Ecophysiology

Interactions of plants with their environment and the processes that control the functioning of ecosystems in urban and natural environments.

Academic staff

The following staff are available to supervise honours and masters research in the field of ecophysiology.

Professor Stefan Arndt

Studies in plant adaptation to environmental stresses and investigations into how forest ecosystems respond to climate change.

Project topics:

  • Adaptations of plants to environmental stresses
  • Plant selection for future climates
  • Mechanisms of drought tolerance and tree drought mortality
  • Greenhouse gas fluxes in natural ecosystems

Email: sarndt@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Claire Farrell

investigations into the use of plants to make Australian cities more liveable through designing functional and resilient green roofs and facades, rain gardens, woody meadows.

Project topics:

  • Designing the woody meadow - How drought stress affects resprouting of coppiced shrubs
  • Plant selection for green facades
  • Drought tolerance of Australian plants
  • Plant selection for woody meadow raingardens

Email: c.farrell@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Ian McHugh

Research Fellow, Ozflux towers. Soil-plant-atmosphere gas and energy exchange measurement and modelling.

Project topics:

  • Carbon and energy fluxes of Australian ecosystems

Email: ian.mchugh@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Rebecca Miller

Studies in the physiological and biochemical responses of plants to the environment and microbial associations, with a focus on plant secondary metabolites.

Project topics:

  • Plant environmental tolerances and future climates
  • Mycorrhizal associations in Australian plant species and revegetation outcomes
  • Ecology and biochemistry of chemical defences in Australian plant taxa (e.g. in the Proteaceae)
  • Horticultural and nutritional studies of Australian native food plants

Email: miller.r@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Nina Hinko-Najera

Forest ecology and ecosystem carbon cycling, particularly soil respiration.

Project topics:

  • Carbon balance of forest ecosystems and its response to environmental changes
  • Environmental and biological controls on ecosystem- and soil respiration processes
  • Tree growth and stand dynamics of temperate eucalypt forests

Email: n.hinkonajera@unimelb.edu.au

Dr Chris Szota

Studies in how plants improve the effectiveness of engineered vegetated systems, like green roofs, street tree pits and raingardens to reduce polluted stormwater entering urban waterways.

Project topics:

  • Improving how plants are represented in green roof hydrological models
  • Identifying indicators of constructed wetland performance
  • Designing passive irrigation systems for street trees

Email: cszota@unimelb.edu.au