Doug Ford - PhD Student

School of Plant Biology (M090)
University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley  WA  6009
AUSTRALIA

telephone     +61 8 6488 4257
fax               +61 8 6488 7925
email            djayford@plants.uwa.edu.au

BSc (Hons), La Trobe University (1997)

Background

After completing my undergraduate course at La Trobe in 1996 (majors in Botany and Zoology), I undertook an honours project under the supervision of Dr. Philip Keane and Dr Colin Hocking the following year. Titled “Interactions between vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae and nutrient addition on the growth of Themeda triandra and the promotion of exotic species in native Australian grasslands”, I examined how increased nutrient availability influences the promotion of exotic species after disturbance in the grasslands of the Western Basalt plain in Victoria. We also examined the interactions of VA-mycorrhizae and nutrient availability on plant growth. Following a two year hiatus from university where I worked and travelled I decided to return, taking up a Ph.D position in 2000 with the Ecosystems Research group at the University of Western Australia.

Research Interests

•Biogeochemical cycles in arid and semi-arid ecosystems
•Spinifex (Triodia spp.) ecology and ecophysiology
•Role of fire in arid and semi-arid ecosystems

PhD Thesis: Fire and patterning of resources in spinifex (Triodia spp.) communities of the Pilbara.

Supervisors: Dr Pauline Grierson (UWA), Professor Mark Adams (UNSW)
Funding: ARC linkage grant ARC-LP0214150 with Pilbara Iron
Commenced: Nov 1999

Fire is a predominant disturbance throughout semi-arid regions such as the Pilbara. Plant communities in these drier regions are often dominated by the spinifex hummock grass Triodia, which has a greater propensity for burning than other plant assemblages of the semi-arid region. As fire is used extensively as a land management tool in spinifex, more research is required to understand the influences fire has on the nutrient dynamics and resilience of these communities. It is important to remember that disturbances like fire are not “stand alone” events in course of ecosystem functioning, as other factors are also involved in how the system will respond to disturbance. In semi-arid ecosystems these will include rainfall (which is extremely variable) and water availability, fire history of a particular area and the spatial distribution of nutrients in the soil. Through this research project we are aiming to elucidate a greater understanding of these factors in the Pilbara, and more specifically, increase our knowledge of biogeochemical cycling in spinifex communities.

Objectives

• Examine post-fire species compositions in spinifex communities and how they alter with time since fire and to quantify spinifex biomass increases over the same time period.

• Compare burned and unburned areas of spinifex in relation to nitrogen and carbon dynamics after fire and determine how spatial position in the landscape, rainfall, soil depth and time since fire influence these dynamics.

• Determine the extent of lateral movement of nutrients (specifically N, P, and C) occurring in soil after rainfall to test “leakiness” of ecosystems after disturbance.

• Examine the effects of soil drying on nitrogen mineralization and how changes in microbial community composition can provide information about the functioning of biogeochemical processes in spinifex ecosystems.

Publications

Ford, D.J., Cookson, W.R., Adams, M.A. and Grierson, P.F.  (2007) Role of soil drying in nitrogen mineralization and microbial community function in semi-arid grasslands of north-west Australia Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39 (7) 1557-1569

Presentations

Ford, DJ, Grierson, PF and Adams, MA (2002) Soil resource transfer after fire in semi-arid Western Australia. Biogeomon - 4th International Symposium on Ecosystem Behaviour, Reading U.K. Poster Presentation.

Ford, DJ, Grierson, PF and Adams, MA (2002) Soil resource transfer after fire in semi-arid Western Australia. Australian Rangelands Conference, Kalgoorlie, W.A. Oral presentation.

Ford, DJ, Adams, MA and Grierson, PF (2003) Does soil chemistry influence vegetation change with time since fire? An example from semi-arid Western Australia. 7th International Rangelands Conference, Durban Sth. Africa. Poster Presentation.

Useful Links

Hamersley Iron Environment
Australian Rangeland Society