Featured researcher: Udara Induruwage Don

 

Project – Plugging Leaky Landscapes: Turnip Creek Catchment Rehydration in Baddaginnie, Victoria

 

Winner of the Vic Hub Gippsland Node Priority Research Area Award for Sustainable Landscapes

 

Udara Induruwage Don’s research is testing practical ways to “rehydrate” dry, degraded catchments so they hold more water in the landscape and better support agriculture and ecosystems. His project in Baddaginnie is in partnership with Bush Heritage Australia.

Udara is examining how a suite of landscape rehydration interventions – including contour ripping, improved groundcover and deep‑rooted pasture mixes used with rotational grazing – can slow runoff, increase infiltration and improve pasture productivity. Using predictive modelling, he assesses how different combinations of these practices change catchment water yield, with a particular focus on reducing overland flow and enhancing subsurface flow.​

Alongside the modelling, Udara is running a field experiment to track what these interventions do to soil moisture, soil structure and pasture health over time. By integrating GIS‑based catchment modelling, soil and erosion modelling, carbon sequestration modelling and on‑ground monitoring, his research aims to produce evidence‑based, scalable options for restoring “leaky” landscapes and building drought resilience.​

For his presentation at Drought Resilience 2025, Udara received the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub‘s Gippsland Node Priority Research Area Award for Sustainable Landscapes. This award is supporting him to work with Food & Fibre Gippsland on applying this knowledge in south‑eastern Victoria.

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