School of Geography - Research Publications
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ItemWhich theoretical distribution function best fits measured within day rainfall distributions across Australia?(Conference Organising Committee, 2006)Rainfall data at high temporal resolutions is required to accurately model the dynamics of surface runoff processes, in particular sediment entrainment. These processes respond to rainfall intensity variations over short intervals, yet measurement of rainfall intensity at sufficient resolution is available only at a limited number of locations across Australia. On the other hand there is good coverage of rainfall data registered at a daily time step, thus it is desirable to establish a means to estimate within-day distributions of rainfall intensity given the daily rainfall depth and other readily available hydrometeorological data (e.g. temperature, pressure). As a first step towards such a method, an investigation was conducted into the shape of the temporal distribution of high-resolution (6 minute) rainfall intensity within the wet part of rainy days (total rainfall depth > 10mm). This paper quantifies the skill of nine different theoretical distribution functions (TDFs) in fitting characteristics of measured rainfall that are most likely to drive sediment entrainment and transport on hillslopes. Skill is reported by two goodness-of-fit statistics: the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between the fitted and observed within-day distribution; and the efficiency of prediction of the 30 minutes of highest rainfall intensity (average intensity of the 5 highest intensity intervals). Four TDFs provided relatively poor fits to higher intensity rainfall (two and three parameter lognormal, two parameter Generalized Pareto and Gumbel), and also showed higher RMSE values. The remaining five TDFs performed equally well for both goodness-of-fit measures. Two of these TDFs are extreme value distributions (Generalized Extreme Value and Weibull) and in a strict statistical sense should not be applied to within-day rainfall intensity data. On this basis, the remaining three TDFs (gamma, exponential and the three parameter Generalized Pareto) were selected as suitable candidates to represent within-day rainfall distributions in Australia, in particular for hydrological models seeking to estimate runoff and erosion.
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ItemNo Preview Available“I saw the impact of the [Economic Land Concession] on the men.” Notes towards a feminist political ecology of land access in Southeast Asia(BRICS Initiatives for Critical Agrarian Studies (BICAS), 2015)While recent work on land grabbing in Cambodia examines the role of gender with regard to women’s roles in Cambodia (Brickell 2014, Amnesty International 2011, Licadho 2015), in this paper we reflect on gender and land access in rural Cambodia, considering the impacts to gender not only as related to “women” but as related to male identity and masculinity as well as related to livelihood change. To do so, we draw on a case study of forced eviction and subsequent creation of a Social Land Concession (SLC) in Kratie Province in Cambodia’s northeast. The paper is based on fieldwork and a systematic review of literature and policies of land access in Cambodia. Analysis of the case reveals that gender relationships were being significantly altered as a result of land title changes and struggles against eviction. We argue, furthermore, that it is not only women’s gender roles and responsibilities that are changing – it is also male responsibility, identity, and belonging that are being significantly altered, which is an aspect too often overlooked in gender and land literatures.
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ItemNew methods reveal the relationships between riparian vegetation, retention-capacity, and standing stocks of CPOM in streams(Australian Society for Limnology, 2017)
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ItemEvaluating the role of dispersal constraints: from one field experiment to a multi-site restoration programme(Australian Society for Limnology, 2017)
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ItemA citizen science approach to obtain quantitative measurements of urban agriculture inputs and outputs in Melbourne(SOAC, 2017)There are many advocates and critics of urban agriculture’s role in a sustainable food system but little quantitative data, potentially due the difficulties in collecting it. Urban food production is an example of a distributed system intrinsically linked to urban farmers and urban lifestyles and therefore cannot be recreated in a lab. Citizen science (CS) is identified as a potential method to measure aspects of urban agriculture but has potential issues associated with maintaining participation in data collection. This paper presents the development of a citizen science methodology combining general CS project design methods with methods for engaging and retaining participants in CS projects, based on motivation, for the design of a citizen science project measuring the sustainability performance of urban food gardens in Melbourne, Australia. It was found that an additional motivation emerged that is not yet documented in existing literature and is particular to citizen science projects. Other conclusions were also drawn related to timeline management, potential cost reductions conflicting with reducing barriers to participation and diversifying recruitment methods to attract participants with more time to be involved.
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ItemWhat does a low carbon local diet look like for Melbourne?(Association for Sustainability in Business Inc., 2017)Food systems in cities are under increasing pressure. Food production is occurring further and further from the point of consumption and extreme weather events due to climate change are impacting on food supply networks. It is possible that cities will have to rely on their local regions to meet at least some of their food needs in the future. Although large amounts of food are produced on the outskirts of cities, it is not clear the extent to which the nutritional needs of inhabitants could be met sustainably. This paper aims to investigate if it is possible to feed the city of Melbourne a healthy diet from the local area (i.e. achieve direct food availability) and what that diet might look like. It tests a new methodology using linear programming to find the optimal mix of food types to produce a diet profile that meets the Australian Dietary Guidelines within theproduction capacity of the local ‘region’. Results from three region scenarios are presented – Greater Melbourne, Foodbowl and Rest of Victoria. No solution could be found that satisfied all constraints for any region, however this identified issues surrounding availability of certain food types, particularly fruit, vegetables and legumes. Systematically increasing certain constraints provided insight into how diets could be composed to meet requirements and where it might be necessary to increase production within a region or future proof food supply networks. It also highlighted conflicts between sourcing food locally and reducing carbon emissions.