developing a policy framework for greenhouse gas budgeting of conservation agriculture in the Australian grains industry to manage climate change
Jean-Francois (John) Rochecouste, University of Queensland

The proposed research reviews the aspects of conservation agricultural practices from the broadacre grains industry that may fit into a carbon trading market. Conservation farming practices are being taken up by Australian farmers across a major portion of the grains industry mostly to improve production under limited soil moisture. This adaptation has also reduces the greenhouse gas emission (GGE) profiles of broadacre grain farming enterprises. Read more...

Climate change and optimal land use: decisions at the farm scale in Australia
Jonathon Moss, University of New England

The research is investigating the economic impacts and incentives required for farmers in Australia to adopt different land use options in response to climate change and emerging carbon markets. Because farmers will only adopt a given land use change if the reward of undertaking this change is larger than the opportunity cost of switching land uses, a bioeconomic model is being developed. Read more...

'Transforming' drought: understanding adaptive capacity and network activity in two Victorian rural communities
Tamara Sysak, University of Melbourne

Social networks can be seen as one way that farmers increase their adaptive capacity and resilience, through learning and working together to create opportunities for change. The aim of my research is to investigate how information relating to drought flows through the agricultural networks and social networks in the communities being studied and how these networks may create or constrain opportunities for change. Read more...

How Eucalypts respond to climate change
Yan-Shih Lin, University of Western Sydney

My research is focused on how a major Australian tree genus, Eucalyptus, will respond to climate change in the context of warming temperature, elevated atmospheric CO2 and drought. I have been working on temperature and drought adaptation of multiple Eucalyptus species from different original geographical ranges. This is critical to the forest industry and carbon sequestration efforts because Eucalyptus species are often planted outside their native ranges. Read more...