Progressing rehabilitation best practice is a key priority for Alcoa’s mining operations in the south-west of Western Australia. Alcoa currently rehabilitates ca. 800 ha of Jarrah Forest ecosystems with a view to increase to 1000 ha per year. Many challenges to consistent, successful rehabilitation still exist. For example, maximising seed use efficiency is a critical research priority but variability in both intra- and inter specific seed dormancy and germinability, as well as variability in yearly weather conditions, pit topography, and soil characteristics all make this a challenging process. Accompanying these challenges is a raft of precision seed placement issues that require the modification or customization of seed cleaning and sowing machinery that aid in precision sowing of diverse seed mixes.

As part of the Australian Seed Scaling Initiative, this project will work with a multi-disciplinary team of seed ecologists, mechanical engineers and mine rehabilitation specialists focused on improving rehabilitation processes through scalable solutions that can be directly incorporated into rehabilitation operations.

Potential focus areas for study:

Opportunities exist to develop a project from a wide range of research areas that are tailored to an applicant’s area of interest and skill set. For example:

• Geotechnical/hydrological characteristics of mine pits and how this relates to seedling recruitment and pit stability.

• Advancements in seedling recruitment, through the development and application of seed enhancements or improved seed distribution strategies.

• Advancements in monitoring the early-stages of plant recruitment performance in mined landscapes using drone- or ground-based technologies