What’s our ‘Research to the Rescue’ project about?

With community support this project funds urgently-needed research on Australia’s rainforests. Together with leading forest ecologist and botanist, Robert Kooyman, and his rainforest research collaborators and partners, we have pin-pointed some of our nation’s most promising opportunities to learn, discover and explore the inner workings of rainforest plants and ecosystems under threat. All of our research projects aim to improve the protection of threatened species and rainforest communities and ensure their long term survival.

What did we achieve this year?

It’s been a busy year for our researchers in the sub-tropical rainforests of eastern Australia. A great deal of progress has been made, with results accumulating quickly. Five scientific papers were written covering issues ranging from species selection and regeneration patterns to factors affecting palaeo-endemic rainforest trees. Robert Kooyman has fruit / seed trapping experiments running on several species, while genetic sampling will help to unravel the last of the mysteries of the life cycle of the clonal rainforest tree Uromyrtus australis. Work also began on a large scale bio-geographic research project which will help resolve issues to do with local provenance and the genetic influence of geographic ‘barriers’ such as fragmentation on different species. As well as contributing to a book chapter on rainforest restoration, Robert has been helping to develop a multi-species Rainforest Recovery Plan for the Southeast Queensland and Northeast New South Wales bio-region. He’s also found time to look at life-history trait analysis, world patterns in leaf size, and aspects of palaeo-botany and ecology in collaboration with Prof Mark Westoby and others at Macquarie University.

The team has some exciting new ideas ‘on the boil’. Among other things, it hopes to monitor restoration and rehabilitation projects, look at a range of rainforest communities across environmental gradients, and re-activate a series of rainforest research sites that Robert established nearly 20 years ago. Robert has also been collecting data that will allow for potential species and species group responses to factors such as climate change to be modelled.

Support this project

To find out more, including how to donate to specific research projects, visit www.rainforestrescue.org.au or phone Rainforest Rescue on 1300 763 611.