The Ba river winds through a valley in fiji

PhD Seminar: Spatial prioritisation of ecosystem services in waterways and riparian corridors in the Ba River Catchment, Fiji

Environmental monitoring of ecosystems within waterways and riparian corridors is challenging due to constraints on the spatio-temporal coverage that can be reached by extension workers and environmental regulators. Spatial prioritisation may support the planning for allocation of finite resources for monitoring, conservation and rehabilitation.

schedule Date & time
18 Dec 2024 1:00pm - 18 Dec 2024 2:00pm
person Speaker
Nicholas Metherall
contact_support Contact
Fenner Communications
fses.communications@anu.edu.au

Content navigation

Description

Environmental monitoring of ecosystems within waterways and riparian corridors is challenging due to constraints on the spatio-temporal coverage that can be reached by extension workers and environmental regulators. Spatial prioritisation may support the planning for allocation of finite resources for monitoring, conservation and rehabilitation.
In Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), there is often a closer proximity between land-process and their impacts on aquatic and downstream marine ecosystems through these waterways. Yet, within these contexts, there is often limited regulation of compliance and enforcement for conservation of waterways and riparian corridors of ecological connectivity.
 
This research combines hydrology, forestry, GIS and remote sensing to monitor:
  1. Water quality variability (focusing on pH along the 80 km longitudinal gradient of the Ba River)
  2. Forest inventory measurements of riparian vegetation along randomised riparian grids
  3. GIS and remote sensing of land cover to identify environmental threats to these ecosystems
  4. Assessment of the drivers and rates of tree cover loss in the catchment and across wider PICTs.
 

About the Speaker

Portrait photo of Nicholas Metherall wearing an orange high-visibility work shirt with a 'Melbourne Water' logo, seated inside a vehicle, smiling at the camera.

Nick is currently completing his PhD through a joint cotutelle program between the University of the South Pacific and the Australian National University. His research focuses on ridge-to-reef environmental monitoring as well as GIS environmental modelling and remote-sensing land-sea frameworks through riparian corridors. He completed his MSc in the water science specialisation through courses in both the Fenner School as well as the Research School of Earth Sciences at the ANU. Nick also completed his MSc thesis research on quantifying the impacts of in-river gravel extraction on sediment transport in Fiji.

Location

Fenner Seminar Room and via Zoom