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Overview

CQUniversity is comprised of a number of teaching faculties and Research Centres. The Research Centres are hosted by a given faculty but are relatively independent units. Academic staff belong to a single teaching faculty but can be associated with several Research Centres. Research Officers are generally associated with a single Research Centre. Postgraduate projects can be funded and run through a Research Centre but the award of a degree is controlled by the relevant Faculty.

Map of the Central Queensland region

The Central Queensland region is home to a range of primary industry activities spanning the agricultural (horticulture, broad-acre, grazing, beef), the extractive (coal, nickel, magnesite) and the processing (aluminium smelting, local coal transfer terminals) industries. The Centre for Plant & Water Science conducts research activities that service the needs of these industries. As a region of climatic diversity, spanning tropical to temperate zones, it is also home to dry rainforests, wetlands, scrublands and specialised flora. Research into the conservation of these in the face of development is of prime importance to the Centre for Plant & Water Science. The region represents one of untapped potential, with scope for objective research and development.

The Plant Sciences Group, the fore runner of the Centre for Plant & Water Science, was established in 1991 with Professor Kerry Walsh as the founding director. It was one of two groups (the other being Animal Production) in the CQUniversity's formally designated Primary Industries Research Centre. Professor David Midmore joined the group as Foundation Professor in Plant Sciences and director of the Centre for Plant & Water Science in 1995. The Centre was established to achieve three main goals:

  • Research issues of plant production/conservation relevant to the sustainable development of Central Queensland, and climatically similar regions elsewhere;
  • Improve the quality and extent of undergraduate teaching in disciplines relevant to the Plant Sciences;
  • Provide a range of research training opportunities at the postgraduate level within the Plant Sciences.

Hosted by the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering & Health, the Centre for Plant & Water Science draws upon expertise of staff which range from molecular biology, cell, plant and crop physiology, plant pathology, entomology, to ecology and land rehabilitation. Other university staff participate in relevant projects (eg natural product chemistry, biochemistry, business, engineering, geography and social sciences). This complement of staff ensures that research emphasises holistic approaches to problem solving. Research output is enhanced by access to a functional suite of facilities, including a temperature controlled glasshouse, polyhouses and a small field site; tissue culture and molecular biology laboratories, portable and laboratory IRGAs and other gas exchange systems, analytical equipment (CHNS and isotope ratio mass spectro-meter, NIR spectrometers, FIA, ICP); and an array of supportive plant sciences equipment, such as a root and leaf scanner, canopy irradiance sensor, infrared thermometer and environmental data loggers.

Funding for the Centre's activities has been sourced from ARC, HRDC, QFVG, GRDC, BHP, NHT, RIRDC, ACIAR, and USAID. Many activities are conducted in cooperation with other regional providers of research such as QDPIF, CSIRO, Emerald Agricultural and TAFE Colleges, and involve community participation. Within CQUniversity there is close cooperation on issues of sustainable development between the Centre for Plant & Water Science and the Institute for Sustainable Regional Development.

The Centre publishes reports of its research regularly in journals such as Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, Functional Plant Biology, Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, Agricultural Systems, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Annals of Botany, and Field Crops Research.