Investigators and Partners

This project is the product of the combined efforts of many interdisciplinary researchers of various expertise and is currently operated by:

• Prof Jason Beringer (Micrometeorology)(UWA)
• Dr Caitlin Moore (Micrometeorology & Ecophysiology)(UWA)

Project Overview

The Wheatbelt supports $2.7b from cropping/grazing and contains biologically significant landscapes that face significant challenges in a changing environment. This project provides an understanding of vegetation production, soil greenhouse gasses and water use from agricultural and forest lands thereby helping to make agriculture more efficient while protecting our natural systems. We will monitor and determine the balance of environmental demands for water yields, agricultural productivity, carbon storage and biodiversity within a catchment landscape. Therefore we will aid the sustainable management of natural resources, foster ecotourism and enhance food security.

The site provides nationally consistent observations of vegetation dynamics, faunal biodiversity, micrometeorology (climate, radiation, fluxes of carbon and water), hydrology and biogeochemistry to examine the impacts of disturbance, climate on carbon stocks and GHG emissions, and impacts on habitat quality via ongoing monitoring of vegetation structure and fauna. A wide range of ground based observations of vegetation structure and floristics is planned and all will link to remote sensing of fire and vegetation change over time. Measurements of carbon sequestration through time will be achieved via the instrumentation capable of directly measuring CO2, water use and surface energy properties (energy balance, reflectance).

The tower provides long-term measurements as part of Australia and New Zealand’s Ozflux network, the global FLUXNET network, and TERN-NCRIS. The infrastructure is funded through the TERN-NCRIS Ecosystem Research Infrastructure facility.

Key research questions

Current processes - How do climate drivers influence current processes of production, water use and GHG exchange across contrasting land use types?

Past changes - How would past climate variability have influenced past production, water use and GHG emissions across contrasting land use types?

Future response ? How might agricultural and native vegetation systems respond to projected climate change and management?

These questions are embedded within a much larger overarching question about "How do intensively managed landscapes in WA alter hydrology, geomorphology, biology, and biogeochemistry?". Such a question is inherently multidisciplinary and can be understood through the lens of `critical zone science?. Our second major aim is to undertake this project under the scientific framework of critical zone science and through this project establish the first element of a much larger critical zone observatory (CZO).

The Site Location

The Boyagin flux station is located approximately 12km west of Pingelly, near Perth, Western Australia. It was established in September 2017 and is managed by The University of Western Australia. The Boyagin OzFlux Site is located at: 32.477093 S, 116.938559 E, and 484m elevation.

Site Characteristics

The flux tower site is located within an area of wandoo woodland. The surrounding area is dominated by broadacre farming practices.

Elevation of the site is close to 484 m. Climate information comes from the nearby Pingelly BoM AWS station 010626 (1991 to 2016) and shows mean annual precipitation is approximately 445 mm with highest rainfall in June and July of 81 mm each month. Maximumum and minuimum annual rainfall is 775 and 217 mm, respectively. Maximum temperatures range from 31.9?C (in Jan) to 15.4?C (in July), while minimum temperatures range from 5.5?C (in July) to 16.0 ?C (in Feb).

Data

Data from this site is available through the OzFlux data portal international FLUXNET database or via the investigators email [email protected] or [email protected]

Further Information

• Prof. Jason Beringer
• Dr. Caitlin Moore
• School of Agriculture and Environment
• Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN)
• Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) Ecosystem Processes
• The Australian Flux Network (OzFlux)
• Critical Zone Exploration Network
• The National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)
• The International FLUXNET

Acknowledgements

This site is produced by Prof. Jason Beringer, UWA, School of Agriculture and Environment and proudly part of the Australian Flux Network(OzFlux) and supported by the Australian NCRIS Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). Australian Research Council grants supported this work (LP0990038 and FT110100602)