Summers Scholarships: Understanding capacity of aerial seed banks in revegetation of abandoned farming areas in an agroecological landscape

A number of cropping areas in the northern Murray-Darling basin are becoming more marginal, and in some areas, active cropping has been abandoned. This investment studies the relative contribution of aerial seeds to revegetation of previously cropped land. This research will indicate the likely contribution and importance of patches of established vegetation to the regenerative capacity of abandoned farming areas and will complement research undertaken into understanding the capacity of different seed banks (ie soil, leaf litter and animal scat) to regenerate areas in previous cotton growing landscapes.