Category Archives: Woodland

Sieving the seeds of the future

Posted on 26/04/2012 by

I did something the other day that I haven’t done for ages. I spent the morning gazing down my old microscope, separating intact from dodgy Acacia seeds. Like other ecologists, I’ve searched for seeds in different ways. I’ve spread soil … Continue reading →

Posted in Acacia, Ecology, Eucalyptus, Fire, Forest, Forest history, Regeneration, Research, Seed banks, Seeds, Succession, Woodland | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

There’s a wetland in my grassland

Posted on 28/03/2012 by

How often do you need to see a species, before you view it as being ‘characteristic’ of a particular ecosystem? Some species are widespread and abundant. Others occur sparsely, but are found only in one ecosystem. Some of these sparse … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Grassland, Juncus, Regeneration, Seed banks, Seeds, Wetland, Woodland | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

There goes the neighborhood

Posted on 11/02/2012 by

Every now and then I stumble across a graph in a paper that blows me away. Some show patterns I hadn’t imagined, while others show patterns far stronger than I’d thought possible. The other day I came across an ‘in … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Ecology, Environmental weeds, Forest, Monitoring, Pinus radiata, Plantations, Woodland | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Restoring Woodland Understories #4

Posted on 08/11/2011 by

For the past four years, Ian Cole, Suzanne Prober and I have been busy running an experiment to work out how to restore native plants and control weeds in degraded woodlands. I’ve posted a number of blogs on this project … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Fire, Grassland, Research, Restoration, Restoring woodland understoreys project, Sugar, Themeda, Woodland | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Stake your future

Posted on 21/10/2011 by

Forty years ago a young PhD student left a great legacy. She did all the things that PhD students are supposed to do. She wrote a great thesis, and put a copy in the library for others to read. Better … Continue reading →

Posted in Acacia, Allocasuarina, Ecology, Encroachment, Monitoring, Regeneration, Succession, Woodland | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dancing with flames: Callitris, fire and Patrick Swayze

Posted on 28/08/2011 by

In a tough neighbourhood, there’s just four ways to survive… You can hide (wimpy, but it works). Like Batfink, you can be tougher than everyone else: ‘Your bullets cannot harm me. My wings are like a shield of steel’. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Callitris, Ecology, Fire, Forest, Research, Woodland | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Art vs Science: von Guérard’s pot plants

Posted on 06/08/2011 by

Many ecologists would kill for an accurate ‘scientific’ description of native grasslands and woodlands before European settlement. These threatened ecosystems have been so cleared and disturbed that it is impossible to know what they looked like originally. How abundant were … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Ecology, Forest history, Grassland, Historical ecology, Landscape painting, Woodland | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Woodlands on TV!

Posted on 08/07/2011 by

It was both an education and a blast to spend two days filming a 5 minute segment on our research for the ABC’s TV science show Catalyst late last year. The show was aired this week. If you’re interested, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Grassland, Research, Restoration, Restoring woodland understoreys project, Sugar, Woodland | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments