CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems (CSE)
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems (CSE) undertakes research and development across a range of landscapes – targeting the challenges of social, economic and environmental sustainability.
About CSE
CSE’s Tropical Landscapes Research Program aims to develop the new scientific knowledge and tools needed to foster sustainable stewardship of tropical landscapes. Our research enables:
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ecosystems that support healthy rural, regional and urban communities
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landscapes that sustain viable enterprises
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management that allows biodiversity to prosper.
We work to understand the connections between natural, agricultural, industrial and urban ecosystems as well as economic and social processes.
The Program’s core areas of expertise are in rainforest ecology, integrated landscape management, and tropical cropping systems. Our staff have skills in: action research, agro-forestry, agro-ecology, agronomy, applied mathematics (statistics and operations research), biophysical processes, conservation biology, ecology, biology, economics (social and environmental), sociology, hydrology and plant physiology.
Fostering sustainable stewardship of tropical landscapes
CSIRO’s Tropical Landscapes Research Program has staff based in Brisbane, Townsville, Atherton, and at ATFI in Cairns. The majority of our research is done in the Great Barrier Reef catchment along Queensland’s tropical coast. We also work interstate and overseas, to transfer tropical knowledge worldwide. For more information, visit our website.
Examples of CSIRO’s Tropical Forest Research
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Envisioning future landscapes: Helping communities articulate and present their aspirations and ideas for the future of their local region. Visit the CSE website on tropical landscape scenarios.
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Climate change in the tropics: Applying modelling skills in climate, statistical analysis, ecological processes and production systems to forecast long-term impacts on tropical agriculture and biodiversity.
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Rainforest seed dispersal & weed management: Understanding the complex process of seed dispersal and threats to this process to inform the management of rainforest remnants and improve weed management strategies. Visit the CSE website on rainforest seed dispersal.
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Threatened Species Management: Understanding the distribution and habitat requirements of threatened species, and developing strategies to manage human-wildlife interactions. Visit the CSE website on the Spectacled Flying Fox research.
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Conservation planning: Mapping priority areas for the allocation of scarce conservation and biodiversity management resources and measuring the benefits from conservation projects in the Wet Tropics World Heritage rainforest.
Find out more about research and other activities at CSIRO’s Tropical Forest Research Centre in Atherton, which is a well known hub for scientists studying the rainforest ecosystems of the Wet Tropics World Heritage area.
Contact CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Dr James Butler
Group Leader, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems Cairns
Australian Tropical Forest Institute
James Cook University
PO Box 6811
CAIRNS QLD 4870
Australia
Phone: (07) 4042 1597
Fax: (07) 4042 1300
Email: james.butler@csiro.au
