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Andy Le Brocque

Research

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These pages provide information on my research interests and activities, including postgraduate student supervision, research publications and grant successes. My research interests are in the ecology and conservation of vegetation in modified and natural ecosystems. Most current research activities are in the broad area of agro-ecology. That is, the ecology of remnant ecosystems in agricultural landscapes and other production systems.

 

Use the links below or scroll down the page for current research activities, recent publications and grants:

 

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Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments

Most current research activities are undertaken by the Agro-Ecology Group within  Sustainable Landscapes program.

 


 Privacy  |  ABN: 40 234 732 081  |  CRICOS: QLD 00244B; NSW 02225M  |  © Sciences, University of Southern Queensland  |  Updated 14 May 2012

 

 

 

 

Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Current Research

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Remnant Vegetation in Agricultural Landscapes:

·         Ecology and resilience of remnant vegetation in production landscapes, southern Queensland.

·         Resilience of temporary wetlands in production landscapes and potential impact of climate change.

·         Disturbance ecology in the riparian woodlands of the Upper Condamine Floodplain, southern Queensland

·         Ecosystem function and resilience of riparian and floodplain woodlands in agricultural landscape

·         Pasture and habitat monitoring for grazing management (Land & Water Australia )

·         Integrating paddock and catchment planning a wool producer approach to sustainable landscape management (PDF 320.7Kb) (Land & Water Australia: Land Water & Wool Program)

·         Ecological services and the sustainable use of remnant vegetation in the Brigalow Bioregion of southern Queensland.

·         Patterns of land use change in the eastern Darling Downs: implications for regional sustainability.

 

 

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Refereed Journal Papers & Proceedings:

2012

Le Brocque A.F., Zammit C., Cockfield G., and Apan A.A., Multi-temporal patterns of land use change and agricultural intensification in the Darling Downs, eastern Australia, 1975-2001. in prep.

Kath, Jarrod and Le Brocque, Andrew F. Hydrological differences between modified and unmodified wetlands in an agriculturally altered floodplain. under review

Reardon-Smith K.M., & Le Brocque (2012) Predictive modelling of riparian woodland response to altered and novel disturbances in multi-use production landscapes. In, Proceedings of Water and Climate: Policy Implementation Challenges. Engineers Australia National Conference, 1-3 May, 2012, Canberra, Australia. 12p.  

2011

Collard, S.J., Le Brocque A.F. & Zammit C. (2011)  Effects of local-scale management and landscape context on herbaceous plant communities in Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) agroecosystems of southern Queensland. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 142 (3-4). pp. 176-183. ISSN 0167-8809

2009

Collard, S.J., Le Brocque A.F. & Zammit C. (2009) Bird assemblages in fragmented agricultural landscapes: the role of small brigalow remnants and adjacent land uses. Biodiversity & Conservation, 18, 1649-1670. [published online 13 Dec 2008].

Le Brocque A.F., Goodhew K., & Zammit C. (2009) Overstorey tree density and understorey regrowth effects on plant composition, stand structure and floristic richness in grazed woodlands in eastern Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 129: 17-27.

2008

Downie, A.F., Le Brocque, A.F. and Dearnaley, J.D.W. (2008) The mycorrhizal fungal associations of the vulnerable Sophora fraseri (Fabaceae). Australasian Mycologist 27: 57-65.

2006

Dearnaley, J.D.W. and Le Brocque A.F. (2006) Endophytic fungi associated with Australian orchids. Australasian Plant Conservation 15:7-9

Dearnaley, J.D.W. and Le Brocque A.F. (2006) Molecular identification of the primary peloton forming fungal endophyte of Dipodium hamiltonianum (Yellow hyacinth orchid). Australian Journal of Botany 54:487-491.    [Abstract]

<2005

Apan, A.A., Raine, S.R., Le Brocque, A. and Cockfield, G. (2004) Spatial Prioritisation of Revegetation Sites for Dryland Salinity Management: An Analytical Framework Using GIS, Journal of Environmental Planning & Management 47(6), pp. 811-825.

Le Brocque A.F. and Buckney R.T. (2003) Species richness-environment relationships within coastal sclerophyll and mesophyll vegetation in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales, Australia. Austral Ecology 28: 404-412.      [Abstract .pdf file]    [Full Text .pdf file]

Le Brocque A.F. (1998) Richness of species and growth-forms within sclerophyll and mesophyll vegetation in eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 23:168-176.       [Abstract .pdf file]

Le Brocque A.F. and Buckney R.T. (1997) Multivariate relationships between floristic composition and stand structure in vegetation of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Botany 45 (6) 1033-1044. [CSIRO/AJB .pdf file]

Le Brocque A.F. and Buckney R.T. (1995) Vegetation and environment patterns on soils derived from Hawkesbury Sandstone and Narrabeen substrata in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Ecology 20:229-238.    [Abstract .pdf file]

Morrison D.A., Le Brocque A.F. and Clarke P.J. (1995) An assessment of some improved techniques for estimating the abundance (frequency) of sedentary organisms. Vegetatio 120:131-145.

 

Recent Conference Presentations:

2012

 

2011

Fritz, Lisa and Le Brocque, Andrew F. and Maron, Martine (2011) Drivers of poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) in a production landscape, southern Queensland  In: Ecological Society of Australia 2011 Annual Conference (ESA 2011): Ecology in Changing Landscapes, 21-25 November 2011, Hobart, Tas. Oral Paper.

Reardon-Smith, Kathryn M., Le Brocque, Andrew F., and House, Alan (2011) Modelling riparian woodland response to altered and novel disturbances in production landscapes in southern Queensland. In: Ecological Society of Australia 2011 Annual Conference (ESA 2011): Ecology in Changing Landscapes, 21-25 November 2011, Hobart, Tas. Oral Paper.

Reardon-Smith, Kathryn M., Le Brocque, Andrew F., Hollins, Suzanne and Silburn, DM (2011) Using stable isotopes to identify soil moisture sources of key species in riparian woodlands  In: Ecological Society of Australia 2011 Annual Conference (ESA 2011): Ecology in Changing Landscapes, 21-25 November 2011, Hobart, Tas. Poster Paper.

Reardon-Smith, Kathryn M., Le Brocque, Andrew F., and House, Alan (2011) Groundwater decline drives riparian woodland dysfunction in a northern Murray-Darling intensive production landscape. 4th Australasian Hydrogeology Research Conference, 12-14th July, 2011, Cairns, Qld. Poster Paper.

Reardon-Smith, Kathryn M., Le Brocque, Andrew F., Hollins, Suzanne and Silburn, DM (2011) Using stable isotopes to identify soil moisture sources of key species in riparian woodlands of the northern Murray-Darling Basin. 11th Australasian Environmental Isotope Conference, 12-14th July, 2011, Cairns, Qld. Poster Paper.

2010

Fritz, Lisa and Le Brocque, Andrew F. and Maron, Martine (2010) How resilient are poplar box (E. populnea) woodlands in production landscapes?  In: Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference 2010 (ESA 2010): Sustaining Biodiversity - the next 50 Years, 6-10 Dec 2010, Canberra, ACT. Poster Paper.

Kath, Jarrod and Le Brocque, Andrew F. and Miller, Craig (2010) Eco-hydrology of highly dynamic wetlands in an Australian agricultural landscape: a whole of system approach for modeling climate change impacts. In: The Fourth International Scientific Conference BALWOIS 2010, Republic of Macedonia, 25-29 May 2010. Oral Paper.

Kath, Jarrod and Le Brocque, Andrew F. and Miller, Craig (2010) Drivers of wetland hydrological diversity at the landscape scale: implications for biodiversity. In: The Fourth International Scientific Conference BALWOIS 2010, Republic of Macedonia, 25-29 May 2010. Oral Paper.

Kath, Jarrod and Le Brocque, Andrew F and Miller, Craig and Lever, Ilona and Mosner, Eva (2010) Different landscape factors explain establishment and persistence of River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in agricultural landscapes of southeast Queensland. In: Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference 2010 (ESA 2010): Sustaining Biodiversity - the next 50 Years, 6-10 Dec 2010, Canberra, ACT. Oral Paper

Le Brocque, Andrew F. and Zammit, Charlie (2010) Four years of sheep exclusion shows no changes in understorey composition in grazed woodlands of southern Queensland. In: Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference 2010 (ESA 2010): Sustaining Biodiversity - the next 50 Years, 6-10 Dec 2010, Canberra, ACT. Oral Paper

Reardon-Smith, Kathryn, Le Brocque, Andrew F. and House, Alan (2010) Riparian woodland dysfunction is associated with/driven by groundwater decline in a northern Murray-Darling intensive production landscape. In: Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference 2010 (ESA 2010): Sustaining Biodiversity - the next 50 Years, 6-10 Dec 2010, Canberra, ACT. Oral Paper

Wagner, Peter M. and Le Brocque, Andrew F. (2010) Chalk and cheese or something in between: comparisons between remnant and regrowth Acacia harpophylla communities, western Darling Downs, Queensland. In: Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference 2010 (ESA 2010): Sustaining Biodiversity - the next 50 Years, 6-10 Dec 2010, Canberra, ACT. Oral Paper

2009

Reardon-Smith, Kathryn and Le Brocque, Andrew F. and House, Alan (2009) Disturbance and resilience of floodplain woodlands in a production landscape. In: 10th International Congress of Ecology: Ecology in a Changing Environment, 16-21 August 2009, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Kath, Jarrod and Le Brocque, Andrew F. and Miller, Craig (2009) Resilience of temporary wetlands in production landscapes and potential impacts of climate change. In: 10th International Congress of Ecology: Ecology in a Changing Environment, 16-21 August 2009, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

2008

Reardon-Smith, K., Le Brocque, A.F. and House, A. (2008) Change is the new stability: disturbance and riparian woodlands in a production landscape. Ecological Society of Australia, Open Forum 2008: Sydney, Australia 1-5 December, 2008. Oral Paper.

Case, H., Le Brocque, A.F., & Dearnaley, J. (2008) Lantana invades the soil too! Effects of Lantana camara on soil fungal dominance.  Ecological Society of Australia, Open Forum 2008: Sydney, Australia 1-5 December, 2008. Oral Paper.

Kath, J., Le Brocque, A.F. & Miller, C. (2008) Resilience of ephemeral wetlands in production landscapes. Ecological Society of Australia, Open Forum 2008: Sydney, Australia 1-5 December, 2008. Poster Paper.

Wagner P., & Le Brocque, A.F. (2008) Resilience in production landscapes: comparisons between remnant and regrowth Acacia harpophylla (Brigalow) and related ecosystems. Ecological Society of Australia, Open Forum 2008: Sydney, Australia 1-5 December, 2008. Poster Paper.

Batterham M., Le Brocque, A.F. &  Reardon-Smith K. (2008) Landscape ecology theory does not apply to recruitment in Eucalyptus populnea woodlands. Ecological Society of Australia, Open Forum 2008: Sydney, Australia 1-5 December, 2008. Poster Paper.

Le Brocque, A.F., Goodhew K., & Cockfield, G. (2008) Retaining trees in a grazing landscape: impacts on ground cover in sheep-grazing agro-ecosystems in southern Queensland. Veg Futures 2008: Toowoomba, Australia 20-24 October, 2008. Oral Paper.

Reardon-Smith, K., Le Brocque, A.F. & House, A. (2008) Riparian Woodlands in Crisis? Disturbance ecology on the Condamine floodplain. Eleventh International River Symposium: A Future of Extremes. Brisbane, Australia 1-4 September, 2008. Oral Paper.

Dearnaley, J.D.W., Downie A.F., Murray, A.J. & Le Brocque A.F. (2008). Molecular identification of mycorrhizal fungi in Australian threatened plant species. International Conference for Plant Biotic Interactions, Brisbane, 27-29 March 2008.

Kath, J., Le Brocque, A.F. & Miller, C. (2008) Ephemeral Wetlands: Their Ecological Function & Resilience and Climate Change. Eleventh International River Symposium: A Future of Extremes. Brisbane, Australia 1-4 September, 2008. Poster Paper.

2006

A.F. Le Brocque, K.A. Goodhew & G. Cockfield 2006, Trees in a grazing landscape: vegetation patterns in sheep grazing agro-ecosystems in southern Queensland, Ecology across the Tasman 2006. Joint conference of the NZ Ecological Society and Ecological Society of Australia, Wellington, New Zealand, 28 Aug - 1 Sept, Oral Presentation

<2005

K.A. Goodhew & A.F. Le Brocque, 2005, Vegetation management and woodland communities in the Traprock sheep grazing region of southern Queensland, Ecological Society of Australia, Annual Conference 2005, Brisbane, Queensland, 28 Nov-2 Dec, Oral Presentation

K. Reardon-Smith, A.F. Le Brocque, A. House & C. Zammit, 2005, Vegetation community responses to altered flow regimes and weed invasion in riparian woodlands of the upper Condamine floodplain, eastern Australia, Ecological Society of Australia, Annual Conference 2005, Brisbane, Queensland, 28 Nov-2 Dec, Oral Presentation

Collard, S. J. and Zammit, Charlie and Le Brocque, Andrew F., 2005, Ecosystem functioning across vegetation - production boundaries in brigalow (Acacia Harpophylla) in Southern Queensland. In: Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference 2005, 28 Nov - 2 Dec 2005, Brisbane, Queensland.

Reardon-Smith, K, Zammit, C & Le Brocque, A,  2004,  Impact of altered flow regimes and weed invasion on riparian communities in the Condamine catchment, south-east Queensland, Ecological Society of Australia Conference 2004, pp. 138, Adelaide.

Le Brocque, A., Zammit, C., & Reardon-Smith, K.,  2003, Richness, complexity and condition of remnants in the eastern Darling Downs, Queensland, Ecological Society of Australia, Ecology 2003 Conference, Armidale, Poster presentation [Poster .jpg file]

Zammit, C., & Le Brocque, A., 2003, Assessing landscape change in the eastern Darling Downs, Queensland 1975-2001, Ecological Society of Australia, Ecology 2003 Conference, Armidale, Poster presentation   [Poster .jpg file]

Collard, S., Zammit, C. & Le Brocque, A., 2003, The contribution of bird communities to ecological services in agricultural lands surrounding brigalow remnants, Ecological Society of Australia, Ecology 2003 Conference, Armidale, NSW. Oral presentation.  [abstract .pdf file]

Apan, A.A., Raine, S.R., Cockfield, G. and Le Brocque, A.F, (2003). Characterising Land Ownership Patterns in a Salt-Affected Catchment: Key Implications for Revegetation, Proceedings of the Spatial Sciences Conference, 22-27 September 2003, Canberra.  [proceedings03 .pdf file]

S. Page, Le Brocque A.F. & Withers K.W. (2003) Habitat preferences of small ground-dwelling mammals. Poster Presentation, 'Partners in Parks', Collaborative Research Forum, Qld Parks & Wildlife Service, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Qld. 2 October 2003. 

Zammit C. & Le Brocque A.F. (2003) Patterns of land use change in the eastern Darling Downs, 1975-2001: status of remnants. Paper presentation, Rural Landscapes: Vegetation Planning and Design Forum, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Land Use Research Centre (USQ), Land & Water Australia, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Qld. 26-27 February 2003.  [abstracts .pdf file]

S. Page, Le Brocque A.F. & Withers K.W. (2002) Small mammal habitat preferences in Ravensbourne National Park, south-east Queensland. Poster Presentation, Annual General Meeting and Open Forum of Australian Ecological Society, Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Qld. 2-6 December 2002.    [Poster .jpg file]

C. Zammit, Apan A., Cockfield G., Le Brocque A.F. & Bouldin M.R. (2002) Prospects for regional sustainability: Land use change in the eastern Darling Downs, 1975-2001. Oral Presentation, 11th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Association Conference: "Images to Information", Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Association of Australasia, Brisbane, Qld. 2-6 September 2002. [.pdf file]

Baker N & Le Brocque A (2002). Bats in the Bunyas: Habitat Preferences of Microchiropteran Bats in the Bunya Mountains, Queensland. Poster paper, Australian Mammal Society Annual Conference, Albury NSW, July 2002.     [Poster .jpg file]

Ford G & Le Brocque A (2000). Morphometric differentiation of Vespadelus finlaysoni and V. troughtoni in Queensland. Poster paper, 9th Australasian Bat Society Conference, Hunter Valley NSW, April 2000.      [Poster .jpg file]

 

Other Publications:

Le Brocque A.F., G. Cockfield & Wagner P. (2008) Vegetation changes following the exclusion of grazing in the Traprock region.  University of Southern Queensland, Traprock Wool Association Inc., Toowoomba, Australia. Final Report to Land & Water Australia as part of the Pasture and habitat monitoring for grazing management (USQ13) project.

Le Brocque A.F., & G. Cockfield (2007) Technical Report: Vegetation changes following the exclusion of grazing in the Traprock region. University of Southern Queensland, Traprock Wool Association Inc., Toowoomba, Australia. Report to Land & Water Australia as part of the Pasture and habitat monitoring for grazing management (USQ13) project. 24 p.

Le Brocque A.F., & K.A. Goodhew (2006) Technical Report: Vegetation changes following the short-term exclusion of grazing in the Traprock region. University of Southern Queensland, Queensland Murray-Darling Committee Inc., Traprock Wool Association Inc., Toowoomba, Australia. Report to Land Water Australia as part of the Integrating Paddock and Catchment Planning: A Wool Producer-Driven Approach to Sustainable Landscape Management (USQ5) project. 93 p.

Attwood S., Le Brocque A.F., Cockfield G. &. Schumacher R., (2006) Technical Report: Vegetation Management, Grazing and Invertebrate Assemblages in the Traprock region. University of Southern Queensland, Queensland Murray-Darling Committee Inc., Traprock Wool Association Inc., Toowoomba, Australia. Report to Land Water Australia as part of the Integrating Paddock and Catchment Planning: A Wool Producer-Driven Approach to Sustainable Landscape Management (USQ5) project.

Le Brocque A.F., K.A. Goodhew, & G. Cockfield (2005) Technical Report: Effect of Vegetation Management on Woodland Communities in the Traprock region. University of Southern Queensland, Queensland Murray-Darling Committee Inc., Traprock Wool Association Inc., Toowoomba, Australia. Report to Land Water Australia as part of the Integrating Paddock and Catchment Planning: A Wool Producer-Driven Approach to Sustainable Landscape Management (USQ5) project.

Le Brocque A.F. (2000) Review of vegetation management for fire contingency at Helidon Explosives Facility. Report to Helidon Explosives Facility, Qld Department of Minerals & Energy, Helidon.

Le Brocque A.F. and Benson J.S. (1995) Report on Stage 2 of the Task 5 Pilot Survey for BasinCare M305 Project: An Investigation into the Methodology, Costs and Logistics Involved in the Collection of Floristic data within the Murray-Darling Basin. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Le Brocque A.F. (1994) Sydney Deepwater Outfall Monitoring Program: Water Quality Component. Consultancy report to NSW Environment Protection Authority. 113pp. 

 

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External Grants & Scholarships:

Year

Applicant(s)

Program

Project Title

Amount Rec'd

2009-11

Megan Batterham/Lisa Fritz  (A. Le Brocque primary supervisor)

L&WA PhD Scholarship

Ecosystem function and resilience of riparian and floodplain woodlands in agricultural landscape

$96,000

2008-10

Jarrod Kath (A. Le Brocque primary supervisor)

CSIRO PhD Top Up Scholarship

Resilience of temporary wetlands in production landscapes and potential impact of climate change

$12,000

2008

Dearnaley J. & Le Brocque A.F.

NSW Dept of Environment & Climate Change

Fungal associates of Lantana camara southern Queensland

$4,750

2007-8

Cockfield G. & Le Brocque A.F.

Australian Wool Innovation

Pasture and habitat monitoring for grazing management

$83 021

2006-7

Dearnaley J., Le Brocque A.F. & Zammit C. (DEH)

Australian Orchid Foundation

Fungal associations of Dipodium hamiltonianum (Yellow hyacinth orchid)

$3,850

2004-6

Zammit C., et al. (incl. Le Brocque)

LWA, Land, Water & Wool Initiative

Integrating paddock and catchment planning: a woolgrower driven approach to sustainable landscape management.

$222 694

2001-2

Zammit C.,  Le Brocque A.F., Eyre T.J. (QDNR), Leverington A. (QDNR) & J. Playford (QP&WS) 

ARC-SPIRT

Ecological services and the sustainable use of remnant vegetation in the Brigalow Bioregion of southern Queensland

$175 110

 

 Internal (USQ) Grants: 

Year

Applicant(s)

Program

Project Title

Amount Rec'd

2010

Lin, C., Le Brocque, A.F., Maraseni, T., et al.

Research Infrastructure Program (RIP)

Enhancing Analytical Capability for Environmental Research

$110 330

2000

Zammit C., Apan A., Cockfield G., & Le Brocque A.F.

Project Team Research Program (PTRP)

Patterns of land use change in the eastern Darling Downs: implications for regional sustainability

$52 000

1999

Le Brocque A.F., McKilligan N., Zammit C., van den Ancker T., Clayton P. & Young R.A.

Project Team Research Program (PTRP)

The ecology of macroinvertebrate communities in the eastern Darling Downs headwaters of the Murray-Darling

$34 000

1999

Apan A., Cockfield G., Le Brocque A.F. & Raine S.

Project Team Research Program (PTRP)

Environmental remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS)

$43 880

1998

Withers K., Le Brocque A.F., McKilligan N., McConnell P., Young R.A.,

Research Infrastructure Program (RIP)

Equipment for the analysis of ecological materials in the field

$50 092

1997

Le Brocque A.F., Young R.A., & Ford G.

Project Team Research Program (PTRP)

Preliminary investigation into the habitat requirements of micrchiropteran bats

$47 707

1997

Le Brocque A.F., Young R.A., Ford G., McKenzie F. & Withers K.

Research Infrastructure Program (RIP)

Equipment for the analysis of ecological materials

$56 000

1996

McKilligan N., Le Brocque A.F., McKenzie F., Withers K. & Young R.A.

Research Infrastructure Program (RIP)

Infrastructure for research into natural ecosystems

$50 000

1996

Le Brocque A.F.

Early Career Researcher Program (ECRP)

Infrastructure support for the collection, collation and analysis of field data in vegetation research

$6 862

 

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 Privacy  |  ABN: 40 234 732 081  |  CRICOS: QLD 00244B; NSW 02225M  |  © Sciences, University of Southern Queensland  |  Updated 14 May 2012