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Paola Raupp

Candidature

PhD Candidate

Thesis Title

Exploring Aboveground and Belowground Barriers in Plant Establishment for Effective Ecological Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems

Project Summary

Paola RauppRestoring degraded ecosystems is vital for promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functions. This is particularly relevant for endangered ecological communities, such as the Cumberland Plain Woodland (CPW) in Southeastern Australia, with less than 6% of its original area remaining. CPW restoration efforts often focus on trees, neglecting the native understorey despite their prominent biodiversity and crucial role in ecosystem health. To achieve a diverse understorey, topsoil removal is a common pre-planting technique to change soil conditions and decrease exotic dominance; restoration planting can also differ in diversity, from planting one resilient native species to multiple species and functional groups. However, despite ongoing efforts to restore these environments, many barriers remain to be overcome and achieve a diverse ecosystem.

My thesis aims to identify and overcome the barriers to restoring these grassy woodland ecosystems. It integrates tertiary data analysis, surveys, and multifactor experiments to investigate how aboveground and belowground factors influence plant establishment and community dynamics, intending to support restoration strategies. Firstly, to understand the possible factors driving CPW plant composition, I am exploring the linkages between landscape, soil properties across different layers, and the prevalence of native and exotic plants along degradation gradients in Western Sydney. I will also assess seed bank emergence, composition, and diversity using the soils sampled for each layer. This knowledge can inform restoration techniques, such as determining the optimal depth for topsoil removal to minimise exotic species while promoting native ones. Moreover, I will examine the effects of topsoil removal, planting diversity, and water availability on native understorey establishment and exotic invasion, measuring the soil physicochemical and biological properties associated with these responses. This will help us understand how increasing native understorey diversity can enhance ecosystem resilience to exotic species invasion under future precipitation scenarios and explore the mechanisms behind it. This will also contribute to understanding how planting diversity might impact the establishment of native and exotic regenerating species from the seed bank. Finally, building upon these findings, I will conduct belowground manipulations, including soil biota and nutrient availability, before planting in the topsoil and subsoil layers, aiming to promote native species while reducing exotic species invasion. Through this comprehensive research, my findings can inform successful ecological restoration strategies, contributing to the conservation and recovery of Sydney’s grassy woodland ecosystems.

Publication

Raupp PP, Gonçalves RVS, Cardoso JCF, Calixto ES, Costa AN, (2025) 'Herbivory intensity and plant species traits interact with tree canopy cover to drive seedling survival in Neotropical savannas', Plant Ecology, vol.226, no.5, pp 473-484

Supervisors

Yolima Carrillo, Paul Rymer, Uffe Nielsen, Ian Oliver (DCCEEW)