  
Vegetation studies in the Institute are led by Dr David Williams. Vegetation is a key component of our natural environment and is central to the sustainable production of goods and services from it. Vegetation maintains landscapes, including their fauna and rivers, and provides the base for the human food chain and other resources such as energy, timber, drugs and fibres. Applied research in this context requires a mix of skills and disciplines and links directly to management decision making. Specific research interests cover:-
- response of plant communities to disturbance, particularly flood and inundation regimes
- ecology of invasive plants and their control
- ecosystem services provided by riparian vegetation
- biodiversity and health assessment of riparian zones
- metapopulation modelling to evaluate management plans for invasive species in river systems
- exploratory data analysis and statistical modelling to summarise ecological survey data.
As participants in the eWater CRC, current projects are focussed on the development of spatially-explicit vegetation response models related to river flows and on riparian services and health indicators. Members of the group are part of a consortium developing and testing riparian indices and environmental assets maps for the Assessment of Water Resources 2005, a component of the National Water Initiative.
We are also currently working with the Murray Darling Basin Commission on the development of a framework for assessing the health of riverine vegetation as part of the Sustainable Rivers Audit. In the School of Resource Environmental and Heritage Sciences, David Williams contributes to the undergraduate program in the areas of vegetation ecology and multivariate statistics. The Bachelor of Environmental Science degree can be taken to Honours level and provides an entry to higher degrees by research and a research career.
|
All Institute colleagues are potential co-supervisors for postgraduate students — including Richard Norris, Bill Maher and Will Osborne. External supervisors (CSIRO etc.) can bring further expertise to a supervisory panel.
Interested in joining our team? If you are an undergraduate considering the Honours course, a prospective postgraduate student or postdoctoral fellow with strong interests in applying your field, laboratory or computer skills to aquatic and riparian vegetation problems, then please email an expression of interest. Besides a science degree with some background in vegetation ecology and assessment, the disciplinary skills which can add value to a project in this area include GIS/RS, simulation modelling, multivariate analysis, eco-chemistry, fluvial hydrology, soil science and geomorphology, among others.To learn more about the kinds of research conducted by our team, check out our list of publications, the profiles of current and past members of our group, or summaries of our current and recent projects.
Scholarships are available for both
domestic (including NZ) and
international students, with a closing
date of October 31 each year. You would need to discuss options with us well in advance of this date. Refer to the
side-bar for likely future opportunities. These scholarships are highly competitive, and
high academic performance with a publication record greatly improves your chances of success.
Support for Postdoctoral Fellowships is harder to come by. They are available through the
Australian Research Council,
the University of Canberra Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (advertised irregularly),
the Cooperative Research Centres, and through negotiation with relevant industry.
We would be happy to work with you to develop a competitive proposal on a topic of mutual interest.
Prospective visitors might like to take advantage of our
Visiting Scholars Scheme
To learn more about the kinds of research conducted by our team, check out our list of
publications, the
profiles
of current and past members of our group, or
summaries of our current projects.
|
Dr David Williams 