Grey Coupland

Learn how to turn degraded land on school grounds into a thriving biodiverse Bush Classroom for two-way learning. Bush Classrooms are culturally responsive, outdoor learning areas that privilege the first cultures of this country and celebrate Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. Bush Classrooms provide opportunities to deliver components of the Western Australian Curriculum while supporting student and community engagement and wellbeing. 

In recent years growing numbers of fast-growing ‘mini forests’ have been planted around the world using an approach for rapid urban greening known as the ‘Miyawaki method’. Originating in Japan, the Miyawaki method was first developed as a relatively novel ecological engineering approach to the afforestation of industrial and degraded landscapes. However, in recent years escalating climate impacts and loss of biodiversity has inspired a new generation of Miyawaki forest practitioners working globally in diverse ecological contexts. In this paper, we discuss the Miyawaki forest movement's evolution, and discuss its introduction into Australia through the lens of three Australian-based practitioners. Connecting Australian practitioners with the work of global practitioner networks, we explore the methods, practices and collaborations involved in the making of Miyawaki forests, before turning to how their value is being captured. We draw from a multi-species cities perspective to explore the multi-dimensional values and benefits of Miyawaki forests, which span both human and more-than-human ‘well-beings’ as sites of human–nature gathering, but also requiring collaboration across ecological, cultural and social spheres in order to be sustained over time.

Miyawaki forests are becoming increasingly popular for greening and enhancing biodiversity in our urban landscapes. These forests offer an alternative to traditional methods of urban greening and have the capacity to provide the multifaceted benefits associated with urban forests at a more rapid rate. As part of a Miyawaki Forest Program at Murdoch University, 15 Miyawaki forests have been planted in the south-west of Australia, a Mediterranean climate. Forests planted as part of this program are restoring small pockets of the endangered woodlands plant community. Plantings are based on research adapting the methodology to suit the region’s unique plant species and environment. The survivorship and growth rate of plants is recorded in these forests and compared with adjacent plantings using traditional methods for reforestation. Biodiversity and abundance of soil organisms in these forests and in nearby bushland are assessed using eDNA and soil respiration rates. Citizen scientist data are also gathered by school children involved in the outreach aspects of the program. Results to date indicate rapid growth of Miyawaki forests in the Australian context, and that these forests can be biodiversity havens and a valuable tool for bringing biodiversity into our cities.

Biosecurity activities primarily include pre-border and border quarantine, post-border surveillance and post-border eradication. Budget allocated to quarantine and surveillance activities ultimately influence the expenditure and success rate of eradication campaigns. Optimal portfolio allocation examined in previous research is susceptible to potential severe uncertainties existing in ecology and in the behaviour of invasive species itself. These uncertainties, together with a limited budget, make it difficult for decision makers to allocate the total management budget to each biosecurity activity in a robust manner.

Info-gap decision theory is applied to model the severe uncertainty in invasive species management, and robust optimize the total management cost.

This research shows that using a combination of pre-border and border quarantine (to reduce the incursion probability) and post-border surveillance (to enable early detection and rapid response), enables decision makers to be more robust to potential uncertainty.

Further, it is reported that investment in quarantine that is more cost-effective should outweigh that in surveillance, in line with precautionary principle.

Increasing the estimated population threshold for surveillance detection also gains more robustness.

Synthesis and applications: Portfolio allocation options developed in this research provide decision makers with a way to manage the invasive species spatially, cost-effectively, and confidently by allocating the total management budget in a robust manner. The methods outlined in this research can not only be applied to invasive species, but also the conservation of endangered species that are constrained by severe uncertainty in ecological modelling and limited resources.

1. Biosecurity activities primarily include pre-border and border quarantine, post-border surveillance and post-border eradication. Budget allocated to quarantine and surveillance activities ultimately influence the expenditure and success rate of eradication campaigns. Optimal portfolio allocation examined in previous research is susceptible to potential severe uncertainties existing in ecology and in the behaviour of invasive species itself. These uncertainties, together with a limited budget, make it difficult for decision makers to allocate the total management budget to each biosecurity activity in a robust manner.

2. Info-gap decision theory is applied to model the severe uncertainty in invasive species management, and robust optimize the total management cost.
This research shows that using a combination of pre-border and border quarantine (to reduce the incursion probability) and post-border surveillance (to enable early detection and rapid response), enables decision makers to be more robust to potential uncertainty. Further, it is reported that investment in quarantine that is more cost-effective should outweigh that in surveillance, in line with precautionary principle.

3. Increasing the estimated population threshold for surveillance detection also gains more robustness.

4. Synthesis and applications: Portfolio allocation options developed in this research provide decision makers with a way to manage the invasive species spatially, cost-effectively and confidently by allocating the total management budget in a robust manner. The methods outlined in this research can not only be applied to invasive species, but also the conservation of endangered species that are constrained by severe uncertainty in ecological modelling and limited resources.

Fuzzy logic presents a promising approach for Species Distribution Modelling by generating a value that can be used for comparative purposes termed ‘environmental favourability’. In contrast to ‘presence probability’, ‘environmental favourability’ remains robust regardless of species prevalence. This characteristic facilitates effective comparisons across species with varying levels of prevalence. In this study, presence probability was predicted using three commonly used Species Distribution Models: Generalised Linear Model, Generalised Additive Modelling, and Boosted Regression Trees for two beetle species, Euwallacea fornicatus and Euwallacea perbrevis in Australia. Fuzzy logic was then employed to derive environmental favourability values based on these models. Additionally, Maxent modelling was included to compare prediction outputs and facilitate a comprehensive analysis. Model performance was evaluated using standard metrics (Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, True statistical skill, Correct classification rate), as well as Hosmer-Lemeshow test. The research explored fuzzy similarity, fuzzy intersection and potential biotic interaction of these closely related borers, and revealed a favourable distribution pattern for Euwallacea fornicatus across Australia. This study supports the efficacy of fuzzy logic in Species Distribution Modelling and highlights the value of environmental favourability function in enhancing the comparative analysis of the geographical relationship across species. This approach offers a more nuanced perspective on Species Distribution Modelling.

Biodiversity offsets are used worldwide to provide environmental compensation for the impacts of development and to meet the goals of sustainable development. Australia has embraced the use of offsets and its offset methodologies have been used as models by other jurisdictions. However, the maturity of offset requirements in Australia is unknown. To understand this, development referrals submitted under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) between October 2011 and September 2017 were reviewed to determine if offset requirements in Australia were improving in complexity, transparency and/or environmental outcomes (termed maturity) over time. Despite the implementation of dedicated policy in Australia in 2012, our analysis showed that offset requirements were not on a trajectory towards improvement (maturity) over the 6-year period examined. There was no evidence to suggest the type of offsets required and compensation for impacts to specific species and habitats increased in complexity over time. The level of detail included for offset requirements, mandatory commencement dates and requirements for ecological outcomes similarly did not increase over time. Consequently, dedicated legislation for offsets is recommended to remedy these omissions and enable effective functionality for biodiversity offsets through the protection of the environment and conservation of biodiversity, ecosystem function and ecosystem services.