About

An overview of the pilot MER project

Building on local-scale ecological management and monitoring, through regional governance and partnerships, to create national-scale learnings about management effectiveness.

Australia’s first national Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (MER) pilot network investigates two ecological challenges faced by many Australian NRM regions: the management of weeds and the recovery of ecosystems after fire.

The value of a MER network

Australian governments, industry, organisations and communities are investing in a range of ecological restoration programs to improve the status of Australia’s ecosystems and biodiversity. A key challenge for these programs is quantifying achievements and improving our capacity to undertake cost-effective restoration outcomes that are sustainable and resilient within changing landscapes and climates.

MER networks are a new approach to learn about ecological management effectiveness. Through collaboration among policy-makers, practitioners and researchers, these networks will embed nationally integrated research infrastructure (small, well-designed experimental monitoring plots) within local ecological restoration programs.

Each network can be designed to address targeted ecological management questions at national scales, as well as enabling predictions and facilitating improved outcomes in future programs. The networks will help practitioners to learn from their actions and make cost-effective decisions to better protect the environment using robust scientific methods.

Fire and weeds pilot network

This three-year project is trialling Australia’s first MER network – to promote national scale learning about ecosystem recovery post-fire, including areas impacted by bushfires and areas undergoing prescribed burning and weed management.

The 2019-20 fire season saw an unprecedented extent of bushfires in forests, woodlands, rainforests and shrublands across Australia. These fires provide a unique learning opportunity to understand how ecosystems recover from fire, and where natural resource management interventions are needed to enhance recovery. Weeds are a particular threat in post bushfire landscapes because of their propensity to establish in disturbed areas. The fire and weeds MER pilot network will therefore provide critical understandings of ecosystem recovery and management effectiveness across different Australian ecosystem types.

The first phase of the network is underway. This includes defining the ecological management questions to be addressed, designing and establishing the on-ground plot network, developing practical, standardised on-ground monitoring protocols and training, analysing monitoring outcomes and communicating learnings.

More detail is available in the project flyer and background material on project concept, experimental design, focal ecological questions from past workshops can be found in the resources section.

Benefits to regions

The project will involve setting up monitoring and management experiments at one or more sites within participating regions, allowing local scale learning about management effectiveness.

Being part of the project will also build capacity within regions through training on monitoring, standard methods and tools. It would also have the potential to raise the profile of your region and contribute to national scale learnings.

Could your region be part of the national story? Find out more about being involved.

Project team

This project is being led by the MER network team based at the CSIRO and the Terrestrial Environmental Research Network (TERN). The project team is working with Regional Land Partnerships program (RLP) Service Providers, NRM regions Australia, the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment, as well as expert input from scientists, Traditional Owners, NGO’s and state Governments and other stakeholders to co-design and co-implement the network.

Core team

Structure

(click to expand)
diagram of project structure

Funding

This project is jointly funded through CSIRO and the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. TERN is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).