School of

Agriculture,
Food and
Agriculture, Food
and Ecosystem
Sciences
Faculty of Science

Ecosystem
Sciences
Research
Prospectus
Contents
About the School 3 Associate Professor Luke Kelly 42
Professor Giovanni Turchini 4 Professor Tom Kompas 43
Associate Professor Said Ajlouni 5 Associate Professor Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam 44
Associate Professor Margaret Ayre 6 Professor Patrick Lane 45
Professor Stefan Arndt 7 Dr Robyn Larsen 46
Professor Patrick Baker 8 Dr Stephanie Lavau 47
Mr Christopher Barnes 9 Dr Anita Lawrence 48
Dr Benoit Belleville 10 Professor Stephen Livesley 49
Dr Helena Bender 11 Professor Michael McCarthy 50
Associate Professor Lauren Bennett 12 Dr Gayathri Devi Mekala 51
Dr Matthew Burns 13 Ms Maddison Miller 52
Dr Clayton Butterly 14 Associate Professor Craig Nitschke 53
Dr Rachel Carey 15 Professor Trent Penman 54
Dr Jane Cawson 16 Dr Mohammad Pourkheirandish 55
Associate Professor Surinder Singh Chauhan 17 Associate Professor Senaka Ranadheera 56
Dr Yung En Chee 18 Associate Professor John Rayner 57
Professor Deli Chen 19 Dr Michael Santhanam-Martin 58
Dr Paul Cheng 20 Associate Professor Gyorgy Scrinis 59
Professor Ling Zhi Cheong 21 Associate Professor Gary Sheridan 60
Associate Professor Jeremy Cottrell 22 Professor Kevin Smith 61
Associate Professor Brendan Cullen 23 Associate Professor Helen Suter 62
Dr Kristy DiGiacomo 24 Dr Matthew Swan 63
Professor Richard Eckard 25 Dr Chris Szota 64
Associate Professor Zhongxiang Fang 26 Dr Peta Taylor 65
Associate Professor Claire Farrell 27 Dr Niloofar Vaghefi 66
Professor Fiona Fidler 28 Professor Peter Vesk 67
Dr Alex Filkov 29 Associate Professor Tony Weatherley 68
Dr Rebecca Ford 30 Associate Professor Christopher Weston 69
Dr Sarah Frankland 31 Professor Kathryn Williams 70
Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes 32 Professor Nicholas Williams 71
Dr Joe Greet 33 Professor Brendan Wintle 72
Associate Professor Dorin Gupta 34 Professor Ian Woodrow 73
Dr Amy Hahs 35 Professor Pablo Zarco-Tejada 74
Professor Jim He 36
Associate Professor Kate Howell 37
Dr Hangwei Hu 38
Professor James Hunt 39
Dr Moss Imberger 40
Associate Professor Sabine Kasel 41

2 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

 About
the School
On 1 January 2023, the School of
Agriculture and Food and the School of
Ecosystem and Forest Sciences merged
to form the School of Agriculture, Food
and Ecosystem Sciences.

The School brings together a variety of discipline

strengths and innovative solutions in ecosystem
processes and management, food industries and
systems, and agricultural practices and industry.

The School spans four campuses: Parkville,

Burnley, Creswick and Dookie, which each have
historical ties to specific disciplines. This reach
provides a unique opportunity for students and
researchers to collaborate on real-world issues
and access a wide range of industry partnerships
and internships.

The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Science

acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands
on which we work: the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and
Bunurong peoples (Burnley, Fishermans Bend, Parkville,
Southbank and Werribee campuses), the Yorta Yorta
Nation (Dookie and Shepparton campuses), and the Dja
Dja Wurrung people (Creswick campus). We pay respect
to their Elders, past and present. We also acknowledge
and respect that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people are this country’s first scientists, with deep and
enduring knowledge of the land, waters and skies.

3 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Giovanni Turchini
Head of the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences

Professor Giovanni Turchini

• Aquaculture
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Seafood quality and sustainability
• Aquafeed and resources utilisation
• Aquatic animal nutrition and physiology

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/963768-giovanni-turchini

I contribute to aquaculture innovation and development to help

meet growing global demand for a sustainable supply of nutritious,
safe, healthy, and delicious food.

My interests include animal and human nutrition, aquaculture, food and

feed technologies, fatty acid metabolism in cultured aquatic species,
climate change adaptation of aquaculture, and sustainability and ethical
concerns in fisheries and aquaculture. I am focused on lipid and fatty
acid metabolism in cultured aquatic species and resource utilisation in
aquaculture.

Lipid and fatty acid metabolism in cultured aquatic species Juvenile Atlantic salmon eating an experimental diet.
Health-promoting, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids including
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are primarily
found in seafood. I study the nutritional physiology of fish to increase the
sustainability of cultured seafood abundant in these beneficial nutrients.

I aim to:
• minimise the use in aquafeed for cultured aquatic animals of
unsustainably produced materials and ingredients that could be used
directly as human food
• promote the use of resources from a circular economy
Fatty acid analysis of salmon fillet and aquafeed
• develop innovative aquafeed formulations and feeding strategies samples.
to help the sector adapt to climate change impacts including rising
water temperatures, reduced oxygen concentrations, and suboptimal
environmental conditions.

Fishing for Peruvian anchoveta in the Pacific, for fish

meal and fish oil production.

4 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Said Ajlouni

Associate Professor Said Ajlouni

• Food safety and quality
• Functional properties
• Probiotic and prebiotics

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/2382-said-ajlouni

I’m passionate about food safety, quality, functionality, and

sustainability. I am especially interested in probiotics and
prebiotics, minimally processed foods, recycling of food waste,
nutritional ingredients, and improving human wellbeing by
maintaining healthy microbiota.

Current research projects include:

• Improving quality and safety of fresh-cut produce using
biomarker techniques
• Utilising some agro-industrial waste byproducts as prebiotics
• Developing legume-derived protein fractions to enhance bio
accessibility of essential minerals
• Healthy chocolates enriched with microencapsulated probiotics.

Future research projects include:

• Pharmacological studies of Indigenous Australian plants to evaluate
their therapeutic effects
• Functional food for the elderly containing bioactive peptides
• Impacts of single and multiple stains of probiotics on the
bio- accessibility of curcuminoids
• Probiotic mechanisms in gut health (anti-allergen, anti-inflammation)
and antibiotic resistance.

5 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Margaret Ayre

Associate Professor Margaret Ayre

• Transitions in agriculture
• Cultural and natural resource management
• Adaptation and rural innovation
• Indigenous-led collaborative land and sea management

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/17296-margaret-ayre

I work with communities, industries and governments in agriculture

and cultural and natural resource management to co-design
and implement solutions to challenges in sustainability, rural
innovation, and adaptation.

As a social scientist, I work collaboratively to create new insights,

methods, and processes for governing change, and to support people
and organisations to learn and improve situations. My research spans
two main areas:

Innovation and adaptation in agricultural industries and

Aerial view of Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory,
communities Australia.

I produce and apply frameworks and tools for industry, communities,

government, and researchers to address issues of drought resilience, climate
change adaptation, water management and agricultural innovation, both
nationally and internationally.

Indigenous, community based and led cultural and natural

resource management (CNRM)
I develop insights and approaches to monitoring and evaluating Indigenous
CNRM, curriculum development for Indigenous ranger training, and
participatory planning for Indigenous estates.

Current projects include collaborative research on:

• Yolngu-led land and sea management in North East Arnhem Land
with the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation and Yirralka Rangers
• Tiwi knowledge and governance for biodiversity conservation and
economic development on the Tiwi Islands
• Challenges and opportunities for agricultural advisors related to
digital transitions
• Adaptation pathways in the Australian livestock industries
• Supporting communities to lead initiatives enhancing their resilience
to drought and other shocks
• Workforce and social dynamics of young people working in agriculture
in Victoria.

6 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Stefan Arndt

Professor Stefan Arndt

• Ecophysiology
• Ecosystem ecology
• Plant adaptation
[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/12104-stefan-arndt

Our research centres on the question of how plants and Ecosystem ecology
entire ecosystems cope with changes in environmental We investigate how entire ecosystems respond to changes
conditions and with climate extremes like drought or in environmental conditions and how the cycling of carbon,
heat stress. We investigate plant performance under nitrogen and water is influenced by climate. We measure how
environmental stress, and this allows us to predict which much carbon is absorbed by ecosystems and quantify, how
plant species will be best suited to survive and thrive in a climate variation influences ecosystem growth and the uptake
future climate in forests, revegetation projects or urban or release of greenhouse gases. Key study areas are the Wombat
areas. Forest and the Whroo Nature Conservation Reserve in Victoria,
where we operate eddy covariance flux towers and automated
Ecophysiology and plant adaptation greenhouse gas measurement systems.
The response of plants to environmental conditions will Our research leads to a better understanding of the impact that
determine their chance of survival. In this research area, we climate and climate change has on key ecosystem processes.
study the mechanisms that plants employ to adjust and adapt
to environmental stresses, especially drought and heat stress.
Studying plants along environmental gradients and under
stressful conditions to determine how they survive and why
they fail, we consider plant responses on a whole plant level
and relate expression of plant functional traits to mechanisms
and processes. We also study to what degree plants can actively
respond to a change in environmental conditions and to what
degree their response is genetically determined. Our research
Measurement of tree transpiration on a dwarf
identifies the variety of mechanisms that enable plants to grow eucalypt using a porometer.
and thrive in their environment.

Applied ecophysiology
Selection of plant species that can thrive and survive in
future climates is a challenge. We develop and test novel
approaches for plant selection in future forests, revegetation
and urban areas, determining plant performance based on Eddy covariance flux tower at the Whroo Nature
Conservation Reserve in Victoria.
ecophysiological parameters and traits and testing plant
performance in challenging conditions. Working in native forests,
areas of revegetation and reforestation, in urban forests and in
novel ecosystems such as green roofs or woody meadows, our
research identifies plant species, provenances or cultivars that
are best adapted to a future climate.

Variation of leaf shapes and leaf

thickness of the tree Meterosideros
polymorpha along an altitude gradient
in Hawaii.

7 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Patrick Baker

Professor Patrick Baker

• Forest dynamics
• Silviculture
• Past climates
• Palaeoclimatology

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/451954-patrick-baker

The world needs forests – for biodiversity, for clean water, for
wood and wood products, for mitigating climate change. My
research is focused on understanding how best to manage today’s
forests, which have been shaped by yesterday’s decisions, to meet
tomorrow’s needs.

My research focuses on understanding how native forests develop, how

they change over time, how they respond to disturbances and climate, and
how this knowledge can inform better forest management. I am particularly Trees in the Starvation Creek Forest Dynamics plot.
interested in the dynamics of mixed-species forests. My research is informed
by large-scale, long-term forest inventory plots in continental South East
Asia and in southeastern Australia, and by tree-ring data. These provide
unique and complementary insights into long-term forest dynamics, the
importance of rare events, and the influence of climate.

We are about to launch a five year project in Laos that is focused on forest
restoration strategies that provide economic opportunities for local
communities and will help Laos reach its target of 70% forest cover. The
project integrates anthropology, economics, ecology, policy science,
and silviculture to address the challenges of forest restoration in tropical
landscapes where other land uses such as agriculture are often more
profitable.

Impacts of dry season fire at Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife

Sanctuary, western Thailand.

Annual growth rings in

Acacia dealbata.

8 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Mr Christopher Barnes

Mr Christopher Barnes
• Wine technology
• Viticulture

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/255254-chris-barnes

My work addresses challenges in the wine industry from climate,

social and economic pressures.

I am a Senior Lecturer in Wine Technology and Viticulture. My research work

addresses challenges in the wine industry, including climate, social and
economic pressures.

Dookie College winery with Bertie the wine dog.

UoM students harvesting Shiraz grapes

9 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Benoit Belleville

Dr Benoit Belleville
• Forest products
• Agricultural by products
• Engineering
• Material characteristics
• Manufacturing

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/591094-benoit-belleville

I build knowledge, expertise and capability in the innovative uses of

sustainably managed forest and agricultural byproduct resources
for high-performance products.

Trees and plants that are cultivated sustainably sequester carbon from the
atmosphere and form materials with excellent properties. These materials
can be crafted into a wide variety of products using low-energy, advanced
manufacturing techniques.

I aim to: (i) help the timber-processing sector adapt to increasing demand
for materials suited to advanced timber-based construction and (ii)
Timber Mechanical Properties Testing Training in
promote use of agricultural byproduct resources in environmentally Papua New Guinea.
friendly bio-composite products.

My research areas include:

• creating high-value engineered products from young plantation timbers
and agricultural byproducts
• developing innovative processing and manufacturing technologies
• reducing and using waste
• evaluating product performance
• analysing value chains
• developing forestry industry models with local Indigenous communities.
Environmentally friendly bio-based composite
products.

10 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Helena Bender

Dr Helena Bender
• Kangaroo management
• Sustainability
• Social ecological systems
• Active hope
• Interdisciplinary practice

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1929-helena-bender

The interdisciplinary research I undertake is motivated by a love of

the more-than-human world and a desire to facilitate sustainability.

Kangaroo management
I investigate the use of sound to minimise conflict between
kangaroos and humans in road and agricultural contexts that do
not disadvantage kangaroos.

Sustainability
I research structural, conceptual and behavioural mechanisms that may
empower and activate practices that facilitate sustainability. This has
included establishing a database of sustainability-related experiences, and
theorising the role of hope in producing action for sustainability.

Interdisciplinary practice
My research in this area involves exploring the practices and frameworks The kangaroo in the background is part-way through a
foot thump, a biologically significant alarm signal roos
that work to integrate social and ecological knowledges, with the aim of make when they sense danger and take flight.
Image credit: Helena Bender.
more holistic analysis and management of social-ecological systems.

Future research projects include:

• Seeking to answer the question: how best can we support students
experiencing eco-anxiety or distress related to social justice issues?
• Exploring how best to integrate the many factors involved in managing
kangaroo-vehicle interactions on roadways.

Making audio recordings at the side of the road.

11 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Lauren Bennett

Associate Professor Lauren Bennett

• Ecosystem processes
• Carbon
• Fire ecology
• Forest
• Restoration

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/14289-lauren-bennett

I am fascinated by Australia’s native ecosystems. I’m and provide evidence of persistent impacts of high-severity
particularly interested in the ecology of plants – what wildfires, particularly multiple severe fires, on the structure and
determines where they grow and how do they persist composition of even the most fire-tolerant forests. We are using
in our often harsh Australian environment? My research these understandings to develop complex landscape-scale
interests encompass a range of woody ecosystems and models to better predict the effects of changing climate and fire
regimes on ecosystem persistence, and to support decisions
a diversity of fields from plant demography and fire
relating to effective forest management, including conserving
ecology to soil science and carbon cycles. I’m focused
species, communities, and carbon stores.
on using our knowledge of native ecosystems to support
their sustainable management and, where needed, their
effective restoration.

Forest carbon
Most land carbon is stored in natural ecosystems, particularly
forests. Maintaining the health and growth of natural ecosystems
is critical to stabilising and reducing concentrations of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. Our research group assesses where
carbon is stored in forests and evaluates how those stores vary
with forest type, soils, and climate. Our work has highlighted the
importance of both biodiversity and climate to forest carbon
Fire changes carbon-cycle processes
patterns, and the importance of carbon stores in forest soils, (photo by Cristina Aponte).
which are often higher than previously estimated. Quantifying
patterns in forest carbon stores helps with meeting international
carbon reporting commitments, identifying those carbon
stores that are most vulnerable under changing climate and
fire regimes, and designing the best management options for
conserving land carbon to mitigate climate change.

Wildfire environmental impacts Long-term prescribed fire trial in the

Wombat Forest, Victoria (photo by Julio
Fire can renew ecosystems, but too frequent and severe Najera).

wildfires — like those in southeast Australia in recent years —

can have negative environmental impacts. We are improving
the ways to monitor fire impacts on ecosystems using a suite
of integrated methods based on field and remotely sensed Trees are the backbone of forests
data. Our assessments include a diversity of ecosystems from (photo by Lauren Bennett).
mallee to tall forests, and a range of fire conditions, including
planned burns, fires combined with drought, and multiple
wildfires in quick succession. Our recent analyses confirm
a trend of increasing wildfire severity in southeast Australia

12 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Matthew Burns

Dr Matthew Burns
• Hydrology
• Urban
• Rainwater
• Streams
• Water

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/617561-matthew-burns

My aim is to improve the health of urban waterways through

improved management of water.

I help to understand the impacts of urbanisation on waterways, with a

particular focus on hydrology. I also help understand ways that urban
impacts can be alleviated through the application of Water Sensitive Urban
Design and better urban planning.

Rainwater tank with ‘leaky’ pipe for stream

protection.

Headwater stream in Melbourne. What we should be

protecting.

13 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Clayton Butterly

Dr Clayton Butterly
• Soil fertility
• Nutrient re-use and recycling
• Agricultural waste management

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/834821-clayton-butterly

I investigate how valuable resources in agricultural waste can be

recovered and applied to improve sustainability of agriculture and
remediate degraded land.

Agricultural waste management and re-use

Agricultural waste management is currently suboptimal. Materials regarded
as waste are often valuable co-products and an important source of
nutrients and organic matter.

I am primarily interested in:

• recovering, reusing, and recycling organic matter and nutrients from
agricultural waste
• developing stable, pathogen-free soil conditioners from waste materials
• optimising soil acidity
• investigating soil-plant interactions
• improving soil fertility, and
• mitigating climate change impacts on agricultural systems.

14 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Rachel Carey

Dr Rachel Carey
• Food systems
• Food policy
• Food security
• Resilience

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/608142-rachel-carey

I investigate and promote resilient, sustainable, healthy, and

equitable food systems.

Foodprint Melbourne
Global food systems are under pressure from population growth, changing
diets, climate change and declining natural resources. Cities are often
located on fertile soil, close to water sources. As more people move into
cities, housing and other urban uses tend to displace food production. But
cities also generate wastewater and food waste that can be recycled to
produce food.

I collaborate with policy makers, communities, and stakeholders in the

Foodprint Melbourne research project, to help build a resilient, sustainable,
local food system that can continue to feed Melbourne’s growing population Farming at Werribee on Melbourne’s fringe.
in the face of climate change, pandemics and other shocks.

Food policy
I analyse national and local food policies to understand who and what
shapes our food systems and determines who eats what, where, when and
how. This includes the governance of ‘free range’ and other higher animal
welfare labelling, and how financial investment can shape healthy and
sustainable food systems. I also co-develop integrated policy approaches
that promote sustainable, resilient, healthy and equitable food systems.

A socially distanced farmers market during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

15 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Jane Cawson

Dr Jane Cawson
• Fire behaviour
• Flammability
• Fire ecology
• Fire management
[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/144643-jane-cawson

Eucalypt forests are one of the most flammable vegetation types

in the world. Fire is extremely important to their ecology but can
also pose a threat. To better manage fire regimes in eucalypt forests
we need to understand what drives their flammability. Through
my research, I strive to provide this knowledge and thus help to
improve fire management.

My research focuses on bushfire behaviour, particularly the role of

vegetation as fuel in a bushfire and how it contributes to landscape-level
flammability. Spanning multiple scales from leaves to whole forests and
involving a combination of laboratory and field-based methods, I work
closely with fire managers to design and implement field and laboratory
research that contributes to improved fire management.

Field ignition experiments in eucalypt forests.

Measuring fuel after a mechanical fuel treatment at

Healesville Sanctuary.

16 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor
Surinder Singh Chauhan
Associate Professor Surinder Singh Chauhan
• Livestock genetics
• Livestock production and management
• Meat science

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/548394-surinder-singh-chauhan

I develop smart solutions to promote sustainable livestock

production for a healthy planet.

I focus on increasing sustainability, efficiency, and animal welfare in

livestock production systems (cattle, sheep and goats) by:
• identifying molecular genetic markers to assist selection for
thermotolerance
• applying a nutrigenomics approach to regulate metabolism and mitigate
heat stress impacts
• elucidating the genetic, molecular and biochemical basis of meat quality Dairy cattle behaviour on a hot summer day.
and developing innovative tools to improve it.
In future, I hope to develop farm-ready feeding solutions for methane
emissions reduction and productivity gains in livestock.

17 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Yung En Chee

Dr Yung En Chee
• Conservation science
• Ecological modelling
• Structured decision-making
• Waterways research
• Interdisiplinary research

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/10330-yung-en-chee

I apply expertise in ecology and decision analysis to

develop tools and models for managing ecosystems,
protecting biodiversity, and promoting healthy
waterways.

Ecological modelling and waterway management

prioritisation in greater Melbourne
Freshwater biodiversity is more threatened and less studied than Macroinvertebrate sampling in the upper Yarra
catchment.
marine and terrestrial biota. Greater Melbourne includes over
20,000km of waterways threatened by urban growth and climate
change. Melbourne’s Healthy Waterways Strategy aims to protect
our waterways for future generations.

To help achieve this, a long-term partnership between the

University of Melbourne, Melbourne Water, the Waterway
Ecosystem Research Group, and La Trobe University supports
research-practice collaboration between freshwater, plant,
restoration, and molecular ecologists, ecohydrologists,
waterway and land managers. We have estimated biodiversity
values for more than 8,000 stream reaches in varying catchments
across the region, predicted changes under projected urban
growth and climate change, and quantified expected benefits
of various management actions.

Freshwater macroinvertebrates
Freshwater macroinvertebrates contribute water filtration and
nutrient cycling essential to ecosystem health and are sensitive,
informative indicators for biological monitoring. Despite
this importance, species-level knowledge of their habitats,
distributions, and responses to human activities is inadequate.
I aim to reduce this knowledge gap.

18 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Deli Chen

Professor Deli Chen

• Soil fertility and biogeochemistry
• Carbon and nitrogen dynamics
• Greenhouse gases in agroecosystems
• Fertilisers technology and management
• Sustainable agriculture index

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/13219-deli-chen

I focus on increasing efficiency of nitrogen (N) fertiliser use and

minimising N loss in agriculture, to enhance global food security,
protect the environment and combat climate change.

Working with leaders in agricultural industries, my team applies

state-of-the-art facilities and expertise to:
• quantify, simulate, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from crop
and livestock systems in real-time at large scale
• develop techniques for measuring soil N transformations
• identify and quantify pathways of N loss in agriculture Quantifying, simulating and mitigating greenhouse
gas emissions from agroecosystems.
• improve efficiencies of N fertilisers using micrometeorological methods
and 15N techniques
• develop and apply agroecosystem models and decision systems for
better fertiliser management
• mitigate N loss and odour from intensive animal production systems
(cattle feedlots and poultry farms), particularly by using modified lignite
and black coal to produce high-nutrient organic fertilisers and soil
amendments
• develop sustainability indices for agriculture, including a framework for
N footprint calculation, a N credit system, and societal cost-benefit
models of N use, to share responsibility for agricultural pollution among
farmers, suppliers, processors, retailers, consumers and governments.
Evidence-based N indexes and N pricing for wheat flour to
incentivise mitigation of N loss.

19 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Paul Cheng

Dr Paul Cheng
• Sustainable livestock production
• Grazing ecology

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/799665-paul-cheng

I develop methods for sustainable livestock production, to increase

global food security, reduce environment pollution and improve
animal welfare.

I focus on livestock nutrition, grazing ecology, precision agriculture,

sustainable intensification, and greenhouse gas emission modelling.

My research projects include:

• using conserved forage to support more sustainable livestock production
• optimising robotic dairy systems to enhance productivity and efficiency
Sustainable development of dairy industry.
• reviewing greenhouse gas emission mitigation strategies in the
livestock industry.

My future research plans include:

• exploring the use of dual-purpose crops to reduce carbon footprints
• investigating how shelter belts (tree and shrubs providing shade, wind
breaks and habitats) can improve on-farm biodiversity, pasture, and
livestock production
• developing protocols to validate greenhouse gas emission mitigation
strategies in the livestock industry.

Trees on farmland enhance biodiversity,

carbon storage and shelter for animals.

Use of dual purpose crops on farm.

20 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Ling Zhi Cheong

Professor Ling Zhi Cheong

• Early-life nutrition
• Functional foods
• Lipids
• Biosynthesis and bioprocessing
• Nutrition

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/976778-ling-zhi-cheong

I am passionate about sustainable food production and food waste

reduction. I aim to understand the role of specific nutrients such as
food lipids in health and disease.

Early-life nutrition
During the first 1000 days of a child’s life (from conception to two years
of age), good nutrition can positively influence lifelong health. My team
elucidates the role of nutrients during infancy and toddlerhood in
modulating the gut microbiome and priming the immune system. We
aspire to provide innovative nutritional solutions for every phase of a
child’s growth and development. Microstructures of food products.

Functional foods and ingredients

‘Functional’ foods and ingredients provide health benefits beyond basic
nutrition by enhancing body functions and reducing disease risk. My team
investigates the physicochemical, nutritional, and functional properties
of food and ingredients. We then develop sustainable synthesis pathways
to produce functional foods and ingredients at commercial scale. We are
focused on functional food lipids (dairy, marine, plant and animal), which
can also contribute structure, texture, aroma, and flavour to food.

Food safety Designing pathways for commercial scale synthesis of

functional foods.
Contaminants are biological, chemical and physical substances that are
unintentionally added to food. Contamination can occur during food
production, packaging, transport or holding. We develop sensors to detect
contaminants in foods.

21 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor
Jeremy Cottrell
Associate Professor Jeremy Cottrell
• Gastrointestinal
• Muscle
• Developmental biology
• Pig
• Broiler

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/4524-jeremy-cottrell

I focus on efficient production of pigs and poultry, particularly

how climate change and other stressors influence the growth and
development of valuable livestock species.

Climate change is increasing the incidence and severity of heatwaves in

Australia and abroad, placing strain on animal production systems involving
stock blood-lines from temperate, European zones. I focus on the impacts
of increased heat on livestock including changes in feeding patterns and
growth rates, alterations in the endocrine system, and impairment in the
function of organs such as the gastrointestinal tract or reproductive tract. I
employ a range of investigative tools, including climate chamber or on-farm
studies, organ baths and RNA sequencing.

Nutrition is a major overhead for animal production. For optimal growth,

nutrition must be adapted to different production stages and challenges.
For example, freshly weaned animals, lactating animals, or animals exposed
to heat have different nutrient requirements. I investigate how nutritional
additives such as micronutrients or phytochemicals can be tailored to assist
livestock through challenging events or environments.

Seasonal (summertime) infertility is a major problem for animal production

systems. My upcoming research will focus on how environmental
changes influence non-coding RNAs in pig sperm, affecting the phenotype
of offspring.

22 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Brendan Cullen

Associate Professor Brendan Cullen

• Farm systems modelling
• Climate adaptation
• Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
• Pasture agronomy

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/67075-brendan-cullen

Agricultural production systems must adapt to the changing climate

while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. I model farm systems
to investigate opportunities for livestock producers (sheep, beef and
dairy) to meet these challenges.

I lead multidisciplinary teams and work directly with farmers to ensure

that our research is relevant to end users. We use farm systems analysis,
farm economics and social research to find means for farmers to maintain
profitability in hotter and drier conditions predicted for southern Australia, and
analyse options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon.

My pasture agronomic research includes an investigation of the production

and feed quality of multi-species pasture mixtures compared to perennial Case study farm in East Gippsland.
ryegrass in the dairy industry, and the use of thermal imagery to detect
water stress in plants.

Another research interest is understanding grazing behaviour of dairy cows

in automatic milking systems.

23 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Kristy DiGiacomo

Dr Kristy DiGiacomo
• Animal nutrition
• Physiology
• Metabolism
• Efficiency
• Sustainable feed

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/136989-kristy-digiacomo

I aim to improve the sustainability of production animal industries

under a changing climate by increasing our understanding of animal
and feed interactions, physiology, and metabolism.

Optimal nutrition promotes animal growth, health and welfare, as well

as production efficiency and sustainability. Manipulation of diet, including
the use of novel feeds and nutritional supplements, can help manage
animal growth and production under various physiological and
environmental conditions.

I have partnered with industry, government, and academic institutions to

achieve novel research objectives, including exploring the use of insect
protein (reared on organic waste streams, such as supermarket waste and
pork processing waste) as a protein feed source for ruminants.
Cows at pasture.
Recent research in collaboration with Australia’s largest goat dairy
production system has provided insights into the drivers of milk productivity.
Future research will examine methods to enhance lifetime productivity,
efficiency, and health by improving early-life nutrition in dairy goats.

Dairy goat kid.

Dairy cattle at Dookie.

24 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Richard Eckard

Professor Richard Eckard

• Climate change
• Carbon farming
• Carbon accounting
• Mitigation
• Methane

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/2680-richard-eckard

I aim to help agricultural industries to not only reduce their carbon

emissions but also to thrive under a changing climate.

My research focuses on carbon farming and accounting to support carbon

neutral agriculture, enteric methane abatement, management of extreme
climate events, and options for agriculture to respond to a changing climate.

In the future, I hope to develop a nationally coordinated, decadal research

program to give Australian agriculture a globally competitive edge in
low-emissions food production.

Methane being measured from Dairy cows using the

SF6 technique.

Respiration chambers for measuring enteric methane

Methane chambers at ILRI, Nairobi measuring from

Boran cattle and Red Maasai sheep.

25 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Zhongxiang Fang

Associate Professor Zhongxiang Fang

• Food processing and preservation
• Food bioactive compounds
• Innovative food technology and packaging

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/773086-zhongxiang-fang

I aim to ensure that food is safe, nutritious, and pleasant to eat.

My primary research areas include:

• How different food ingredients interact under various processing
methods, and how this affects food quality, safety, and shelf life.
• Function, metabolism, and microencapsulation of food bioactive
compounds, and how they could improve human health and wellbeing.
• Edible coating and active packaging for food.
• Emerging processing technology including 3D printing of food and plant-
protein-based meat analogues.

In future, I will focus on plant-protein-based foods and hybrid (meat/plant-

Indigenous food of bloodroot in new meat product
based) foods. I am interested in developing sustainable and nutritious foods development.
derived from Australian Indigenous and Asian cultures.

Edible packaging film made from sorghum protein

with incorporating of natural preservatives.

Spray drying of food bioactive compounds.

26 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Claire Farrell

Associate Professor Claire Farrell

• Green infrastructure
• Urban greening
• Drought tolerance
• Green roofs
• Woody meadow

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/340475-claire-farrell

My research involves working with plants to make cities more

liveable for people, plants and animals. I research how urban
greening can be used to manage stormwater, cool cities and
improve the diversity of plants in the landscape.

Urban greening research is very applied and multidisciplinary and involves

many partner organisations. My research has focused on developing green
infrastructure, including green roofs, facades, rain gardens and woody
meadows for Australian conditions. I use a holistic approach to researching
how these technologies can make cities more liveable.
The Burnley Campus Green Roof which demonstrates
As a plant scientist, much of my research has evaluated plant tolerances our research outcomes.

to improve survival and stormwater retention in green roofs, walls and

urban plantings. My green roof research on plant selection and substrates
(engineered growing media) has overcome barriers to installation and
created industry-ready green roofs. This has helped broaden plant selection
worldwide beyond succulents while developing green roof substrates for hot
and dry climates. Published internationally, key recommendations of this
work have influenced policy and practice.

In recent years, my research has moved down from rooftops into

streetscapes and parks. In the Woody Meadow Project, we are researching
how naturalistic plantings of Australian shrubs can improve the appearance,
resilience and function of low-maintenance landscapes, which generally The Woody Meadow Pilot Planting at Birrarung Marr,
Melbourne.
lack diversity. Woody meadows are novel urban plantings that use natural
shrublands as templates to create beautiful, diverse plantings which
are maintained periodically through coppicing. This research draws on
an ecological understanding of how Australian shrubland communities
respond to disturbances such as fire and how plant traits relate to drought
resistance strategies. We are also researching how woody meadows can be
used in water-sensitive urban design applications, including rain gardens
and swales. Recognised for their innovation, sustainability, and low cost,
woody meadows are growing exponentially and are part of major landscape
projects across Australia. This growing network of plantings enables us to
use them as ‘common garden’ experiments to understand plant responses
to different conditions and test their resilience.

27 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Fiona Fidler

Professor Fiona Fidler

• Metascience
• Reproducibility
• Conservation science
• Integrity

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/3224-fiona-fidler

We want evidence-based decisions, policy and practice to

be based on the most reliable scientific evidence possible.
Problems with reproducibility and publication bias and an
underinvestment in error detection and peer review leave that
evidence base vulnerable. My work is about building structures
to ensure justified confidence in the scientific evidence base
for end users and the public. repliCATS (Collaborative Assessments for
Trustworthy Science). Workshop 2019.
Science is often considered ‘self-correcting’, but what makes it so?
Replication, error detection and systematic criticism are all important in
maintaining self-correction mechanisms, but they are also undervalued
activities. They typically don’t win awards or attract lots of funding.
I’m interested in ways to boost those activities through introducing
new incentives and by improving existing structures like peer review.
I’m interested in culture and norms in scientific practice and how
methodological change happens. This research includes projects
like evaluating how specific interventions (eg open data mandates,
preregistration) impact scientific practice and the quality of related outputs.

I’m also interested in how statistics education can reduce the rate of
questionable research practices (like p-hacking and selective reporting) in
ecology and other fields. I am also interested in statistical controversies in Fiona, public lecture on the repliCATS (Collaborative
science, for example, ongoing debates about null hypothesis significance Assessments for Trustworthy Science) project.
testing and between frequentist and Bayesian inference frameworks. I’m
also interested in applying social science methods to assist conservation
decision making and have worked on several risk assessment and behaviour
change projects.

28 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Alex Filkov

Dr Alex Filkov
• Fire behaviour
• Extreme fires
• Wildland-Urban interface
• Communities
• Resilience

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/769157-alex-filkov

I investigate the fundamental physical mechanisms of extreme and

dynamic fires, to improve our ability to predict wildfire behaviour
and increase the fire resilience of structures and communities.

To mitigate wildfire risks, improve operational tools for fire management,

and increase the fire resistance of structures, we need deeper
understanding of the fundamental mechanisms behind wildland and
structural fire behaviour.

In collaboration with industry partners, I study a wide range of fire behaviour

and impacts through innovative laboratory experiments, field studies, and
modelling. I have designed and built unique experimental apparatuses
and cutting-edge measurement technologies such as a Variable Heat Flux Testing fire resistance of facade materials.
Apparatus, Continuous Firebrand Generator, field-deployable Fire Behaviour
Sensors, and Large-Scale Combustion Wind Tunnel.

My research includes:
• ignition and combustion of fuels and structural materials
• transition mechanisms of wildland fires to urban fringes
• generation, transport, and ignition potential of firebrands for short- and
long-range spot fires
• dynamic fire effects and merging fires
• the impact of dynamic heat exposure on vegetation flammability and
survival.

Experimental investigation of junction fire in the field.

29 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Rebecca Ford

Dr Rebecca Ford
• Forest management
• Social values
• Climate change

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/23213-rebecca-ford

The ways people value, experience and act in forests are diverse
and changing. Forests are also changing with climate change and
increased fire frequency. Understanding these complex social
ecological dynamics is important for enabling responsive and
adaptative forest governance.

People and governance in forest systems

People, forests and governance agencies interrelate in complex dynamic
systems. Our research group studies people’s interactions with forests by
examining their values, experiences and practices. We study relationships in
forest governance among government and non-government organisations,
researchers and communities by investigating institutions, decision making
and representations of forest management.

30 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Sarah Frankland

Dr Sarah Frankland
• Self-regulated Learning
• Assessment

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/440357-sarah-frankland

I study how students transition from high school to university to

inform strategies that can facilitate that transition. I also analyse
how students interact with assessment tasks to develop more
authentic assessment tools.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) encompasses the self-motivated behaviours

that students use to monitor and control their learning, which impact the
transition from high school to university. Part of SRL includes monitoring
progress and this ties into assessment, which is another of my research
interests. I focus on assessment literacy, exploring how an online grading
tool can promote student development of evaluative judgement.

• Australian Council of Deans of Science funded project: Improving

Assessment Literacy Skills in Undergraduate Students
• Post-Pandemic Learning and Teaching Initiatives funded project: Student
Wrap-up: Increasing student engagement with participation feedback and
guided reflection

31 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes

Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes

• Digital agriculture
• Artificial intelligence
• Precision agriculture
• Agriculture and food in space
• Remote sensing
[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/551189-sigfredo-augusto-fuentes-jara

I focus on the intersection of climate change, agriculture, and

advanced technologies (machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI),
and emerging sensor technology) to develop sustainable solutions
for food production and security on Earth and for long-term space
exploration – the latter through the newly funded ARC Centre of
Excellence for Plants in Space.
Sensory analysis in space-immersed environments
for pick-and-eat leaf vegetables to test how simulated
Digital Agriculture Food and Wine (DAFW) for Earth and Space zero gravity affects sensory perception.

The cross-disciplinary DAFW research group seeks to harness the power

of AI and sensor technology to enhance decision-making in agriculture,
enabling more efficient crop irrigation, resource use, growth monitoring
and disease detection, thereby boosting productivity. A key focus is the
development of edible plants suitable for long-term space exploration.
By examining plants’ sensory appeal, nutritional composition, growth
patterns, and physiological effects on astronauts, we aim to enhance the
sustainability and resilience of food production during space missions and
contribute to the development of self-sufficient space habitats.

By integrating machine/deep learning and AI techniques, we aim

to revolutionise the assessment of sensory attributes in plants and
plant-based products, from food and beverages to materials and
pharmaceuticals. Our ARC Centre of Excellence for Plants in Space
boasts a collaborative network of 38 national and international partners,
including NASA and Axiom. By 2030, our research will drive transformative
advancements in sustainable food production on Earth and beyond.

Robotic farming systems in Parkville to produce pick-

and-eat leaf vegetables implementing digital sensors,
AI and digital twins.

32 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Joe Greet

Dr Joe Greet
• Wetland restoration
• Riparian Vegetation
• Environmental flows
• Deer impacts

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/360700-joe-greet

I am a wetland ecologist and really enjoy being a researcher and

working with plants and people. My hope is that my research will
help land and water managers to better maintain and protect our
native vegetation and heal Country.

I am a wetland ecologist and lover of plants. A member of the Waterway

Ecosystem Research Group within the School of Agriculture, Food and
Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne, I like working in
partnership with Traditional Owners, Melbourne Water, DELWP, Parks
Victoria and other land and water management agencies to protect and
restore our wetland environments.
Surveying billabong vegetation at Bolin Bolin.
My current research activities are focused on four main projects:
1. The restoration of the wetland forests at Yellingbo, the last refuge
of the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater and lowland
Leadbeater’s Possum

2. Determining appropriate environmental watering of Birrarung’s

(the Yarra’s) billabongs in partnership with Traditional Owners,
the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung’s Narrap (‘Country’) Team

3. Making Rivers Great Again. I’m working with the Arthur Rylah Institute
and others to further our understanding of the relationships between
plant life histories and water regimes to inform environmental flow
management and restoration of our waterways

4. Understanding, mapping and mitigating the impacts of feral deer

on our native vegetation.

Surveying deer impacts in the Yarra Ranges

National Park.

33 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Dorin Gupta

Associate Professor Dorin Gupta

• Abiotic (drought and heat) stress
• Biotic (legume fungal diseases) stress
• Resource use efficiency
• Crop genetics and genomics
• Diversified crop production

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/233665-dorin-gupta

I aim to build climate-change-resilient food systems and promote

biodiversity in agricultural landscapes to conserve plant genetic
resources and enhance ecological sustainability.

Sustaining crop production under uncertain,

challenging conditions
I focus on optimising resource use, evaluating and enhancing crop genetics
(exploring varieties, wild relatives, breeding, and nutrition), and managing
biotic (fungal) and abiotic (drought/heat) stresses in crop production
systems, including broadacre, horticulture, native crops, and mixed farming.

I am designing diversified crop production systems that are more resilient

to climate change, including drought and heat, by integrating legumes,
Evaluating the integration of legumes and dual-
dual-purpose and native crops, silicon-mediated stress tolerance, and purpose crops for diversified crop production:
enhancing drought resilience and sustainability.
conservation agricultural practices. By fostering national and international
research collaborations, I facilitate the exchange of knowledge, expertise,
and resources to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative
solutions for sustainable food production.

Crop wild and distant relatives, and silicon

supplementation: enhancing drought/heat tolerance
and vital traits in legumes and cereal crops.

Unlocking the potential of native crops: towards

diversified cropping, and climate change adaptation.

34 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Amy Hahs

Dr Amy Hahs
• Urban ecology
• Spatial analysis
• Biodiversity
• Interdisciplinary research

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/947-amy-hahs

My research focuses on the knowledge gaps and barriers identify urban-nature indicators that can be used to connect
that constrain our ability to create cities that support local actions with global frameworks, such as the Sustainable
biodiversity for the benefits to both people and nature. Development Goals and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity
Framework.
Impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity
Cities and towns represent challenging environments for
Disentangling local and global contexts using a
biodiversity, yet they also support a high diversity of plants,
comparative approach
animals and microorganisms. My research group seeks to Every city or town reflects its unique history, culture and
understand how different organisms respond to urban impacts tradition, as well as the biogeographic region, climate, and social
such as chemical and sensory pollution (light, temperature, and economic contexts they exist within. My research employs
noise), altered disturbance regimes, human activities and altered a comparative approach to help disentangle these complex
habitats. We use a combination of methodological approaches, influences and begin identifying general principles that apply to
including remote sensing and spatial data, gradient analyses and most cities around the world. This will also help us to understand
field surveys to understand biodiversity responses in terms of the unique factors at the local scale that need to be considered
taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional assemblages and traits. to ensure that the understanding of impacts on biodiversity
This research has revealed three key pathways of response to and efforts to ensure urban landscapes can support people and
urbanisation: species that are pre-adapted to urban conditions nature are sensitive and responsive to that particular place. I
and persist in urban landscapes, species that are maladapted to have a large network of collaborators from around the world. In
urban conditions and become locally extinct, and species that particular, I am interested in flipping the dominant paradigm and
display an eco-evolutionary adaptive response, such as a change finding out what the Global North can learn from researchers and
in behaviour or strategy. Understanding the ecological impacts practitioners in the Global South.
of urbanisation is a critical step in identifying how cities can be
designed and managed for people and nature.

Urban landscapes for people and nature

Cities and towns are complex systems of ecological, social,
cultural, technical and constructed elements. My research
group has a heavy emphasis on providing an urban ecology
and biodiversity voice to a diverse range of projects through
interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral projects. Examples of Magpie and sulfur-crested cockatoos in Melbourne.
projects include collaborating with landscape architects,
planners and other professionals to develop best practice
guidelines and other resources for practitioners; providing
evidence to help prioritise urban forest and landscape
connectivity actions across metropolitan Melbourne and
Singapore; co-designing biodiversity interventions in urban
green spaces and evaluating their effectiveness; understanding
the relationships between biodiversity and human health
Wetlands, sculpture, children, nature.
and wellbeing; and using an evidence-based approach to

35 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Jim He

Professor Jim He
• Soil microbial ecology
• Soil fauna and food web
• Transmission of antibiotic resistance genes
• Soil health

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/642022-jim-he

Focusing on soil microbial communities, I develop biological

approaches and food-web manipulation strategies to increase
soil health and nutrient use efficiency in agricultural and
natural ecosystems.

Soil microbial ecology

I study the distribution patterns, community structure, and functional
contributions of soil microorganisms in nutrient cycling, carbon
sequestration and soil health, using omics-based molecular technologies,
culture-dependent isolation techniques, and stable-isotope tracing
approaches. My research has revealed the niche differentiation of
nitrification microorganisms and their manipulation mechanisms in
improving soil nitrogen use efficiency.
Field trials of nitrogen fertilisers and nitrification
microorganisms.
Soil fauna and food webs
I use morphology and molecular technologies to develop standardised
methods for soil fauna identification and soil biodiversity monitoring and
study the interactions of soil fauna and microorganisms. I aim to increase
understanding of the soil food web and its resilience to human disturbances
including climate change.

Transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)

I explore the transmission of ARGs from bacteria in feedlot manure to
agricultural soil fauna and crops to evaluate the potential risks of manure
applications to ecosystem and human health.
Agricultural soils rich in organisms.

36 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Kate Howell

Associate Professor Kate Howell

• Microbial ecology
• Food composition
• Yeast and bacteria
• Fermentation
• Plant foods

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/192335-kate-howell

I’m passionate about making flavoursome, attractive, and healthy

foods accessible to all. My research uses a wide range of tools from
microbiology, chemistry, bioinformatics, and engineering.

Design of plant-based and fermented foods for optimal

human health
I aim to increase understanding of how microbial activities and interactions
in fermentation impact plant-based food structures, aromas, nutritional
contributions, digestion, and human microbiomes (oral and gut).

The Dookie Bread Lab

This research collaboration is revitalising the knowledge of Australian
heritage wheat varieties and expanding the vocabulary of grain quality to
include nutritional and flavour characteristics. We plan to mill flour from the
grains grown at Dookie campus and bake bread (and other products) for the
local community and beyond.
Sourdough breads are delicious and nutritious.

Yeast biology and human nutrition

I study diverse yeasts in sourdough bread to generate insights into lipid
biochemistry, phylogenomics and microbial ecology, and unlock potential
nutrition in staple foods with profound implications for human health.

Test bakes in the laboratory.

37 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Hangwei Hu

Dr Hangwei Hu
• Soil biology • Environmental microbiology
• Soil health • Antimicrobial resistance
• Plant-soil microbiome interactions • Microbial biotechnology

[email protected]

findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/660206-hang-wei-hu

I aim to increase understanding of how biotic and abiotic factors

impact soil organism diversity, community structures, and
functions – including organic matter decomposition, nutrient
cycling, and pathogen control – across a range of terrestrial and
agricultural ecosystems.

The role of soil biodiversity in ecosystem processes

I apply molecular techniques, stable isotope tracing, and advanced
bioinformatic and modelling methods to study soil fauna and microbes.
I have found positive correlations between the diversity of bacteria, Understanding the roles of protists in plant-soil microbiomes.

fungi, protists, and invertebrates and multiple ecosystem functions, and

explored various biotic interactions within the soil food web, above and
below ground.

Enhancing farm productivity and food security

My work includes developing controlled-release fertilisers that leverage the
symbiotic interactions between rhizosphere microbes and plant signalling
molecules to enhance nutrient acquisition, and optimising beneficial
biomes for sustainable agriculture.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)

My research has shown how: (i) long-term heavy metal contamination
significantly increases the abundance and diversity of ARGs in agricultural
soils; (ii) irrigation of urban parks with treated wastewater increases the
abundance and diversity of ARGs but does not enhance their potential for
horizontal gene transfer; and (iii) manure-derived ARGs can transfer to the
edible parts of vegetables, with potential risk to human health.

38 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor James Hunt

Professor James Hunt

• Agronomy
• Crop physiology
• Farming systems
[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/2124-james-hunt

I aim to increase the profitability, productivity, and sustainability of

grain-based farming systems.

The cross-disciplinary Crop Agronomy Group works closely with farmers

and commercial agronomists to understand constraints to farming systems’
productivity and profitability, and develop and test solutions. Test stages
are: (i) crop simulation models, (ii) small research plots, and (iii) commercial-
scale trials on farms. Our collaborative process facilitates adoption and
integration of solutions and new technology into farming systems.

Our projects funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation

have focused on: improving grower decisions around sowing time and crop
cultivar phenology choice; integrating long coleoptile wheat cultivars into Dr Arjun Pandey compares growth of canola in
different long-term nitrogen strategy treatments at
Australian farming systems; and re-framing risks and rewards of long-term Dookie Campus.
nitrogen fertiliser strategies.

We are supporting the Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Corporation in a National

Landcare Project to collect basic agronomic information on kangaroo grass
(Themeda triandra) to support its reintroduction as a high-value seed crop.

Plots of early sown quick winter wheat at Birchip

Cropping Group’s main field day site near Curyo in
northwest Victoria.

Sowing research plots at Dookie Campus.

39 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Moss Imberger

Dr Moss Imberger
• Freshwater ecology
• Land use impacts
• Urbanisation
• Organic matter dynamics
• Nutrient processing

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/428312-moss-imberger

The health of our streams is being rapidly degraded by Potential for integrated water management to
land use change, including agriculture and urbanisation. protect streams from urban development
The ecosystem services provided by streams and the Urbanisation degrades stream health. However, recent research
health of future generations is thus being put at risk. My has shown that retrofitting peri-urban catchments using water-
research aims to identify, understand and measure land sensitive urban design (WSUD) can restore some elements of
use impacts on streams, with the aim of finding new stream ecosystem structure and function. The success of these
management approaches and policies that support the WSUD approaches is dependent on sufficient space for larger
restoration and protection of streams into the future. systems and demand for captured water — requirements that
are difficult to meet in existing urban areas but far simpler when
Structure, function and hydrology of small ephemeral designed into new greenfield developments. This research
headwater streams around Melbourne investigates the potential to protect urban stream structure and
Headwater streams represent a dominant part of the river function in the face of new urban developments.
network by length. These small streams are primary sources of
Factors driving and limiting the restoration of peri-
streamflow, important sources of organic matter to downstream
urban streams using stormwater control measures
waters, and act as ‘hot spots’ for retention and transformation
of nutrients such as nitrogen and carbon. While small headwater Research has shown that stormwater control measures (SCM)
streams are likely to be extremely important for maintaining (such as biofilters and rainwater tanks can improve water
downstream river and bay health, they are particularly quality and reduce and slow flows at system outlets. However,
vulnerable to degradation or loss in rapidly urbanising cities the effectiveness of newer SCMs designed specifically to treat,
such as Melbourne. Despite this recognition, we still lack a clear retain and use stormwater when applied at a catchment scale
understanding of their ecological structure and function, and remains unknown. This research aims to test if the application of
their hydrologic behaviour. catchment-scale SCMs in peri-urban environments can restore
the structure and function of small streams already degraded by
Linkages between flow, sediment, organic matter urban development.
and instream vegetation
See more here: urbanstreams.unimelb.edu.au.
Research has shown that urbanisation alters stream hydrology,
increasing coarse sediment export and reducing organic matter
storage, diversity and abundance of instream vegetation. Despite
these broad scale patterns, we still lack a clear understanding
of which components of the flow regime are most significant
at influencing sediment and organic matter dynamics, and
how they interact to influence instream vegetation retention,
germination, emergence and persistence.

Monitoring and assessing healthy streams in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria.

40 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Sabine Kasel

Associate Professor Sabine Kasel

• Forest community dynamics
• Ecosystem processes
• Climate change
• Disturbance
• Threatened species

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/14351-sabine-kasel

My mission is to provide the empirical, peer-reviewed Work to date suggests the species regenerates prolifically
evidence that underpins the conservation and following mechanical disturbance and that established trees can
management of Victoria’s forest ecosystems and the withstand low intensity bushfire. Further work is focussed on
biodiversity these forests support. assessing the size of the soil seed bank following disturbance,
and advancing our understanding of the seed biology of this
Forest biodiversity and community dynamics species. Together this information will provide for improved
Key risks to Australia’s forested ecosystems are changes in fire management and conservation outcomes for this iconic species.
regimes (natural and managed) and climate change. These
changes can translate to changes in forest productivity, changes
in forest regeneration, increased drought stress and changes
in fire frequency and intensity. Bush fire, forest management
practices (including planned burning, timber harvesting
and reserve design) and changing climate may interact to
affect forest biodiversity, leading to significant impacts on
the distribution of forest dependent species, changes in the
composition and structure of forest communities and the
disruption of ecosystem services. My work is focused on
empirical research that lays the foundations for improved
understanding of the key ecological processes responsible
for the response of forest biodiversity, such as threatened
species and plant community composition to compounded
disturbances, including altered fire regimes, changing climate
and forest management practices. This work is critical to the
management of forested ecosystems for improved biodiversity
outcomes and the ecosystem services they deliver.

Recruitment and growth dynamics of Persoonia

arborea (Tree Geebung)
Persoonia arborea is an endangered tree species endemic to the
Central Highlands of Victoria. The species is fire sensitive and
grows widely in the Black Friday 1939 regrowth Wet Sclerophyll
Forest that is the primary resource for the timber forest industry
in Victoria. My work aims to understand the response of this
species to disturbance from timber harvesting and bush fire.
Size-age relationships using tree rings and radiocarbon dating
are being developed to establishing response to disturbance and
age to reproductive maturity.

41 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Luke Kelly

Associate Professor Luke Kelly

• Conservation biology
• Ecology
• Evolution
• Fire science
• Global change

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/140333-luke-kelly

I aim to transform understanding of ecological and evolutionary

dynamics under global environmental change – including shifting
fire patterns, landscape modification and climate change – and to
stop species going extinct.

I lead the Biodiversity Dynamics Research Group. We primarily use field data
and experiments to explore links between biodiversity and environmental
change, build models to forecast changes in animal and plant populations,
and develop strategies to conserve biodiversity. We integrate data and
models with participatory approaches (such as scenario planning),
involving local communities, stakeholders and policy makers throughout
environmental decision making, to improve outcomes.

We focus on three main areas of research:

Some trees release seeds into the resource-rich ash
• Plant evolution and global change – We work in Mediterranean- covering the ground after fire.
type ecosystems in Australia and Spain to determine whether plant
populations can successfully evolve through key traits to keep up with the
rate of environmental change.
• Fire ecology and management – We aim to determine the mix of fire-
driven variation (pyrodiversity) that will best promote biodiversity and
how we can achieve that mix.
• Animal ecology and conservation – We undertake field studies of
mammals, birds and reptiles in southern Australia, to develop and
test ecological theory, monitor biodiversity identify critical habitat The Mallee Ningaui shelters in spinifex clumps in semi-
and determine the best management strategies (including for invasive arid Australia.
predators) under possible future scenarios.

We incorporate genetics and glasshouse experiments

into our work on contemporary evolution, climate
change and novel fire regimes

42 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Tom Kompas

Professor Tom Kompas

• Biosecurity
• Applied economics
• Environmental economics
• Computational modelling

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/695719-tom-kompas

I do research designed to have impact, to change government

policy on various biosecurity measures, such as effective border
quarantine and post-border surveillance measures, as well as policy
responses to climate change.

My research specialises in biosecurity, large-scale computational modelling,

climate change, and natural resource and environmental economics. I work
on estimates of the potential economic damages from climate change
across different temperature settings for over 120 different countries and
over 50 commodity sectors, as well as emissions reductions pathways. I
also do work on the economics of biosecurity for plant, animal and human
health. This involves work on optimal post-border surveillance for the early
and cost-effective detection of pests and diseases to protect agriculture and
the environment. Along with ‘flattening the curve’ for COVID-19, there’s
an urgent need to address potential damages from
climate change.

43 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor
Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam
Associate Professor Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam
• Agricultural data science
• Fertiliser management and technology
• Greenhouse gas measurement and mitigation
• Climate change impacts on agroecosystems

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/326600-shu-kee-lam

I aim to improve fertiliser management and mitigate nitrogen

pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems.

I help to develop enhanced-efficiency fertilisers tailored to different soils,

crops, and climates, and decision-support tools that facilitate optimal
nitrogen use with minimal losses to the environment.

My research group employs a wide range of techniques, including static

chambers, passive samplers, and open-path lasers and Fourier transform
infrared spectrometers, to measure greenhouse gas emissions from diverse
agricultural systems such as cereals, vegetables, and pastures. We utilise
process-based agroecosystem models to simulate, predict, and assess
the effects of management practices on nitrogen losses through various
pathways.

We integrate big data with machine learning techniques to improve the

reliability of model predictions regarding nitrogen processes. We also
employ meta-analytic techniques to analyse extensive national and Intensive fertiliser use in vegetable systems.
international datasets on soil-plant carbon and nitrogen dynamics in
agricultural systems, gaining valuable insights into potential climate change
mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Using data-driven machine learning approaches to

improve process-based models.

44 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Patrick Lane

Professor Patrick Lane

• Ecohydrology
• Fire
• Forest management
• Water resources

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/98261-patrick-lane

At the Forests and Water Research Group, we seek Current research projects include:
to improve our ability to understand and predict the • The development of models to understand how forests will
hydrologic impact of climate variability, forest growth respond to repeated fire and to a varying climate and what
dynamics and forest disturbances. This research is that means for streamflows
aimed at improving water resource planning in Australia • How much water do forest of varying density and age use?
by researching the biophysical processes driving • A new remote-sensing method to quantify forest conditions
hydrologic change to underpin the development of and hydrology
models for real-world application to forest and • Drought proofing plantations
catchment management problems. • Prediction of fire impacts on erosion and water quality.
We are living in a changing environment. A more variable climate
is producing extremes in low and high rainfall, as evidenced
by the recent large-scale floods, drought and fire. The effects
of climate and climate-related disturbances are particularly
important for the health of forests and the ecosystem services
they provide. Water is a highly significant ecosystem value,
and forests are the source of much of our water. We need to
understand and predict how forests will respond to the climate
and disturbance drivers. However, it is not only the quantity
and quality of water that forested landscapes provide that is
important; equally critical is their intrinsic water status. That
is, how do the forests themselves respond to drought and fire?
Will they continue to be healthy and productive, or will drought
and fire cause significant harm? My research interests include
the impact of forest growth dynamics and disturbance on
evapotranspiration and streamflow, the impact of fire on erosion Measuring tree water use.
and water quality and the biophysical processes underlying the
catchment responses. The effects of fire and climate change is a
particular focus.

Measuring forest streamflow.

45 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Robyn Larsen

Dr Robyn Larsen
• Diabetes management
• Sedentary behaviour
• Dietary interventions

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/850685-robyn-larsen

I aim to better understand the interactive effects of physical activity

and diet on glucose metabolism, to inform new strategies for
diabetes prevention and management.

Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are increasing worldwide, driven

by poor diets, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour (too much sitting
as distinct from too little exercise). We need better understanding of how
these behavioural risk factors interact to inform lifestyle interventions for
prevention and treatment.

Sedentary behaviour is associated with elevations in postprandial

glucose, insulin concentrations and other cardiometabolic risk markers
(hypertension, endothelial dysfunction). In collaboration with colleagues at
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, I have shown that breaking up prolonged
sitting with regular, short bouts of light- or moderate-intensity physical Blood glucose lowering effect of different types of
activity (i.e., walking, or simple bodyweight resistance exercises) attenuates activity breaks in sitting.

postprandial glucose and insulin responses in adults with obesity or type 2

diabetes. These studies have informed sedentary behaviour guidelines of
the American Diabetes Association and the National Heart Foundation.

However, the magnitude of the glucose-lowering effect depends on the

type of break in sitting, the underlying degree of insulin resistance and the
amount and type of carbohydrate consumed, suggesting that opportunities
exist to further refine this approach regarding the timing and nature of meals
and sitting breaks.

46 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Stephanie Lavau

Dr Stephanie Lavau
• Environmental sociology
• Sociology of science

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/23855-stephanie-lavau

I study the role of citizens in caring for local ecosystems and species,
to: (i) support management agencies and other environmental
organisations in developing and reviewing strategies for working
with communities; and (ii) recognise the important contributions of
citizen action.

I extend understanding of the practices through which people care for

nature, and how these practices connect people, technologies, objects,
places, and ideas. My recent research focuses on the protection of urban
waterways and biodiversity conservation, including: citizen science and
biodiversity monitoring; domestic water practices for private and public
benefit; craftivism and wildlife rescue; and environmental volunteering in
urban waterway management. Collaboration in environmental knowledge
and practice is core to my research, as a method and a topic of enquiry.

47 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Anita Lawrence

Dr Anita Lawrence
• Human nutrition
• Public health nutrition
• Dietary recommendations
• Dietary modelling

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/847021-anita-lawrence

I apply extensive experience in public health and nutrition research,

policy, regulation, and communication to help guide Australia’s
transition to healthy and more environmentally sustainable diets.

Food for healthy people and a healthy planet

Our dietary intake not only determines our risk of heart disease, cancer,
diabetes and other chronic diseases, but it is also an important determinant
of planetary health. Today’s global food systems are major contributors to
greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss. A recent scenario we modelled where animal-source
meat and milk were swapped for plant-based ‘meat’
I am combining state-of-the-art modelling techniques and data sources and ‘milk’.

to build a dietary modelling tool that can better predict the nutritional
implications of policies and public health messages aimed at encouraging
the Australian population to transition to a more environmentally
sustainable diet.

Plant-based ‘milk’.

Plant-based ‘meat’.

48 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Stephen Livesley

Professor Stephen Livesley

• Urban ecology
• Urban trees
• Green infrastructure
• Urban microclimate
• Soil science

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/21449-stephen-livesley

I study how vegetation and soil systems in towns and cities can
support microclimate cooling, catchment hydrology, biodiversity
habitat and our own wellbeing, to help us adapt to climate change
and extreme weather events.

I analyse and quantify many of the ecosystem functions and benefits

that the urban forest (trees, shrubs, and treed green spaces) provides in
different contexts and scenarios. I aim to understand where trade-offs and
compromise may occur, to help better design and manage urban, green
(vegetation) and blue (water) infrastructure systems. My research involves
direct measurement of soil, water, vegetation, and climate interactions, as
well as mechanistic modelling of urban ecological processes, combined
with a social dimension to better understand preferences, values and Tagging elm trees in University Square to understand
opinions of the public and professionals and enable more inclusive and insect predation by birds, possums and wasps.
informed decisions.

Measuring the microclimate and energy balance on a

green roof in Docklands, Melbourne.

Where are all the trees in our new outer suburbs?

49 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Michael McCarthy

Professor Michael McCarthy

• Quantitative ecology
• Statistical ecology
• Environmental management
• Ecological modelling

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/13490-michael-mccarthy

I am motivated to develop methods that can make our environment

better for both humans and the natural world. I enjoy my
research because it combines two primary interests: ecology and
mathematics, a combination of abilities and interests that seems
relatively rare, so I seek to assist better environmental management
through novel insights and the development of useful methods.

Quantitative and applied ecology

I am interested in developing, evaluating and applying models to assist
ecological management. My research spans many areas, including detection
of invasive and rare species, population dynamics, fire ecology, synthesis
of ecological data and environmental risk assessment. The common theme
is using quantitative methods such as mathematical analysis, simulation
modelling and statistical analysis to help synthesize information so as to Eucalypt tree. Hollows in eucalypt trees are a key
resource, but how do we detect them (and the species
inform ecological management. that occupy them) most reliably? My research on
imperfect detection in ecology addresses
Combining quantitative methods with ecology can provide insights this question.

that might otherwise be overlooked. Much of my research involves the

development of novel quantitative methods, leading to an expanding
program focused on the evaluation of models. I work across numerous
ecological systems and with a range of species, including plants,
vertebrates, invertebrates and micro-organisms. I have worked on projects
related to marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments, from arid regions
to tall forests.

The mountain ash forests of Victoria. The mountain

ash forests of Victoria provide much of Melbourne’s
water, they are harvested for wood and have
extremely high environmental values. They also burn
at unpredictable intervals. My research aims to help
predict the impacts of unplanned fires on the range of
values of these and other forests.

50 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Gayathri Devi Mekala

Dr Gayathri Devi Mekala

• Gender in agriculture
• Institutional analysis
• Livelihoods and food security
• Social aspects of climate resilience and water management

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/352880-gayathri-mekala

I contribute to building a more inclusive, equitable and

resilient society through my research in gender, agriculture
and water management.

As a social scientist and gender-in-agriculture specialist, my research

interests include: gender aspects of food production systems and water
management; institutional and policy analysis; livelihoods and food
security. I have worked in India, Pakistan, Pacific islands, Ghana, and South
Africa. Social institutions and resource management policies that are A women farmer walking through a rice field irrigated
with wastewater in Andhra Pradesh, India.
gender-sensitive can transform our production systems, make them more
resilient to climate change, and help meet the United Nations’ Millennium
Development Goals.

Farm labour getting a ride on a truck loaded with

fodder grass to the market in Hyderabad, India.

51 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Ms Maddison Miller

Ms Maddison Miller
• Indigenous knowledge
• Cultural-ecological connections
• Healthy Country
[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/836772-maddison-miller

Aboriginal peoples have been caring for and nurturing Healthy Country
this place for tens of thousands of years. There exists Healthy Country is a term often used to describe. As deputy lead,
a deeply reciprocal relationship between Aboriginal I am working with Traditional Owner groups in Victoria to have a
peoples and country that nourishes not only the natural baseline understanding of what Healthy Country means from an
world, but provides for complex cultural practice and Indigenous viewpoint and how we can start to build a research
rich community relationships. As a Darug researcher, agenda that works towards Healthy Country outcomes.
my aim is to respectfully work alongside community
to embed Aboriginal country care into contemporary
Global Indigenous perspectives of energy transition
and climate change in cities
applied ecology.
Working with Indigenous women from Canada, Australia, Peru
Ecological knowledge of Country and Bolivia, this project aims to explore Indigenous perspectives
The interconnectedness of Country, culture and community on cities. Cities are often found on Indigenous homelands but
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is at the centre are often treated as Terra Nullius in research, governance and
of our world views. The health of any one of these elements practice. This research sets a foundation for understanding the
relies on the health of the others. As Aboriginal people, we Indigenous City.
share a kinship with Country and nature expressed through our
continued cultural practice. This relational ontology dictates
that Country is to be cared for and loved and is capable of caring
and loving in return. My research seeks to bring together ways of
knowing Country in land management.

Bringing together ways of knowing Country

through story
Stories are the oldest knowledge devices in the world and have
Yilabara Ngara by Maddison Miller -
been passed down on this continent for thousands of years. storytelling installation at Emu Sky.
On Gunditjmara Country, stories of Budj Bim relate back to a
cultural and geological event that happened more than 30,000
years ago. My research seeks to understand how stories can be
used in bringing together different ways of knowing. I work with
ecologists and Traditional Owner groups from across Victoria
to create new stories that weave Indigenous worldviews and
Bindjali Braided Tree.
knowledges together with Western science.

Uncle Badger Bates sharing plant

knowledge.

52 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Craig Nitschke

Associate Professor Craig Nitschke

• Landscape ecology
• Forest ecology
• Biodiversity conservation
• Climate change
• Social-ecological systems

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/184007-craig-nitschke

I aim to help solve the wicked problem of conserving forests while

meeting demand for forest resources under a changing climate.
I seek to foster landscape-scale ecosystem management that is
climate-smart, socially acceptable, and sustainable.

I focus on forest and landscape ecology. The latter is a multi-disciplinary

field involving field-based ecological studies, genetics, species and
landscape modelling, remote sensing, and social research methods. My
research areas overlap with the disciplines of botany, silviculture, wildlife
biology, conservation biology, phenology, plant physiology, climatology,
hydrology, and dendrochronology, across urban, agricultural and forest
domains. I explore the relationship between forest ecosystems, and forest-
dependent species, and the biotic and abiotic factors that shape their Impact of changing fire regimes on forest landscapes
patterns of distribution and abundance over space and time. in the Victorian Alps (photo by Craig Nitschke).

Changing landscapes: recent impacts are evident, but

the future is uncertain (photo by Craig Nitschke).

Mapping old trees and forests is a key

research theme (photo by Craig Nitschke).

53 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Trent Penman

Professor Trent Penman

• Fire risk
• Landscape fire
• Fire behaviour
• Fire management
• Decision science

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/669873-trent-penman

I quantify risks to environmental and human assets from wildfires,

using models incorporating theoretical and applied bushfire
behaviour and management strategies to determine actions to
reduce risks.

Fire risk modelling

My team and I are international leaders in fire-risk methodologies over short
(5-year) and long (100-year) time frames. We collaborate with government,
industry and expert hydrologists, ecologists, engineers, social scientists and
economists to capture the complexity of fire risk and ensure our methods
have practical applications.
A prescribed burn in Victoria

Fire behaviour measurement

We examine a range of fire measurements during and after fire events to
determine fire drivers and behaviours, and the impact of management
actions. We undertake small to medium fire behaviour experiments in
our research laboratory at Creswick, and use aerial drones to measure
fire behaviour during prescribed fires and small wildfires in grasslands,
heath shrublands and forests. For large wildfires, we use remote sensing to
measure fire spread and severity.

We are developing a large combustion wind tunnel for the Creswick campus
Laboratory fire research
for better analysis of fire ecology and sustainable building design. Bringing
together expertise from our team and across Australia, we seek to develop a
national standard for fire risk analysis.

54 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Mohammad Pourkheirandish

Dr Mohammad Pourkheirandish
• Crop genetics
• Molecular evolution

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/830516-mohammad-pourkheirandish

I aim to improve crop plants, particularly wheat, barley, and oat,

by identifying and exploiting novel genetic resources and genes for
beneficial traits such as yield, nutrient usage, and stress tolerance

Cereal improvement
My team studies the genetics of beneficial plant traits including resilience Grain dispersal mechanism in wild relative of wheat
and barley.
to drought and saline soils, efficient uptake of nutrients, high yield, and
retention of the cereal head under dry wind conditions (a major cause of
yield loss in Australian barley), and develops molecular tools to enable
plant breeders to select these traits efficiently. We undertake field and
greenhouse experiments, employing traditional Mendelian crossbreeding
as well as sophisticated genomic technologies and measurement platforms.
We isolate the causal genes, and scan different gene pools for novel
variants of these genes that can contribute to the genetic improvement
of cultivated varieties.

Crop re-domestication
Our modern crops originated from a small number of wild relatives selected
by ancient farmers. This limits the adaptability of cultivated crops to
changes in the environment and climate. By breeding key genes into wild
forms of cereal, we can produce more easily cultivated forms with increased
genetic diversity. To this end, we investigate the gene complexes that cause
a cultivated cereal’s seeds to remain attached to the head as the plant
matures. This is arguably the most important trait of a cultivated variety, as
it allows the seed to be collected and consumed or replanted.
Wild Hordeum in Philip Island

Barley head loss.

55 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor
Senaka Ranadheera
Associate Professor Senaka Ranadheera
• Food microbiology
• Probiotics
• Prebiotics
• Fermentation
• Food safety

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/800524-senaka-ranadheera

To achieve better health outcomes, I focus on maintaining the

therapeutic potential of prebiotics and probiotics through food
processing, long-term storage, and gastrointestinal transit.

Probiotics, prebiotics and gut health

Probiotics are live microorganisms in food, which support gut health.
Prebiotics are non-digestible compounds in food, which foster growth and
activity of probiotics and beneficial gut microbiota.

To deliver health benefits to the human host, probiotics must survive food
processing, storage, and digestion in sufficient numbers, tolerating acid,
bile and enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract, and colonising the intestinal Teaching students laboratory techniques in probiotic
research.
epithelium. I use in vitro models to provide solutions to these challenges,
maximising probiotic efficiency and benefits.

SEM view of encapsulation of probiotics with food

matrices, a proven method in improving probiotic
efficiency in food.

56 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor John Rayner

Associate Professor John Rayner

• Urban horticulture
• Plant selection
• Green roofs
• Green walls
• Woody meadows

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/2467-john-rayner

I am passionate about plants and horticulture. My mission is to

make cities greener by developing more functional, resilient,
engaging and visually attractive vegetation. While plants should
be the core of the ‘greening cities’ movement, there are significant
gaps among built environment and landscape professionals in
planning, designing and sustaining plants successfully. Reducing
these knowledge gaps, particularly within and across disciplines,
is at the heart of my work.
Inspecting green roof plants in Maryland, USA.
My primary research area is in green infrastructure, specifically green
roofs, green walls and woody meadows. For the last 15 years, this has
focused on three key areas: plant evaluation and selection, the analysis
and development of urban substrates and soils and the maintenance and
management of urban vegetation. I have a side interest in the design and
management of therapeutic and children’s landscapes. I am very active in
industry engagement and outreach activities, particularly in the translation
of research to practice, including the development of best practice guides
and contracted research and consulting for major landscape projects. My
work also includes curriculum development and the delivery of professional
education and training. Woody Meadow in Birrarung Marr City of Melbourne.

The Highline in New York City.

57 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Michael Santhanam-Martin

Dr Michael Santhanam-Martin
• Agricultural innovation studies
• Sustainable agriculture
• Farm work
• Climate change adaptation

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/374263-michael-santhanam-martin

I help farmers, industry bodies and policy-makers to better

understand the process of change, supporting their adaptation to
shifts and opportunities in the environment, technology, resources,
and stakeholder expectations.

I analyse changes and driving factors impacting farm jobs, agricultural

careers, and regional and sectoral workforces, to help agricultural industries
meet their current and future workforce needs, and create jobs that are
rewarding and worthwhile.

As part of the Rural Innovation Research Group, I have commenced an ARC

Linkage project entitled “Securing the next generation in farming and food
careers”. Working with academic colleagues in youth studies and labour
market economics, and with industry and community partners across
Victoria, this project will investigate how and why young people (aged
15-35 years) enter, sustain or leave jobs and careers in the agri-food sector,
including farming, farm services and food processing.
Investigating work structures in Victorian orchards.

What is a “middle manager”? Investigating work

organisation in Victorian orchards

58 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Gyorgy Scrinis

Associate Professor Gyorgy Scrinis

• Food politics and policy
• Philosophy of nutrition science
• Ultra-processed foods
• Corporate power
• Food insecurity

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1628-gyorgy-scrinis

Combining politics, economics, sociology and philosophy, I study

how global food systems contribute to food insecurity and poor
nutrition, severe ecological and animal welfare impacts, and
inequalities in wealth and power along the supply chain in order to
inform policies and strategies to address these issues.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and food corporations

UPFs are industrially manufactured, packaged, and fast foods that contain
reconstituted ingredients and additives, and are primarily produced by Ultra-Processed Foods.
large food corporations. High proportions of UPFs in the diet are associated
with poor health. I analyse the commercial and corporate drivers of UPF
production and consumption, to inform policy proposals for regulating
producers and reducing consumption.

Nutrition science and dietary guidelines

Nutrition research and dietary advice are shaped by scientific paradigms
and assumptions – for example, a reductive focus on nutrients – and social,
philosophical, political and commercial contexts. I explore alternative
ways of understanding nutrients, foods and the body, and the influence of
corporate funding on nutrition science and expert advice. Food insecurity of university students.

Food insecurity of university students

Food insecurity affects a large proportion of university students in Australia,
ranging in severity from poor quality diets to regularly skipping meals. I
examine university students’ experiences of food insecurity in Australia, how
campus environments are failing to provide affordable food for all, and how
students are contributing to policies and initiatives to address this issue.

59 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Gary Sheridan

Associate Professor Gary Sheridan

• Hydrology
• Soils
• Erosion
• Water quality
• Modelling

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/98266-gary-sheridan

I develop biophysical models that help land and water planners,

managers, and policy makers assess risks and make decisions to
better manage bushfires and forest and water resources.

I study the long-term, co-evolution of forests, soils, and fire regimes, to help
predict future trajectories of forest systems under climate change. I focus
on the hydrology, water balance, and soil erosion processes of fire-prone
upland forests in southeast Australia, including:
• improving models of surface fuel moisture
• identifying transitions in forest systems that may alter fire behaviours, and
• developing risk models for post-fire flash floods, debris flows, and water
contamination.

Installing runoff monitoring equipment on hillslopes

after a bushfire.

Using “instrumented catchments” to understand how

rainfall, forests, and runoff interact.

As forests change, so do their microclimates and fire

regimes.

60 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Kevin Smith

Professor Kevin Smith

• Phenomics
• Plant breeding
• Pastures
• Forages
• Agronomy

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/393320-kevin-smith

I focus on solutions to improve the productivity and resilience of

pastures and forage crops.

Farmers grow forage crops for fresh grazing by livestock or for conservation
as hay or silage, for later feeding. I work in multidisciplinary teams to
develop productive, perennial forage species that are resilient to climate
change, and related innovations fit for farm applications. This work includes
genomic, phenomic, economic and agronomic aspects.

Driverless ground vehicle measuring pasture growth.

Screening ryegrass for nitrogen use efficiency.

61 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Helen Suter

Associate Professor Helen Suter

• Soil science
• Nitrogen cycling
• Sustainable production systems
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Soil health

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/16560-helen-suter

To help meet the challenge of achieving long-term global food

security under increasing population pressure and climate
variability, without causing environmental harm, I investigate
nitrogen and carbon cycles in soils, crops, pastures and the
atmosphere, including agricultural greenhouse gas emissions,
options for soil carbon storage, and strategies for more efficient
nitrogen use in food production.

Novel technologies for environmentally friendly fertilisers

I research strategies to improve nitrogen use efficiency in fertilisers, Dairy cows enjoying high quality pastures
including additives that slow loss of nitrogen to waterways and the
atmosphere, reducing the environmental impact of nitrogen fertilisers and
enabling farmers to reduce nitrogen application rates.

Multispecies dairy pastures to improve climate resilience

and sustainability
I assess whether dairy pastures that use a variety of pasture species
will provide better climate resilience and environmental outcomes
than traditional pastures dominated by one species. I investigate how
species composition impacts pasture quality, productivity, soil ecological
biodiversity, the efficiency of water and nutrient use, potential for carbon Measuring nitrous oxide emissions from vegetable
storage, and rates of nitrogen cycling, to determine the short and long-term farms.

implications of pasture species choice.

Rice production in southeast Asia.

62 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Matthew Swan

Dr Matthew Swan
• Fire ecology
• Fire management
• Animal behaviour

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/161519-matthew-swan

Wildfires are a key ecological process that have shaped global

biodiversity for millennia. Despite the evolution of plants
and animals with fire, fire regimes are changing during rapid
anthropogenic change. There is an urgent need to understand how
fire can be managed to help conserve biodiversity.

My research is focused on understanding how fires (both wildfires

and planned fires) affect the distribution and abundance of animals.
In particular, I’m interested in how properties of fire regimes such as
size, intensity and frequency vary in different ecosystems and what the
implications of this are for biodiversity. I study the effects of fire regimes on
important ecological processes such as animal movement, habitat use and
species interactions.

Additionally, I am interested in determining how fire interacts with other

threats such as land-use change, invasive predators and climate change. I
work with a range of animal groups, including birds, mammals and reptiles
and conduct primarily field-based research across a range of ecosystems in
south-eastern Australia, including heathlands, woodlands and tall forests.

63 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Chris Szota

Dr Chris Szota
• Green infrastructure
• Urban forestry
• Urban ecohydrology
• Plant ecophysiology

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/415560-chris-szota

My aim is to develop solutions to the suite of environmental

problems created by urbanisation. Green infrastructure can
mitigate the negative impacts of development on our waterways
and improve the quality of life for people. I hope to build the
evidence base required to make the major changes necessary to
achieve sustainable development.

Cities generate substantial volumes of polluted runoff, carried by highly

efficient drainage networks to our creeks and rivers. As a result, we waste
precious water resources and degrade waterway ecosystems. I work
on green infrastructure, which aims to reduce the volume of polluted
stormwater urban entering waterways and provide other ecosystem
services for residents.
Constructing a system to irrigate street trees with
My background is in plant ecophysiology, studying nutrient uptake stormwater generated by roads.

mechanisms and drought tolerance in vegetation far from the city: at

restored mine sites and eucalypt plantations. Urban environments provide a
fantastic opportunity for plant ecophysiologists to contribute to mitigating
the impact of cities on the environment and make them better places to live.
I work on improving the performance of green infrastructure through plant
selection, substrate development and engineering design for green roofs,
street tree systems, constructed wetlands and biofiltration systems.

A constructed wetland that filters pollutants from

stormwater before it enters an urban stream.

64 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Peta Taylor

Dr Peta Taylor
• Behaviour
• Welfare
• Poultry
• Free-range
• Enrichment

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/677558-peta-taylor

I collaborate with diverse animal welfare stakeholders to

undertake high-quality, animal-centric research into practical
and cost-effective means of better meeting captive animals’
wants and needs.

Applying methods from ethology, physiology, and neurophysiology, I focus

on agricultural species, especially poultry, investigating free-range systems,
maternal environments, and environmental enrichment, to improve animal
welfare in the meat chicken industry.

Peta holding a laying hen.

Free-range meat chickens.

Clicker training a laying hen.

65 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Dr Niloofar Vaghefi

Dr Niloofar Vaghefi
• Plant pathology
• Evolutionary mycology
• Population genetics
• Plant pathogen genomics

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/510993-niloofar-vaghefi

I advance understanding of phytopathogen (plant pathogen)

biology and adaptive evolution, and plant disease epidemiology,
to develop more effective and sustainable disease management
strategies for natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Pathogen evolution and management

I use traditional and molecular techniques, novel genomic tools, and
bioinformatics to characterise genetic and phenotypic variation in bacterial
and fungal pathogen populations and understand how highly adapted
A Victorian tomato crop suffering yield decline due to
and aggressive pathogen populations emerge and disseminate. This soilborne diseases
informs strategies for plant disease management including identifying and
eliminating sources of infection, limiting pathogen dispersal and survival,
and managing development of resistance to fungicides and host cultivars.

Fungi and oomycetes taxonomy and evolutionary mycology

I use whole-genome and multi-locus sequencing to develop a classification
system for fungi and pseudofungi by reconstructing phylogenetic
relationships. This is not only critical to understanding the evolutionary
divergence and speciation of these organisms, but also for effective plant
disease management.

Plants are inoculated with plant pathogens to assess

their aggressiveness and host responses

A genetic distance tree showing genetic diversity

in a fungal pathogen population and association of
pathogen genotypes with the collection site

66 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Peter Vesk

Professor Peter Vesk

• Functional ecology
• Plant traits
• Ecological models
• Vegetation management

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/100084-peter-vesk

There are roughly 300,000 plant species. We know a lot

about some, but not others. Effective conservation and
management require good ecological knowledge. I aim to
speed the development of that knowledge through measurable
plant traits and quantitative models.

I am a quantitative ecologist who integrates fundamental and applied

research, working mainly with plants. A clear challenge in plant ecology is
how to generalise understanding: how to move beyond treating every study
Teaching students sampling methods in the Bogong
and every species as a special case. High Plains. Image credit: Peter Vesk.

Research in my group mainly falls in two fields:

1. The analysis of plant functional traits and types and their generality

2. Predicting, planning and measuring the outcomes of vegetation

conservation, management and landscape restoration.

Most of the work includes developing and applying conceptual and

quantitative ecological models appropriate to the problem at hand.

The use of functional traits provides a means to transfer knowledge from

well-studied species to less well-studied species. That can be about where
plant species occur or how they grow or respond to fire.

On the topic of vegetation management, our work on Eucalypt woodlands

spans conducting experiments on tree regeneration, providing models of
vegetation change and the provision of animal habitat, and we monitor the
Standing at the base of a large Eucalyptus regnans.
outcomes of management for plant and animal communities. Image credit: Angela Stock.

67 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Tony Weatherley

Associate Professor Tony Weatherley

• Organic wastes
• Phosphorus
• Soils
• Closing the loop

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/475-tony-weatherley

I seek appropriate applications of agricultural waste materials

that contain useful nutrients to reduce environmental damage and
economic loss.

Closing the nutrient loop

Global reserves of phosphorus (P) – an essential plant nutrient – are
declining. I examine the potential to divert and process organic waste
streams from industry and residences to return valuable P to farm systems
and reduce the environmental impact of P in landfill or waterways. These
waste streams can be composted or processed through pyrolysis to form
biochar.

In plant glasshouse experiments, I apply advanced, solid-state,

spectroscopic methods to analyse how organic acids, alone or in Fast composting of food waste from a residential
combination, affect availability and efficient use of P. I aim to improve dining hall.

evaluation of organic waste materials’ suitability for application to land,

and even formulate new products to increase the availability of applied or
existing P for agricultural systems

Measuring water movement in paddy soils of the

central dry zone of Myanmar. Measuring water
movement in paddy soils of the central dry zone of
Myanmar.

68 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Associate Professor Christopher Weston

Associate Professor Christopher Weston

• Forests
• Ecosystems
• Ecology
• Fire
• Soil

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1681-christopher-weston

I am to provide an empirical basis for better understanding

relationships between forest management and fuel hazard. I also
investigate Indigenous cultural burning practices in relation to
forest carbon balance, greenhouse gas emissions, forest resilience
and fuel hazard.

I am a forest ecologist with expertise in soil science and forest ecosystem

ecology. My interests include the ecology of Australian forests and nutrient
cycling in forest soils. My research focuses on the biogeochemistry of
forest ecosystems, the productivity of forests, carbon and nutrient cycling
in forests, greenhouse gas fluxes from forests and bushfire fuels science.
Current projects include recovery of bushfire fuels after wildfire, recovery of
tropical forests following fire and management of tropical plantations for
sustained productivity.

69 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Kathryn Williams

Professor Kathryn Williams

• Environmental psychology
• Conservation psychology
• Forests
• Urban greening

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/2324-kathryn-williams

My mission is understanding people and how they connect

with nature — social science to help protect, restore and
manage ecosystems.

My research extends knowledge of human-environment relationships and

applies this to issues of environmental management. My work is grounded
in environmental psychology, but I often work in teams of academics from
other disciplines to address challenges associated with ecosystems in urban
and wider landscapes.

Human-nature connections
My research explores human relationships with natural environments,
ecosystems, plants and animals, and with ‘nature’ more broadly. Much of
Nature in the city.
this work is concerned with nature in cities: plants, urban greening, and
ecosystems that support urban populations. My interest is in understanding
the psychological dimensions of these connections. One aspect of this
work examines how environments influence psychological function and
experience, such as changes in mood, attention and creativity. A second
aspect is concerned with factors that underpin environmentally significant
behaviour, such as social values, understanding, and emotional affiliation
with the natural world.

Social expectations and environmental policy and practice

Much of my work has been with forest and fire management agencies,
helping them to understand psychological factors that are relevant to their People and nature. Image credit: Michael Coghlan/
decision-making. For example, I have worked with colleagues to better Flickr.

understand why people support or oppose different ways of managing

forests or using land. Increasingly, this work has focused on understanding
how knowledge from social research can be integrated into environmental
planning and management.

70 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Nicholas Williams

Professor Nicholas Williams

• Urban ecology
• Green infrastructure
• Green roofs
• Plant traits
• Native grasslands

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/837104-nicholas-williams

I work predominantly in urban areas because although Native grassland and grassy woodland ecology
they are the cause of many of the world’s environmental conservation, restoration and management
problems, cities also offer humanity great hope for Southeastern Australia’s native grasslands and grassy woodland
a sustainable future. I seek to understand urban are critically endangered ecosystems threatened by urbanisation
biodiversity patterns and ecosystem processes and and land-use intensification. My research has sought to better
then develop applied solutions to reduce the negative understand their ecology and develop effective management
impacts of urbanisation such as biodiversity loss, excess and restoration techniques. It builds on work done in my PhD
urban heat, stormwater runoff and CO2 emissions. I and decades of research at the University’s Burnley Campus
am passionate about demonstrating how native plants and includes herbivory, seed ecology, nutrient manipulation
and direct seeding techniques for restoration. I have also edited
can be used more widely in cities to provide ecosystem
a book on the ecology, restoration and management of native
services such as cooling and stormwater adsorption,
grasslands and developed an app to increase awareness and
biodiversity habitat and greater connection to country for
help species identification.
all Australians.

Urban Ecology
I am interested in how urbanisation affects the assembly of
plant and animal communities, their distribution and what
characteristics or traits of species mediate this. My research in
this area has included sampling local and regional vegetation
and insect communities, quantification of plant traits, and
international collaborations, which have developed influential
syntheses and conceptual frameworks.

Green Roofs The Pixel Building Green Roof in Carlton used green
roof plant palettes and substrates based on our
Over the past 12 years, I have led green roof research in Australia, research. It was designed to reflect the pre-European
vegetation at the site and provide biodiversity habitat.
working with other Green Infrastructure Research Group
members to create a collaborative, cross-disciplinary network
of researchers, government agencies and industry partners.
We conduct high-quality research encompassing green roof
substrate design, plant palette selection and testing, and
quantifying green roof stormwater, energy and social benefits.
This work has provided the evidence base for state and local
government policy and planning schemes and was integrated
into the award-winning Growing Green Guide. More recently, we
have been researching how to increase the uptake of green roofs
in Australian cities.
Surveying native grassland on Melbourne’s
urban fringe.

71 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Brendan Wintle

Professor Brendan Wintle

• Conservation
• Monitoring
• Cost-effectiveness
• Modelling

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/261-brendan-wintle

I am motivated by the conservation of species because I have

been so lucky to experience the awe and wonder of nature and
wildlife. I want future generations to have that opportunity. When
we allow species to go extinct, we steal something precious from
future generations.

Australia’s biodiversity is unique and rich. Australia is one of the world’s

‘megadiverse’ nations, with more species than any other developed nation
and the highest levels of endemism (uniqueness). Eighty-seven per cent of
our mammals, 93% of our reptiles and 94% of our frogs are found nowhere
else on the planet. Yet Australia is at the forefront of extinctions driven
by dramatic land-use change (habitat clearing and degradation) and the Setting up a light trap to count Bogong moths on
proliferation of invasive species following European invasion. We have the Mt Wills.

highest rate of biodiversity loss of any developed nation and the second
highest rate of loss on the planet. We are responsible for 35% of all mammal
extinctions globally since 1700. On average, our threatened bird populations
have declined in abundance by 50% since 1985.

I will engage in any research anywhere on the planet that can help stem
the tide of extinctions, but I do most of my work in Australia. I currently
lead work in several key areas of conservation research: on-ground trials
of conservation actions, design of monitoring to understand the state and
trends of species and the effectiveness of conservation actions and policy,
the costs of conservation, prioritisation of conservation investment and
ongoing conservation policy failure.

72 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Ian Woodrow

Professor Ian Woodrow

• Natural products
• Flavonoids
• Terpenoids
• Eucalyptus

[email protected]

findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/119-ian-woodrow

Australia has a large amount of land that is marginal for cropping.

I would like to develop sizeable areas of highly water-use efficient
mallee eucalypt plantations for natural product and biomass
production.

Plants produce a huge array of chemicals (natural products), many of

which are of commercial value as pharmaceuticals. My research involves
identifying valuable plant natural products, mapping their biosynthetic
pathways, and developing methods for large scale production using Plantation of blue mallees (Eucalyptus polybractea),
plantations. which have been bred for their exceptionally high
levels of pharmaceutical grade eucalyptus oil. The oil
is harvested by steam distillation of foliage.
Future projects involve the establishment of eucalypt plantations for the
production of essential oil, flavonoids and phloroglucinol compounds.

A cross-section of a eucalypt leaf showing the

photosynthetic cells (red) and an embedded
secretory cavity (green). These cavities (glands)
contain relatively large amounts of natural products,
including terpenoids, flavonoids and polyketides.

Collecting rare but chemically interesting eucalypts

in southern Australia.

73 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

Professor Pablo Zarco-Tejada

Professor Pablo Zarco-Tejada

• Remote sensing
• Hyperspectral imaging
• Vegetation stress detection
• Chlorophyll fluorescence
• Radiative transfer modelling

[email protected]
findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/835498-pablo-zarco-tejada

My research is focused on quantitative methods for vegetation

stress detection and physiological condition, primarily water and
nutrient stress assessment, and the early detection of harmful plant
diseases.

I lead the HyperSens Laboratory in research and industry services and

advisory activities that support precision agriculture and ecosystem
management. These include:
• large-scale imaging of farms and forests using piloted and uncrewed
aircraft with hyper/multispectral scanners and thermal sensors
• detecting water and nutrient stress in vegetation
Aircraft for remote sensing.
• monitoring plant traits and health indicators such as leaf and canopy
levels and chlorophyll fluorescence emissions
• assessing biochemical and biophysical parameters through physical
modelling
• developing innovative algorithms and adapting imaging software to meet
the needs of industry partners.

Hyperspectral image for vegetation stress detection.

74 School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences | Research Prospectus 2024

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