ATFI@JCU: The Australian Tropical Forest Institute

JCU/CSIRO Tropical Landscapes Joint Venture

In 2005, James Cook University (JCU) formed a strategic alliance with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to more effectively deliver Research & Development to northern Australia. The alliance is known as the JCU/CSIRO Tropical Landscapes Joint Venture (TLJV).

To find out more about TLJV’s research, please visit our research section on joint ventures.

Tropical Landscapes Joint Venture (TLJV)

Tropical north-east Queensland has terrestrial and marine ecosystems of recognized international significance. Management of the iconic reefs and rainforests needs to be informed by ‘leading edge’ science and that science needs to be practiced within the wider landscapes and seascapes that influence, and are impacted by, these icons.

Research on ecosystem planning and management will bring together CSIRO’s recognized strength in ecology and management at a landscape scale, with JCU’s more fundamental research approach on specific aspects of ecosystem function to address the following issues:

Sugarcane field, Cairns northern beaches (Image: Birgit Kuehn).

Ecosystem function and prediction;
Evaluating and valuing ecosystem goods and services and biodiversity;
Amelioration of environmental pests, weeds and threatening processes (such as climate change);
Innovative regional planning and management at ecosystem and landscape scales;
Sustainable tropical production systems; and
Aboriginal collaboration and capacity-building in research.

Special Project “Cyclone Larry”

Cyclone Larry at landfall (Image: NASA Earth Observatory / Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Centre).

CSIRO and JCU have committed immediate resources to commence research on the biophysical and socio-economic impacts of Cyclone Larry on Far North Queensland ecosystems and landscapes, with particular emphasis on:

Local rapid assessments of the ecological impacts of the cyclone;
Regional assessments of cyclone impacts, utilising aerial surveys and satellite imagery;
Monitoring of the recovery of terrestrial ecosystems and human communities; and
Provision of scientific input to government and industry with respect to immediate and long-term community development and natural resource management issues.

The report A preliminary assessment of the environmental impacts of Cyclone Larry on the forest landscapes of northeast Queensland, with reference to responses to natural resource management issues in the aftermath by Dr Steve Turton and Dr Allan Dale, submitted to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in March 2007, can be downloaded here (PDF, 1.57MB). TLJV’s research on Cyclone Larry’s impacts is co-funded by the Skyrail Rainforest Foundation.

Contact us

TLJV - Tropical Landscapes Joint Venture

Australian Tropical Forest Institute
James Cook University
PO Box 6811
CAIRNS QLD 4870

AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61-(0)7-4042 1246
Fax: +61-(0)7 4042 1247
Email: atfi@jcu.edu.au