Dr Laura Sonter
Senior Lecturer
School of the Environment
Deputy Director – Engagement
Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science
Researcher biography
Laura's research seeks to understand where, when and how to manage and conserve landscapes, so as to benefit both nature and people. She uses land use change models, coupled with remote sensing and GIS datasets, to predict how future development projects (e.g., mines, hydropower dams, transportation infrastructure) will impact biodiversity and ecosystem services. This information allows us to compare the costs and benefits of alternative management interventions and, ultimately, provides the knowledge needed to make decisions that are more informed. Laura's research benefits from collaborating across disciplines (ecology, economics, engineering) and working alongside government and non-government organisations. She is currently conducting projects in Australia, Brazil and the US.
Publications
Book Chapter
Kunz, Nadja C., Sonter, Laura J. and Moran, Chris J. (2022). OVERLAPPING AND INTERACTING WATER AND LAND RISKS IN MINING REGIONS. Routledge Handbook of the Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development. (pp. 349-366) London, United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781003001317-22
Journal Articles
Junker, Jessica, Quoss, Luise, Valdez, Jose, Arandjelovic, Mimi, Barrie, Abdulai, Campbell, Geneviève, Heinicke, Stefanie, Humle, Tatyana, Kouakou, Célestin Y., Kühl, Hjalmar S., Ordaz-Németh, Isabel, Pereira, Henrique M., Rainer, Helga, Refisch, Johannes, Sonter, Laura and Sop, Tenekwetche (2024). Threat of mining to African great apes. Science Advances, 10 (14) eadl0335. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0335
Negret, Pablo Jose, Venegas, Ruben, Sonter, Laura J., Possingham, Hugh P. and Maron, Martine (2024). Conservation planning for retention, not just protection. Global Change Biology, 30 (3) e17211, e17211. doi: 10.1111/gcb.17211
Mitchell, Matthew G. E., Qiu, Jiangxiao, Cardinale, Bradley J., Chan, Kai M. A., Eigenbrod, Felix, Felipe-Lucia, María R., Jacob, Aerin L., Jones, Matthew S. and Sonter, Laura J. (2024). Key questions for understanding drivers of biodiversity-ecosystem service relationships across spatial scales. Landscape Ecology, 39 (2) 36. doi: 10.1007/s10980-024-01842-y
Aska, Bora, Franks, Daniel M., Stringer, Martin and Sonter, Laura J. (2023). Biodiversity conservation threatened by global mining wastes. Nature Sustainability, 7 (1), 23-30. doi: 10.1038/s41893-023-01251-0
Werner, Tim T., Toumbourou, Tessa, Maus, Victor, Lukas, Martin C., Sonter, Laura J., Muhdar, Muhamad, Runting, Rebecca K. and Bebbington, Anthony (2023). Patterns of infringement, risk, and impact driven by coal mining permits in Indonesia. Ambio, 53 (2), 242-256. doi: 10.1007/s13280-023-01944-y
Lloyd, Thomas J., Oliveira, Ubirajara, Soares‐Filho, Britaldo S., Fuller, Richard A., Butt, Nathalie, Ascher, John S., Barbosa, João Paulo Peixoto Pena, Batista, João Aguiar Nogueira, Brescovit, Antonio D., de Carvalho, Claudio J. B., De Marco, Paulo, Ferro, Viviane Gianluppi, Leite, Felipe Sá Fortes, Löwenberg‐Neto, Peter, Paglia, Adriano Pereira, de Rezende, Daniella Teixeira, Santos, Adalberto J., Silva, Daniel Paiva, de Vasconcelos, Marcelo Ferreira and Sonter, Laura J. (2023). Multiple facets of biodiversity are threatened by mining‐induced land‐use change in the Brazilian Amazon. Diversity and Distributions, 29 (9), 1190-1204. doi: 10.1111/ddi.13753
Watson, James E. M., Venegas‐Li, Ruben, Grantham, Hedley, Dudley, Nigel, Stolton, Sue, Rao, Madhu, Woodley, Stephen, Hockings, Marc, Burkart, Karl, Simmonds, Jeremy S., Sonter, Laura J., Sreekar, Rachakonda, Possingham, Hugh P. and Ward, Michelle (2023). Priorities for protected area expansion so nations can meet their Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commitments. Integrative Conservation, 2 (3), 140-155. doi: 10.1002/inc3.24
Sonter, Laura J., Maron, Martine, Bull, Joseph W., Giljum, Stefan, Luckeneder, Sebastian, Maus, Victor, McDonald-Madden, Eve, Northey, Stephen A., Sánchez, Luis E., Valenta, Rick, Visconti, Piero, Werner, Tim T. and Watson, James E. M. (2023). How to fuel an energy transition with ecologically responsible mining. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120 (35) e2307006120, 1-3. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2307006120
zu Ermgassen, Sophus O. S. E., Devenish, Katie, Simmons, B. Alexander, Gordon, Ascelin, Jones, Julia P. G., Maron, Martine, Schulte to Bühne, Henrike, Sharma, Roshan, Sonter, Laura J., Strange, Niels, Ward, Michelle and Bull, Joseph W. (2023). Evaluating the impact of biodiversity offsetting on native vegetation. Global Change Biology, 29 (15), 4397-4411. doi: 10.1111/gcb.16801
Simmonds, Jeremy S., Suarez‐Castro, Andres Felipe, Reside, April E., Watson, James E.M., Allan, James R., Atkinson, Scott C., Borrelli, Pasquale, Dudley, Nigel, Edwards, Stephen, Fuller, Richard A., Game, Edward T., Linke, Simon, Maxwell, Sean L., Panagos, Panos, Puydarrieux, Philippe, Quétier, Fabien, Runting, Rebecca K., Santini, Talitha, Sonter, Laura J. and Maron, Martine (2023). Retaining natural vegetation to safeguard biodiversity and humanity. Conservation Biology, 37 (3) e14040, 1-16. doi: 10.1111/cobi.14040
Villarreal‐Rosas, Jaramar, Rhodes, Jonathan R., Sonter, Laura J., Possingham, Hugh P. and Vogl, Adrian L. (2023). Optimal allocation of nature‐based solutions to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation goals. People and Nature, 5 (3), 1034-1045. doi: 10.1002/pan3.10481
Narain, Divya, Sonter, Laura J., Lechner, Alex Mark, Watson, James E.M., Simmonds, Jeremy S. and Maron, Martine (2023). Global assessment of the biodiversity safeguards of development banks that finance infrastructure. Conservation Biology, 37 (4) e14095, 1-13. doi: 10.1111/cobi.14095
Boldy, Robyn, Annandale, Mark, Erskine, Peter D. and Sonter, Laura J. (2023). Assessing impacts of mining on provisioning ecosystem services in a culturally diverse landscape of Western Cape York, Australia. Landscape Ecology, 38 (12), 4467-4481. doi: 10.1007/s10980-023-01745-4
Sonter, Laura J., Lloyd, Thomas J., Kearney, Stephen G., Di Marco, Moreno, O'Bryan, Christopher J., Valenta, Richard K. and Watson, James E. M. (2022). Conservation implications and opportunities of mining activities for terrestrial mammal habitat. Conservation Science and Practice, 4 (12) e12806, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/csp2.12806
Giljum, Stefan, Maus, Victor, Kuschnig, Nikolas, Luckeneder, Sebastian, Tost, Michael, Sonter, Laura J. and Bebbington, Anthony J. (2022). A pantropical assessment of deforestation caused by industrial mining. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119 (38) e2118273119, 1-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2118273119
Siqueira-Gay, Juliana, Metzger, Jean Paul, Sánchez, Luis E. and Sonter, Laura J. (2022). Strategic planning to mitigate mining impacts on protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon. Nature Sustainability, 5 (10), 853-860. doi: 10.1038/s41893-022-00921-9
Bull, Joseph W, Sonter, Laura J, Gordon, Ascelin, Maron, Martine, Narain, Divya, Reside, April E, Sánchez, Luis E, Shumway, Nicole, von Hase, Amrei and Quétier, Fabien (2022). Quantifying the “avoided” biodiversity impacts associated with economic development. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 20 (6), 370-378. doi: 10.1002/fee.2496
Villarreal-Rosas, Jaramar, Wells, Jessie A., Sonter, Laura J., Possingham, Hugh P. and Rhodes, Jonathan R. (2022). The impacts of land use change on flood protection services among multiple beneficiaries. Science of the Total Environment, 806 (Pt 2) 150577, 150577. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150577
Simmonds, Jeremy S., Hase, Amrei, Quétier, Fabien, Brownlie, Susie, Maron, Martine, Possingham, Hugh P., Souquet, Mathieu, zu Ermgassen, Sophus O. S. E., ten Kate, Kerry, Costa, Hugo M. and Sonter, Laura J. (2022). Aligning ecological compensation policies with the Post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to achieve real net gain in biodiversity. Conservation Science and Practice, 4 (3) e12634. doi: 10.1111/csp2.12634
Villarreal-Rosas, Jaramar, Vogl, Adrian L, Sonter, Laura J, Possingham, Hugh P and Rhodes, Jonathan R (2022). Trade-offs between efficiency, equality and equity in restoration for flood protection. Environmental Research Letters, 17 (1) 014001, 014001. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac3797
Boldy, Robyn, Santini, Talitha, Annandale, Mark, Erskine, Peter D. and Sonter, Laura J. (2021). Understanding the impacts of mining on ecosystem services through a systematic review. Extractive Industries and Society-An International Journal, 8 (1), 457-466. doi: 10.1016/j.exis.2020.12.005
Mandle, Lisa, Shields-Estrada, Analisa, Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca, Mitchell, Matthew G. E., Bremer, Leah L., Gourevitch, Jesse D., Hawthorne, Peter, Johnson, Justin A., Robinson, Brian E., Smith, Jeffrey R., Sonter, Laura J., Verutes, Gregory M., Vogl, Adrian L., Daily, Gretchen C. and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2021). Increasing decision relevance of ecosystem service science. Nature Sustainability, 4 (2), 161-169. doi: 10.1038/s41893-020-00625-y
Archibald, Carla L., Dade, Marie C., Sonter, Laura J., Bell-James, Justine, Boldy, Robyn, Cano, Beatriz, Friedman, Rachel S., Siqueira, Flavia Freire, Metzger, Jean Paul, Fitzsimons, James A. and Rhodes, Jonathan R. (2021). Do conservation covenants consider the delivery of ecosystem services?. Environmental Science and Policy, 115, 99-107. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.08.016
Kodaira, Shuichi, Seton, Maria, Sonter, Laura J., Till, Christy B. and Williams, Helen M. (2021). Reflections on solid Earth research. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 2 (1), 21-25. doi: 10.1038/s43017-020-00127-7
Villarreal-Rosas, Jaramar, Sonter, Laura J., Runting, Rebecca K., López-Cubillos, Sofía, Dade, Marie C., Possingham, Hugh P. and Rhodes, Jonathan R. (2020). Advancing systematic conservation planning for ecosystem services. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 35 (12), 1129-1139. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.08.016
Siqueira-Gay, Juliana, Soares-Filho, Britaldo, Sanchez, Luis E., Oviedo, Antonio and Sonter, Laura J. (2020). Proposed legislation to mine Brazil's Indigenous lands will threaten Amazon forests and their valuable ecosystem services. One Earth, 3 (3), 356-362. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.008
Sonter, Laura J., Dade, Marie C., Watson, James E. M. and Valenta, Rick K. (2020). Renewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 4174, 4174. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17928-5
Siqueira-Gay, Juliana, Sonter, Laura J. and Sánchez, Luis E. (2020). Exploring potential impacts of mining on forest loss and fragmentation within a biodiverse region of Brazil's northeastern Amazon. Resources Policy, 67 101662, 101662. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101662
Ward, Michelle, Tulloch, Ayesha I. T., Radford, James Q., Williams, Brooke A., Reside, April E., Macdonald, Stewart L., Mayfield, Helen J., Maron, Martine, Possingham, Hugh P., Vine, Samantha J., O’Connor, James L., Massingham, Emily J., Greenville, Aaron C., Woinarski, John C. Z., Garnett, Stephen T., Lintermans, Mark, Scheele, Ben C., Carwardine, Josie, Nimmo, Dale G., Lindenmayer, David B., Kooyman, Robert M., Simmonds, Jeremy S., Sonter, Laura J. and Watson, James E. M. (2020). Impact of 2019–2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 4 (10), 1321-1326. doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-1251-1
Sonter, Laura J., Simmonds, Jeremy S., Watson, James E. M., Jones, Julia P. G., Kiesecker, Joseph M., Costa, Hugo M., Bennun, Leon, Edwards, Stephen, Grantham, Hedley S., Griffiths, Victoria F., Jones, Kendall, Sochi, Kei, Puydarrieux, Philippe, Quétier, Fabien, Rainer, Helga, Rainey, Hugo, Roe, Dilys, Satar, Musnanda, Soares-Filho, Britaldo S., Starkey, Malcolm, ten Kate, Kerry, Victurine, Ray, von Hase, Amrei, Wells, Jessie A. and Maron, Martine (2020). Local conditions and policy design determine whether ecological compensation can achieve no net loss goals. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 2072, 2072. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15861-1
Negret, Pablo J., Di‐Marco, Moreno, Sonter, Laura J., Rhodes, Jonathan, Possingham, Hugh P. and Maron, Martine (2020). Effects of spatial autocorrelation and sampling design on estimates of protected area effectiveness. Conservation Biology, 34 (6) cobi.13522, 1452-1462. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13522
Watson, Keri B., Galford, Gillian L., Sonter, Laura J. and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2020). Conserving ecosystem services and biodiversity: measuring the tradeoffs involved in splitting conservation budgets. Ecosystem Services, 42 101063, 101063. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101063
Rehbein, Jose A., Watson, James E. M., Lane, Joe L., Sonter, Laura J., Venter, Oscar, Atkinson, Scott C. and Allan, James R. (2020). Renewable energy development threatens many globally important biodiversity areas. Global Change Biology, 26 (5) gcb.15067, 3040-3051. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15067
Maron, Martine, Simmonds, Jeremy S., Watson, James E. M., Sonter, Laura J., Bennun, Leon, Griffiths, Victoria F., Quétier, Fabien, von Hase, Amrei, Edwards, Stephen, Rainey, Hugo, Bull, Joseph W., Savy, Conrad E., Victurine, Ray, Kiesecker, Joseph, Puydarrieux, Philippe, Stevens, Todd, Cozannet, Naïg and Jones, Julia P. G. (2019). Global no net loss of natural ecosystems. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 4 (1), 46-49. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-1067-z
Simmonds, Jeremy S., Sonter, Laura J., Watson, James E. M., Bennun, Leon, Costa, Hugo M., Dutson, Guy, Edwards, Stephen, Grantham, Hedley, Griffiths, Victoria F., Jones, Julia P. G., Kiesecker, Joseph, Possingham, Hugh P., Puydarrieux, Philippe, Quetier, Fabien, Rainer, Helga, Rainey, Hugo, Roe, Dilys, Savy, Conrad E., Souquet, Mathieu, ten Kate, Kerry, Victurine, Ray, von Hase, Amrei and Maron, Martine (2019). Moving from biodiversity offsets to a target-based approach for ecological compensation. Conservation Letters, 13 (2) e12695. doi: 10.1111/conl.12695
Jones, Julia Patricia Gordon, Bull, Joseph William, Roe, Dilys, Baker, Julia, Griffiths, Victoria Frances, Starkey, Malcolm, Sonter, Laura Jane and Milner-Gulland, E.J. (2019). Net gain: seeking better outcomes for local people when mitigating biodiversity loss from development. One Earth, 1 (2), 195-201. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2019.09.007
Sonter, Laura J., Gordon, Ascelin, Archibald, Carla, Simmonds, Jeremy S., Ward, Michelle, Metzger, Jean Paul, Rhodes, Jonathan R. and Maron, Martine (2019). Offsetting impacts of development on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Ambio, 49 (4), 892-902. doi: 10.1007/s13280-019-01245-3
Negret, Pablo Jose, Sonter, Laura, Watson, James E.M., Possingham, Hugh P., Jones, Kendall R., Suarez, Cesar, Ochoa-Quintero, Jose Manuel and Maron, Martine (2019). Emerging evidence that armed conflict and coca cultivation influence deforestation patterns. Biological Conservation, 239 108176, 108176. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.07.021
Grima, Nelson, Fisher, Brendan, Ricketts, Taylor H. and Sonter, Laura J. (2019). Who benefits from ecosystem services? Analysing recreational moose hunting in Vermont, USA. Oryx, 53 (4), 1-9. doi: 10.1017/s003060531800145x
Thom, Dominik, Golivets, Marina, Edling, Laura, Meigs, Garrett W., Gourevitch, Jesse D., Sonter, Laura J., Galford, Gillian L. and Keeton, William S. (2019). The climate sensitivity of carbon, timber, and species richness covaries with forest age in boreal–temperate North America. Global Change Biology, 25 (7), 2446-2458. doi: 10.1111/gcb.14656
Sonter, Laura J., Barnes, Megan, Matthews, Jeffrey W. and Maron, Martine (2019). Quantifying habitat losses and gains made by U.S. Species Conservation Banks to improve compensation policies and avoid perverse outcomes. Conservation Letters, 12 (3) e12629, e12629. doi: 10.1111/conl.12629
Watson, Keri B., Galford, Gillian L., Sonter, Laura J., Koh, Insu and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2019). Effects of human demand on conservation planning for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Conservation Biology, 33 (4), 942-952. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13276
Sonter, Laura J., Ali, Saleem H. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Mining and biodiversity: key issues and research needs in conservation science. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285 (1892) 20181926, 20181926. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1926
Sonter, Laura J., Gourevitch, Jesse, Koh, Insu, Nicholson, Charles C., Richardson, Leif L., Schwartz, Aaron J., Singh, Nitin K., Watson, Keri B., Maron, Martine and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2018). Biodiversity offsets may miss opportunities to mitigate impacts on ecosystem services. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16 (3), 143-148. doi: 10.1002/fee.1781
Sonter, Laura J, Herrera, Diego, Barrett, Damian J, Galford, Gillian L, Moran, Chris J and Soares-Filho, Britaldo S (2017). Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Nature Communications, 8 (1) 1013, 1-7. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00557-w
Sonter, Laura J., Johnson, Justin A., Nicolson, Charles C., Richardson, Leif L., Watson, Keri B. and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2017). Multi-site interactions: understanding the offsite impacts of land use change on the supply and use of ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services, 23, 158-164. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.12.012
Sonter, L. J., Tomsett, N., Wu, D. and Maron, M. (2017). Biodiversity offsetting in dynamic landscapes: influence of regulatory context and counterfactual assumptions on achievement of no net loss. Biological Conservation, 206, 314-319. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.11.025
Ricketts, Taylor H., Watson, Keri B., Koh, Insu, Ellis, Alicia M., Nicholson, Charles C., Posner, Stephen, Richardson, Leif L. and Sonter, Laura J. (2016). Disaggregating the evidence linking biodiversity and ecosystem services. Nature Communications, 7 (13106) 13106. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13106
Sonter, Laura J., Watson, Keri B., Wood, Spencer A. and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2016). Spatial and temporal dynamics and value of nature-based recreation, estimated via social media. PLoS One, 11 (9) e0162372, e0162372. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162372
Sonter, Laura J. (2015). Review of Modeling of Land-Use and Ecological Dynamics, edited by Dan Malkinson, Danny Czamanski,and Itzhak Benenson. 2013. Series: Cities and Nature. Heidelberg, Germany and New York: Springer. 193 + viii. ISBN: 978-3-642-40198-5. Journal of Regional Science, 55 (4), 679-681. doi: 10.1111/jors.12214
Galford, Gillian L., Soares-Filho, Britaldo S., Sonter, Laura J. and Laporte, Nadine (2015). Will passive protection save Congo forests?. PLos One, 10 (6) e0128473, e0128473.1-e0128473.19. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128473
Sonter, Laura J., Barrett, Damian J., Moran, Chris J. and Soares-Filho, Britaldo S. (2015). Carbon emissions due to deforestation for the production of charcoal used in Brazil's steel industry. Nature Climate Change, 5 (4), 359-363. doi: 10.1038/nclimate2515
Sonter, Laura J., Moran, Chris J., Barrett, Damian J. and Soares-Filho, Britaldo S. (2014). Processes of land use change in mining regions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84 (1), 494-501. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.03.084
Sonter, L. J., Barrett, D. J. and Soares-Filho, B. S. (2014). Offsetting the impacts of mining to achieve no net loss of native vegetation. Conservation Biology, 28 (4), 1068-1076. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12260
Sonter, Laura J., Barrett, Damian J., Soares-Filho, Britaldo S. and Moran, Chris J. (2014). Global demand for steel drives extensive land-use change in Brazil's Iron Quadrangle. Global Environmental Change, 26 (1), 63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.03.014
Sonter, L. J., Barrett, D. J., Moran, C. J. and Soares-Filho, B. S. (2013). A Land System Science meta-analysis suggests we underestimate intensive land uses in land use change dynamics. Journal of Land Use Science, 10 (2), 191-204. doi: 10.1080/1747423X.2013.871356
Sonter, L. J., Moran, C. J. and Barrett, D. J. (2013). Modeling the impact of revegetation on regional water quality: a collective approach to manage the cumulative impacts of mining in the Bowen Basin, Australia. Resources Policy, 38 (4), 670-677. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.02.007
Moran, C. J., Franks, D. M. and Sonter, L. J. (2013). Using the multiple capitals framework to connect indicators of regional cumulative impacts of mining and pastoralism in the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. Resources Policy, 38 (4), 733-744. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.01.002
Sonter, Laura J., Metcalfe, Daniel and Mayfield, Margaret M. (2011). Assessing rainforest restoration: the value of buffer strips for the recovery of rainforest remnants in Australia’s wet tropics. Pacific Conservation Biology, 16 (4), 274-288.
Conference Papers
Sonter, Laura Jane, Barrett, Damian, Moran, Chris and Soares-Filho, Britaldo (2013). Mining, deforestation and conservation opportunities: a case study of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero land use change dynamics. XVI Simpósio Brasileiro de Sensoriamento Remoto, Foz do Iguaçu, PR, Brazil, 13-18 April 2013. São José dos Campos, SP, Brasil: INPE.
Sonter, Laura J., Barrett, Damian J., Moran, Chris J. and Soares-Filho, Britaldo (2013). Do we underestimate intensive drivers of land use land cover change?. AAG Annual Meeting 2013, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 9-13 April 2013.
Barrett, D. J., Wettle, M., Sonter, L. J., Franks, D. M. and Almarza, A. (2011). Environmental offsets: understanding cost/benefit trade-offs at the landscape scale. Sustainable Development Conference 2011 (SD2011), Mackay, Australia, 24-26 October 2011.
Thesis
Sonter, Laura J. (2014). Global driving forces of intensive land use change from steel production in Brazil’s Iron Quadrangle. PhD Thesis, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2017.1034
Research Report
Barrett, Damian, Sonter, Laura, Almarza, Anthony, Franks, Daniel M., Moran, Chris, Cohen, Tamar and Hedemann, Chris (2011). Quantitative approach to improving the business of biodiversity investment: final report. ACARP Project Number: C17030 Brisbane, Australia: Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland.
Newspaper Articles
Sonter, Laura, Watson, James and Valenta, Richard (2020, 09 02). Renewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it The Conversation
Ward, Michelle, Greenville, Aaron, Reside, April, Tulloch, Ayesha, Williams, Brooke, Massingham, Emily, Mayfield, Helen, Possingham, Hugh, Watson, James, Radford, Jim and Sonter, Laura (2020, 01 19). Six million hectares of threatened species habitat up in smoke The Conversation