Welcome, from Program Manager Mark Hunt
 Welcome to The Monitor, our
first edition of the Program One newsletter for 2009 and the first
edition since I assumed the role of Program Manager from Mike
Battaglia early last year. In this issue I will outline the role we
see The Monitor fulfilling and some of the changes to the
program since I came into the role. Thank you everyone for helping
to make my transition into the role as smooth and enjoyable as
possible ... [Read more
...]
Thoughts from the Program Coordinating Committee Chair, Justine
Edwards
 Justine Edwards from Great
Southern Plantations is the Chair of the Program Coordinating
Committee, and here she shares some of her thoughts on the current
position of the Program. She writes: 'Having reached the midpoint
of the CRC for Forestry, project deliverables are becoming more and
more of a focus and this was apparent in the discussions at the
Annual Science Meeting in November last year ...' [ Read more
...]
A dirty job ...
 Predicting tree and forest growth relies
on understanding the impacts of climate, species, stochastic events
(including management) and site. Jody Bruce of CSIRO has been
developing a regional-scale understanding of how site features
explain soil properties—an understanding that is necessary to
inform decisions about plantation establishment and forest
management. [Read more
...]
Visiting student gets mixed up in remote sensing
One of the most challenging aspects of trying to determine the
condition of plantation trees in remotely sensed images is
minimising the influence of objects beneath the canopy. A masters
student from Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven in Belgium, Ms Eva
Ampe, visited the Wattle Range and Green Hills study areas to help
determine the best method for unmixing our images to measure forest
health. [Read more
...]
Farewell to Paul Drake
 Dr Paul Drake has
been employed as a postdoctoral research fellow at Murdoch
University for the past two-and-a-half years working with Project
1.2.1. Paul’s work has been largely completed and he is now
moving on to his next challenge.
[Read more
...]
The French connection: Nathalie Long and carbon isotope
discrimination
French student Nathalie Long is using carbon isotope
discrimination to consider genetic variability in Eucalyptus
globulus as part of her PhD program at Murdoch University.
[Read
more …]
Tool for examining impact of defoliation on plantation
productivity
A version of the forest growth model CABALA is
being developed that that will allow users to examine the impact of
defoliation on plantation productivity. Users can stipulate the
pattern, severity, timing and frequency of defoliation, as well as
foliage discoloration (e.g. due to pathogen attack) and any
silvicultural interventions. [Read more
…]
Getting to grips with the competition
 Plant competition may
be particularly important in the first few years of forest
growth. Tony O’Grady has been working with industry
partners in Tasmania and the Green Triangle to establish a series
of trials consisting of paired growth plots with and without
competition in eucalypt and pine plantations to develop a better
understanding of how competition affects forest health. [Read more
...]
Considering canopy dynamics from more than one angle
 In forests, the
exchange of carbon and water between the atmosphere and the soil is
driven by canopy leaf area, its turnover and its distribution in
space and time. Mila Bristow—a postdoctoral research
scientist—and her Queensland colleagues have been
investigating these factors and related forest processes such as
crown architecture and decomposition in subtropical plantations
near Gympie in Queensland. [Read more
...]
Introducing Dr Dean Severino
 Meet Dean Severino—the new Project Steering
Committee Chair for Project 1.4. Dean is Senior Research
Forester at Great Southern Limited and is currently based in the
Northern Territory.
[Read more
...]
Contact us
If you have any feedback on The Monitor please contact
Program Manager Mark Hunt.
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