The Lavinia Sinclair PHD Scholarship – Preservation of native trees and soils

Ecological research focused on native forest/woodland health and resilience using a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach.

The focus will be on plant/community dynamics in the context of animal, fungi and soil interactions. The aim will be to understand the effects of threats to these natural ecosystems, including drought, fire, pests and diseases, or combinations thereof. The sequence of PhD studies will allow for a series of specific research questions that will help us to better understand some of this inter-connected complexity to help develop appropriate adaptive measures to assist the preservation of these local, iconic forests/woodlands/heathlands.

The aim of the broad/generic Project description is to appeal to a wide range of local and international potential PhD students. The opportunity to set up a relatively long term, integrated program involving a range of disciplines is exciting and highly valuable. The opportunity to design a program of studies that can integrate and complement research already underway will be very beneficial to existing research being undertaken within the Harry Butler Institute. The student will benefit from working alongside fellow researchers, access to a wide range of academics and the opportunity to explore a range of disciplines.