About Me

Hello and welcome to my web page.

My name is Ian Lunt and I am a vegetation ecologist. I do research on endangered ecosystems in SE Australia, especially native grasslands and grassy woodlands. I’m an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at Charles Sturt University in Albury, New South Wales, Australia.

This web site provides links to many of my research projects, and – as the site gets developed more – will provide regular updates on our new activities and findings. Please check out the regular postings in the Blogs and Projects tabs above.

Most of the research that my group does is in native grasslands and grassy woodlands in south-eastern Australia. These ecosystems have been cleared for agriculture, and grasslands and woodlands on the agricultural plains are now among Australia’s most endangered ecosystems.

Our research aims to develop ways to manage and restore these endangered ecosystems, to maintain and promote biodiversity. We usually work on vegetation and plants, but a number of students have studied how different animals respond to vegetation changes, including birds, mammals and reptiles.

Our work has three broad, intertwined themes: historical ecology, disturbance ecology and restoration ecology. We have done lots of projects on historical ecology, to understand how and why remnants look like they do now. How have remnants changed over the last century or more, what has caused these changes, and how will these changes affect conservation options in the future?

In many projects, we try to understand how different disturbance regimes affect natural ecosystems, particularly burning and grazing, but also other disturbances like soil disturbance and flooding. Disturbances are a key component of functioning ecosystems, but can promote or reduce diversity, depending on their intensity, frequency and other characteristics. By working out how different regimes affect grassy ecosystems, we can develop new, sustainable management to promote diversity and prevent local extinctions.

Finally, we have done lots of work to develop new ways to restore degraded ecosystems. How can we promote native species, control weeds, and restore critical ecosystem functions? In a new project, we’re looking at how ecosystems recover naturally, after disturbances such as agriculture cease. Which species are winners and which continue to lose out when human disturbances are removed?

Nearly all of my research is done in collaboration with enthusiastic students and colleagues. Most projects receive financial and in-kind support from land management agencies, in both government and non-government organizations. This collaboration provides great opportunities for networking and future employment for our research students.

Our research has been funded by research agencies such as the Australian Research Council, the NSW Environmental Trust Research Grants, plus ongoing financial support from many state and regional agencies. I also provide expert advice to many government committees in Victoria and New South Wales, and regularly write extension articles for the broader community.

I conduct my research within the Institute for Land, Water and Society at my university, Charles Sturt University. If you are interested in any of our research projects, or are thinking about doing a research project – at honours, Masters, PhD or post-doctoral level – please contact me by email at ilunt@csu.edu.au.