A new multi-purpose field study centre for scientists working on significant environmental research projects in the Great Western Woodlands was officially opened today in the Goldfields.
The $220,000 research centre, part of the Australian Supersite Network, is located at the Credo former pastoral station and has been established by a partnership between the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW), the CSIRO and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), with support from the Goldfields Environmental Management Group.
The centre was jointly funded by DPaW ($100,000), the Great Western Woodlands ($60,000), the CSIRO ($30,000) and the Goldfields Environmental Management Group ($30,000).
DPaW Parks and Visitors Services regional leader Nigel Wessels said the facility would be used by scientists involved in research projects aimed at providing a better understanding of the ecology of the unique Great Western Woodlands and the potential impacts of climate change.
“The work carried out in this centre will address important land management issues which have both national and regional importance relevant to agriculture, mining, pastoralism and biodiversity,” he said.
The Great Western Woodlands covers 16 million hectares in south-west Western Australia and is the largest remaining intact temperate or ‘Mediterranean’ woodland in the world.
CSIRO scientist Dr Suzanne Prober said the Credo Field Study Centre would complement projects already underway at the Great Western Woodlands Supersite.
“Our work at the Supersite is helping us to understand how these woodlands work, and hence how they can best be managed and conserved,” she said.
Other uses for the centre are being explored including environmental education, meetings, conferences and training, progressing Aboriginal involvement and joint management, and ecotourism.
The supersite includes the 36-metre OzFlux climate station at the DPaW-managed former Credo Station, near Kalgoorlie, which monitors the energy, water and carbon balance of the Great Western Woodlands.
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