Making integrative, cross-disciplinary research happen: Initial lessons from the Upper Hunter River Rehabilitation Initiative

Abstract

This paper outlines the structure and initial findings of a cross-disciplinary research project that examines ecosystem responses to a major rehabilitation initiative involving riparian vegetation management and emplacement of engineered wood structures along the Upper Hunter River, NSW. Institutional arrangements are considered, outlining some of the challenges at the interface between scientific experimentation and practical implementation of river rehabilitation treatments. Primary lessons learnt to date relate to establishment and management of cross-disciplinary rehabilitation programs, concerns for educational structures and practice, and scientific and managerial responses to changing institutional arrangements.