Theme 1 Projects

Nicolo Camarretta (PhD Candidate)

Prof Brad Potts, Prof Mark Hunt, Dr Arko Lucieer, Dr Peter Harrison, Dr Neil Davidson

This project aims to establish and test a methodology to measure and assess forest structural complexity using a combination of remote sensing technologies and field surveyed data in the Tasmanian Midlands, one of Australia’s 15 biodiversity hotspot regions. Forest structure is commonly recognised to be a good indicator of biodiversity complexity, following the concept that ecosystems containing different stands with a broad variety of structural attributes are more likely to provide resources for a variety of species utilising them.

The project starts with a review of recent literature on structural complexity indices and ways to measure and assess its main attributes using remote sensing technology. Ecological questions will be investigated in the restoration planting at Dungrove, near Bothwell, where stability of provenance performance in pure and mixed species ecology trials has been tested. The project will then look at the tree-level assessment of structural attributes, in the restoration plantings, using a combination of field work and LiDAR data acquired from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We will focus on the capabilities of hyperspectral imagery acquired from UAV to effectively differentiate between eucalypt species and potentially genetic provenances, and look at temporal changes in the development of structural attributes at Dungrove restoration site, using ground-based LiDAR (ZEB1) scans from three different years over three 0.1 ha plots.

Check out Nicolo explain his PhD project below:

Zara Marais

Prof Mark Hunt, Dr Dugald Tinch, Dr Thomas Baker, Dr Daniel Mendham, Dr Anthony O'Grady, Dr Martin Moroni

Farmers are running a business and commonly will criticise a proposal for the establishment of trees on a farm if it does not include a business case. Trees within an agricultural setting provide valuable ecosystem services such as shade and shelter for stock and crops, reduced erosion, clean water and nutrient cycling. Such ecosystem services are rarely quantified and are therefore excluded from financial analyses. This means that the true economic value of tree establishment is misunderstood, especially when trees are established for non-fiber purposes. Therefore, there is a need to develop new models for estimating the true economic value for tree establishment. This project looks at the use of natural capital accounting as a way of measuring the varied benefits of trees on farms. This work will involve collating known benefits such as timber production and shelter benefits as well as calculating the potential economic value of other ecosystem services such the impacts of pests and predators.

Using developed models, this project will also asses how the benefits of trees on farms varies between planting for timber production and native forests established for restoration/ecosystem services.

Zara is currently running a survey to understand farmers preferences relating to the design of agroforestry plantings.

See Zara explain her PhD project below

Manuel Rocha (PhD Candidate)

Prof Brad Potts, Prof Rene Vaillancourt, Dr Andrew Jacobs, Dr Dean Williams

Eucalyptus nitens is widely planted in temperate regions of the southern hemisphere and is the main eucalypt species grown in Tasmania. It is principally grown for pulpwood but there is increasing interest in the use of plantation-grown E. nitens for other products, particularly veneer and timber. Wood properties are key determinants of the economics of producing pulp and solid-wood products. This project will exploit historic data sets and field trials established across the E. nitens plantation estate in Tasmania to study the influence of genetics and environment on wood properties, as well as the quantity and quality of product recovered from harvested trees. It will exploit the unique opportunity provided by the planned 2017 harvesting of one of the few genetic trials of this species which has been pruned and thinned for solid wood production. This will allow (i) determination of the extent to which characteristics affecting the value of processed material (e.g. wood chips, pulp, veneer and timber) can be genetically improved, (ii) how these characteristics link to more readily assessed characteristics of harvested logs and standing trees, (iii) how these selection traits are genetically correlated; and (iv) how this genetic variation is influenced by environment and plantation management (GxE).

Rose Brinkhoff (PhD Project)

Prof Mark Hunt, Assoc Prof Mark Hovenden, Dr Daniel Mendham, Dr Dean Williams

This project will explore the influences of fertiliser and temperature on optimal leaf area in eucalypt plantations. Dramatic increases in leaf area have been observed under high fertiliser treatments in nutrition trials. Extra leaf area increases photosynthetic area, but also incurs a respiratory cost to the plant in terms of leaf construction and maintenance. Extra leaf area may be an adaptation to store nutrients for re-translocation in times of nutrient deficit. The project will explore the relationship between nitrogen and phosphorous fertiliser treatments and total leaf area, the vertical distribution of leaf area and the longevity of N and P in foliar stores. It will also measure rates of photosynthesis and respiration as a function of light, temperature and nutritional status.

Watch Rose explain her PhD Project below:

Vilius Gendvilas - Phd  Candidate

Assoc Prof Julianne O'Reily-Wapstra, Prof Mark Hunt, Dr Mark Neyland, Dr Andrew Jacobs, Dr Dean Williams

This project aims to enhance plantation productivity by understanding the effects of silvicultural management on growth and wood characteristics. In particular this project will examine the effects of tree spacing and thinning on critical wood properties such as basic density, tension wood and modulus of elasticity.

Watch Vilius explain his PhD project in the video below