Justin Jonson

Thesis

Mapping tradeoffs between multiple natural resource management objectives following the revegetation of agricultural landscapes

Summary

To compare the delivery of four key natural resource management objectives realised through the application of several different re-vegetation portfolios currently used in the central wheat belt region of southwest Western Australia.

Why my research is important

The re-vegetation of selected areas of agricultural land in the central wheat belt has been identified as an important component of future land-use management. Although within this framework, there is a disparity in the specific services that each re-vegetated area will provide. Projects generally aim to achieve a specific natural resource management (NRM) objective, and vegetation portfolios are chosen to deliver these ends. However, each vegetation portfolio delivers its own unique spread of benefits. As a result, the cumulative delivery of all re-vegetation projects to the greater landscape may be unbalanced and therefore detract from regional NRM target objectives. This research analyses the trade-offs that occur. Addressing the balance of ecosystem services delivered through different re-vegetation projects may help land-use managers best achieve regional NRM goals.

Funding

• Australian Research Training Scheme (MSc Natural Resource Management)