Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines & Energy (DNRME)
DNRME work with the community and government to make the best use of Australia's renewable and non-renewable land, water, mineral and energy resources, and delivering safe, secure, affordable and sustainable energy and water.
In 2019, ACEMS formally welcomed the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy as a new Industry Affiliate Member of the Centre’s Industry Affiliate Program.
Some key engagements and initiatives with DNRME, both before and since it became an IAM of ACEMS, include the Many Eyes on the Reef project and research into invasive plant species.
Many Eyes on the Reef Collaborative Project
ACEMS, DNRME and Frontier SI began collaborating in 2015 on the “Monitoring through many eyes: integrating disparate datasets to improve monitoring of the Great Barrier Reef” project, aiming to include citizen science to understand and monitor the Great Barrier Reef.
Figures from research “Monitoring through many eyes: integrating disparate datasets to improve monitoring of the Great barrier Reef”, showing citizen science classifications (left) and comparing predictions (centre and right) for coral cover based on all data versus data from official monitoring programs.
Thanks to the support of DNRME, and other partners, this highly ambitious and innovative research project was enabled and has since gone from strength to strength and realised great success. It has helped improve observational data, models and predictions of coral cover for the Great Barrier Reef; been nominated for and won awards; and been featured in National Science Week initiatives, including as the flagship project promoted by the ABC in 2018, plus most recently with a national citizen science challenge in 2021.
Research on Invasive Plants
ACEMS AI Catherine Leigh, an ecologist and former environmental scientist at DNRME, has contributed to research on the Lippia invasive plant and the following DNRME publication (last updated in 2021), which provides a history of its introduction and spread, current and predicted distribution, current and potential impacts, current control methods, and management approaches.
Leigh, Catherine & Walton, Craig S. (2004) Lippia (Phyla canescens) in Queensland. Land Protection Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, Brisbane, Qld.
Learn more about why the Lippia is a serious invasive problem in Queensland and New South Wales in this Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries publication (featured right).
