Hot Spot
Integrating forest values with landscape management
Forests provide multiple ecosystem services and are vital to
human well-being. While the values of ecosystem services (eg,
food, fibre, flood protection, clean water and clean air) have been
recognised widely, they are rarely incorporated into planning and
decision-making. Proper classification, mapping and valuation
of ecosystem services can play an important role in restoration
planning and ecosystem-based management. University of
Melbourne PhD student, Himlal
Baral, has developed a framework for classifying and mapping
ecosystem services for a production landscape.
[read more]
Biodiversity Project Update
The end of the year is often a time for reflection about where
the year went, what we have achieved and what our goals for the
future might be. Project leader Professor Brad Potts
summarises the considerable achievements of scientists in project
4.2 in 2008-2009.
[read more]
What's On
Variable Retention Field Day
The CRC for Forestry and Forestry Tasmania will be co-hosting a
field day in December 2009 to increase awareness, among invited
colleagues from Tasmanian and Commonwealth agencies and research
organisations working on conservation issues, of the science that
underpins the emergence of variable retention harvesting as the
ecological solution for biodiversity retention in commercial old
growth wet eucalypt forests. If you are a CRC member you can
click
here to find out more.
Southern Connections Congress, Argentina 2010
 Simon
Grove, Mark Neyland (Forestry Tasmania) and Fred Duncan (Forest
Practices Authority) will be attending the Southern Connections
Congress in Bariloche, Argentina, in March 2010. Simon will
present a talk on "the role of long-term ecological research in
guiding advances in silviculture: an example from Tasmania" in
a symposium on the role of long-term research sites in studies of
ecology, management and conservation of southern cool temperate
forests. Mark will be presenting the results of his recently
submitted PhD: “Silvicultural performance of alternatives
to clearfelling in lowland wet eucalypt forests: Findings from
long-term research at Warra, Tasmania”. Learn more about the Southern Connections Congress.
CRC experts lead south American post-graduate course
After the Southern Connections Congress in Bariloche, Argentina,
Simon Grove, Mark Neyland (Forestry Tasmania) and Fred Duncan
(Forest Practices Authority) will head south to Terra del Fuego,
Chile, to take up teaching roles in a post-graduate course on
Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Southern Cool
Temperate Forest Ecosystems. [view
flyer]
International Phytophthora Conference
Rotorua, New Zealand, will be the steamy venue for IUFRO's fifth
International meeting on Phyophthora diseases in forests
and natural ecosystems, to be held in March 2010. Dr Tim
Wardlaw, Forestry Tasmania's forest health expert, will be there to
present a talk on "the potential of sub-lethal growth effects from
Phytophthora cinnamomi root infection of Eucalyptus
nitens and implications for species-choice on sites suitable
for growing either E. nitens or E.
globulus". Visit conference website.
Two biodiversity researchers invited to speak at Malaysian
conference
 Professor
Brad Potts and Dr Dorothy Steane (UTAS) have been invited to speak
at a IUFRO Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur, March 7-12,
2010. The conference will explore the sustainable use of
forest genetic resources, with an emphasis on the contributions
that genetics and genomics can make to forest management decisions.
Brad will be presenting research results from subprojects 4.2.6 and
4.2.7 in a talk titled: "Assessing and managing the risk of genetic
contamination from forest tree plantings: the case of
Eucalyptus in Australia". Dot will be talking about
the "Application of Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) in
Eucalyptus phylogeny reconstruction: from populations to
species" (view abstract).
[Visit conference website]
History of Innovation in Forestry
Forestry Tasmania recently published a book documenting the
impact that science has had on the forest industry. Compiled
by Humphrey Elliott, Ken Felton, Jean Jarman and Martin Stone, A
History of Innovation: Eighty-five Years of Research and
Development at Forestry Tasmania documents the period between
1921 and 2006, tracing scientific developments from the time of
hand-drawn maps through to the era of LIDAR. You can find out
more about the book by visiting the Forestry Tasmania website - or
just by clicking here!
Elite scholarships for PhDs in Eucalyptus
genetics
The University of Tasmania is offering generous scholarships to
gifted, enthusiastic students. The Elite Research
Scholarships are valued at $30K per annum tax free and are
available for three years, with a possible six-month
extension. There are scholarships for four PhD projects in
Eucalyptus genetics:
What's Been On
Clarke Medallist profiled by ABC's Stateline
 Like a pebble thrown
into a pond, the after-effects of Brad Potts' prestigious Clarke
Medal award (see article in Biobuzz
8, April 2009) are still being felt across Tasmania. ABC
Stateline's TV crew visited the UTAS School of Plant Science
in August to profile Brad Potts and his research. Brad, being
the generous person that he is, shared the publicity around by
including as many of his team in the spotlight as he possibly
could, with visits to SeedEnergy's Cambridge Arboretum, the UTAS
glass houses, the main eucalypt lab as well as the molecular
lab. [read the transcript from ABC Stateline]
Mammalogical Congress
 In August, UTAS PhD
student Helen Stephens attended the 10th International Mammalogical
Congress in Mendoza, Argentina. The congress is held only once
every four years and this was the first time it had been hosted in
South America. In the lead up to the conference Helen spent a
week in the Sierra de las Quijadas National Park, in a desert
north-east of Mendoza, assisting with "fear" research in, among
other things, armadillos and strange long-legged rodents.
[read more]
Ecological Restoration Conference
 A contingent
of eight CRC researchers attended the 19th Conference of the
Society for Ecological Restoration International (SERI) in Perth
Western Australia in August (go to conference
website). The conference was titled "Making Change in a
Changing World". As restoration ecology is a relative new
scientific discipline, meetings of this magnitude are important
platforms to assist the restoration community in defining the
principles of restoration, understanding goals and milestones,
debating what ecosystem functions to measure and closing the gap
between the science of restoration ecology and the practice of
ecological restoration.
[read more]
IFA Biennial Conference
Himlal Baral, a PhD student at UMELB, recently attended the
biennial conference of the Institute of Foresters of Australia,
held in sunny Caloundra, Queensland. The conference was
attended by about 350 delegates and included over 50 oral paper
presentations, student poster presentations, plenary panel
discussions and diverse field days, all focussed on the impact of
climate change on forests and forest management.
[read more]
CRC student wins award at "Darwin 200"
The 9th Invertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation conference
was held jointly with the Entomological Society's 40th AGM and
Scientific conference, and the Society of Australian Systematic
Biologists Conference in Darwin in September (go to conference website). The combined conference, called
"Darwin 200: Evolution and Biodiversity", celebrated 150 years
since the release of The Origin of the Species and 200 years
since the birth of Charles Darwin. It was also the 170th
anniversary of the naming of Port of Darwin during the 3rd voyage
of the Beagle. Over 185 delegates from all around the world
congregated in Darwin to present 177 seminars and 25 posters.
Cheryl O'Dwyer (UMELB) gave
an oral presentation on her PhD results (view abstract) and
a poster on some additional work on Golden sun moths (view abstract).
Cheryl won the "best student presentation" award. Well done,
Cheryl!
Ecology in a Changing Climate: Two Hemispheres - One Globe
 The Ecological
Societies of Australia and New Zealand hosted the 10th International Congress
of Ecology in Brisbane in August this year. The theme of the
conference was 'Ecology in a changing climate: two hemispheres -
one globe'. UTAS PhD student, Bryony Horton, presented an
impressive three posters relating to her fungal research.
[read more]
Australasian Wildlife Management Conference
 At the end of
November this year, four researchers from the browsing management
research project travelled to Napier in New Zealand to attend the
2009 annual Australasian Wildlife Management Conference.
Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra hosted a symposium
entitled “Mitigating impacts of pest species through
non-lethal management strategies.” Twelve speakers from
Australia and New Zealand (including Julianne) presented spoken
papers in the session. Tim Wardlaw (Forestry Tasmania) presented
the plenary talk, discussing Forestry Tasmania's abandonment of
1080-based control of marsupial browsing and the challenges of
replacing 1080 with an integrated management strategy, charting
the course from policy triggers and research aspiration to
operational practicalities. Natasha Wiggins and Alison Miller presented aspects of their
research funded by the TCFA Alternatives to 1080 Programme.
[Click here
to visit conference website or view abstracts: Julianne,
Natasha,
Alison,
Tim]
Giant trees take part in Big Adventure
 The Giant Trees
Consultative Committee took at trip to the Styx Valley last month
to assess signage for the giant trees and to check out the new
facilities for Forestry Tasmania's "Adventure Hub". On the
way there Prof Brad Potts was introduced to a long lost tribe
of ...
[read
more]
Subproject 4.2.1 Biodiversity benefits of alternatives to
clearfelling
ARN News
After just six aggregated retention (ARN) coupes were
completed in 2009, 2010 is shaping as a big year, depending - of
course - on the weather during the autumn burning season.
[read more]
Alternatives to clearfelling - comparative study completed
Mark Neyland
who works at Forestry Tasmania is also enrolled as a PhD student at
UTAS. Mark recently submitted his PhD thesis that examined
the response of vegetation to a range of harvesting methods for
tall wet eucalypt forests that could be used as alternatives to
clearfelling. The study took place over ten years at the
Warra silvicultural systems trial in southern Tasmania. Click
here
to read Mark's thesis abstract.
When the going gets tough, the cutting grass gets going!
 Liam Hindrum recently
completed his Honours degree at UTAS. After working last
summer for Forestry Tasmania in aggregated retention coupes, Liam
became interested in the effects of mechanical disturbance (eg,
machinery tracks, snig tracks etc.) and burn intensity on the
floristic composition of regrowth and took the opportunity to do an
Honours project on the topic. Among other things, Liam
discovered that cutting grass (Gahnia grandis)
out-competes other plants on compressed earth ... which might
explain why eucalypt trials in southern Tasmania are often such a
nightmare to visit!
[read more]
Helen wins animal-friendly grant
 Congratulations
go to UTAS PhD student Helen
Stephens who was recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the
W V Scott Charitable Trust. The trust
was established in 1986 to assist with "the promotion and
encouragement of kindness towards animals or wildlife or the
protection and preservation of animals or wildlife or the
protection of endangered species of animals or
wildlife...". Helen will use her grant to fund the second
stage of her project: “Impacts of an alternative logging
practice, aggregated retention, on two native rodents, the swamp
rat (Rattus lutreolus) and long-tailed mouse
(Pseudomys higginsi)”.
Student update
With theses submitted, publications in preparation, graduations
and grant success the students in 4.2.1 are shining examples for
the rest of us.
[read
more].
Subproject 4.2.2 Biodiversity outcomes from plantation expansion
into agricultural and native forest landscapes
Comparative influence of edge type on temperate woodland
function
Tom Wright is
on the verge of submitting his PhD thesis to the graduate studies
office at the University of Melbourne. His research focussed
on the function of temperate woodland ecosystems in plantation
landscapes in the Green Triangle Plantation Region. The main
objectives of Tom's project were to understand how ecosystem
processes - in particular, microclimate, gas exchange and water
relations - at woodland edges function when adjoined by mature
plantations compared to traditional agricultural land.
[read more]
Using soil microbes as indicators of remnant forest health
 Kasia Bialkowski (Murdoch
University) is half-way through her PhD project on managing soil
microbes for biodiversity conservation in native vegetation
remnants within blue gum plantations. One of the focuses of
the research has been to determine the importance of soil microbial
activities in the regulation of above-ground plant community
composition, with the aim to manipulate it towards decreasing grass
understory in favour of native species in degraded remnant.
[read more]
Student update
 Subproject 4.2.2 is the
largest of the Biodiversity subprojects and the students are spread
across Australia. Click here to learn
more about their varied research interests and progress.
Subproject 4.2.3 Biodiversity value of coarse woody
debris
Regeneration time is critical for maintenance of cryptogam
biodiversity
Belinda Browning
(UTAS) recently completed her Masters thesis on “the
influence of forest age and log decay on cryptogam succession in
wet eucalypt forest following clearfell, burn and sow
harvesting”. Her study of cryptogam succession over time
after first rotation logging suggested that these communities
follow a successional pathway similar to one that would occur after
natural wildfire disturbance. Bindi suggested that successive
harvesting events based on rotations even as long as 100 years
could result in the loss of some cryptogam species from a forest
community. Bindi will be graduating in December -
congratulations, Bindi!
Read Bindi's thesis
abstract.
New directions for CWD research
With much of the fine-scale coarse woody debris (CWD)
research nearing completion, CWD team members are working hard to
"spread the word" and implement their research findings.
Meanwhile, the next phase of the research is gathering
momentum. CWD research is moving away from fine-scale studies
towards studies that examine the ways in which dependent biota use
CWD in the landscape.
[read more]
Student update
Two down ... one to go. The students from the
deadwoodology group are scattering in different directions - two
degrees are in hand and one more PhD student is sprinting towards
the finish line.
[read more]
Subproject 4.2.4 Tools for monitoring and assessing
biodiversity
Hot new tool for genetic studies
 A research
team comprising scientists from UTAS/CRC, Brazil, South Africa in
collaboration with an Austalian biotech company have developed a
set of highly polymorphic "DArT" markers in Eucalyptus
that have diverse applications in a range of genetic studies.
These high-throughput genome-wide markers will greatly accelerate
the process of gene discovery, are great for population genetic
studies and will potentially allow rapid and relatively inexpensive
resolution of previously intractable phylogenetic questions within
Eucalyptus ...
[read more]
Is there anything in that hole?
Dr Amy Koch (Forest Practices Authority) has been working with
other Forest Practices Officers on the development of a new
approach to the management of the tree hollow resource in areas
covered by the Tasmanian Forest Practices system. This work is
still in the development stage but it is hoped that new guidelines
for forest planners can be finalized in 2010. As part of the
management strategy, Amy has developed a guide ("Tree Hollows in
Tasmania") to help field-workers identify the trees that are most
likely to be used by hollow-dependent species.
[click here to download booklet]
Tree decline toolbox
The ‘Tree Decline Toolbox’ is an innovative new
interactive computer program designed to assist farmers manage
forest at risk of tree decline. Toolbox Version 1.0 is a
pilot version distributed to gain input and advice from workshop
groups so the program can be improved. The toolbox is the
culmination of 10 years of research into tree decline in the
Midlands of Tasmania.
[read more]
Subproject 4.2.5 Management of forest species of high conservation
significance, including threatened species
Microchips for microbats
Lisa Cawthen, PhD student
at UTAS, was recently awarded a grant from the Norman Wettenhall
Foundation that Lisa will spend on microchips that will allow her
to identify each bat individually ...
[read
more]
Resource availability critical factor for mammal
populations
Erin Flynn recently
presented her final seminar for her doctoral degree. Erin's
research on the effects of forest type and habitat disturbance on
the common brushtail possum showed that, although the abundance of
some habitat components changed significantly with harvesting,
resource availability in the surrounding landscape appears to
mitigate the effects of harvesting on ground-dwelling mammals.
[read more]
What is the best way to catch a quoll?
 Following very low
spotted-tailed quoll capture rates in north-west Tasmania during
her first major stint of field data collection, UTAS PhD student
Shannon Troy is now testing
the efficacy of four spotted-tailed quoll survey methods
...
[read more]
Tree ferns go AWOL
 Whilst the
resilience of tree ferns is probably no surprise to most (as
they’re often among the first signs of green returning to a
logged coupe), you may be surprised by just how much they move
around during a logging operation. Researchers at the Forest
Practices Authority have found that 60-70% of the
‘tagged’ ferns in their monitoring plots went missing,
never to be seen again. Nina Roberts (Forest Practices Authority)
reports ...
[read more]
Student update
Click here to find
out more about what the Subproject 4.2.5 students have been up to
recently.
Subproject 4.2.6 Management of the risk of gene flow from eucalypt
plantations
New trials test fitness of exotic hybrids
 Shining gum
(Eucalyptus nitens) is native to New South Wales and
Victoria but is used widely in Tasmania as a plantation
species. A close relative of Tasmanian blue gum, it is
possible that Eucalytus nitens has the potential to
hybridise with wild populations of native Tasmanian species that
grow in the vicinity of E. nitens plantations. Two
trials will be established in late 2009 to investigate the
viability of exotic E. nitens hybrids.
[read more]
Student update
 Subproject 4.2.6 has a
new student. Myralyn Abasolo recently came from the
Philippines to undertake a PhD at Southern Cross
University. My will be studying the risk of gene flow from
Corymbia plantations into native vegetation ...
[read
more]
Subproject 4.2.7 Management of genetic resources
Genetic data reveal taxonomic anomaly
 The choice of genetic
material for tree breeding relies on accurate taxonomic
information. Traditional morphology-based classifications of
eucalypts can be misleading, however, because of difficulties in
partitioning taxa that have continuous morphological variation that
has arisen through interspecific hybridisation and/or evolutionary
convergence. Three closely related species of red
mahogony, E. pellita,
E. resinifera and E. scias display
such morphological continuity. Son Le, an MSc student at
Southern Cross University, studied underlying genetic affinities of
these three species and discovered that perhaps they are really
only two species.
[read more]
Forest giants take refuge
The world famous giant ash, the world's tallest angiosperm,
Eucalyptus regnans, is a bit more delicate than we might
think. It likes quite a lot of water and thrives in wet,
montane environments; it does not cope well with drought or fire;
and unlike most eucalypts E. regnans regenerates mainly
from seed. But in the not-too-distant past, southeastern
Australia experienced a series of climatic oscillations between
warm, wet conditions and cold, arid conditions. So how did
our delicate E. regnans cope with all this climate
change? Paul Nevill, a
PhD student at the University of Melbourne, recently published a
paper explaining how he found the answers in the DNA ...
[read more]
Another PhD in the bag!
 At present the CRC's
biodiversity students are submitting their theses like there is no
tomorrow. One recent submission was by CRC-affiliated UTAS
student Rebecca Jones who
studied the "Molecular evolution and genetic control of flowering
in the Eucalyptus globulus species complex". Her
excellent thesis impressed the critical eyes of her two examiners
and so Beck will graduate in full regalia in December.
Congratulations Dr Jones! [read Beck's
abstract]
Student update
The students in subproject 4.2.7 are winding up and moving
on. Click here to catch
your final glimpses of the current cohort.
Subproject 4.2.8 Integrated management of browsing mammals
What do Canadian deer and Australian wallabies have in
common?
They love to eat plantations! And so has began a
productive international collaboration between the browsing
research group at UTAS and John Russel from the British Columbia
Ministry of Forests and Range. Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra
explains ...
[read more]
Rising Star
Dr Julianne O'Reilly Wapstra was
recently awarded a UTAS Rising Stars Award to the value of
$75,000 over three years. The purpose of this program is to
nurture research talent among staff at Levels B to C. Fifteen
Rising Stars were awarded last year, while eight were awarded in
this year’s program. As well as receiving funds,
successful applicants will also receive advice on academic
career development and leadership through several professional
development programs run over the three year period. Well
done ... and shine on, Julianne!
Browsing trials generate data
Browsing research team members, Alison Miller, Hugh Fitzgerald
and Helen Stephens spent much of October assessing the progress of
trees planted 2 years ago as part of a TCFA funded trial into
non-lethal alternatives to 1080.
[read more]
Subproject 4.2.9 Lethal trap trees
Testing the trap trees
 With spring well
and truly sprung in Tasmania, the chrysomelid leaf beetles are
warming up and flexing their wings, with their sights firmly set -
we hope! - on some juicy plantation trees (especially juicy this
year after the heavy spring rain). Meanwhile, the researchers are
frantically preparing for the onslaught.
[read more]
Subproject 4.2.10 Improving Mycosphaerella leaf disease
resistance in Eucalyptus globulus
How disease susceptible are Eucalyptus globulus x
nitens hybrids?
 Tasmanian blue gum,
Eucalyptus globulus, is generally considered to be more
susceptible to Mycosphaerella leaf disease than its close
relative, the shining gum (E. nitens). This has lead
to shining gum being planted in preference to blue gum in many
lower altitude areas of high disease risk in Tasmania.
However, there is only one published study in which the two species
have been compared directly. Brad Potts and Paul Tilyard
report on emerging results from a new trial in north western
Tasmania, where the results differ significantly from the published
literature ...
[read more]
Subproject 4.4 Integrated Pest Management Group (Western Australia
and Green Triangle)
IPMG - abuzz with change
 After ten years
of operation in Western Australia, the Industry Pest Management
Group (IPMG) is 'moulting' into a new configuration. Newly
appointed IPMG research scientist Francisco Tovar (Murdoch
University) is excited about increasing collaborative links between
IPMG and other CRC projects, industry and community.
[read more]
Related sites
Forest
Practices Authority
Feedback
The editor of BioBuzz is Dr Dorothy Steane. Please
contact Dot with any feedback or with your ideas for BioBuzz
11 (April 2010).
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