My research is focussed on using GIS and remote sensing to support Natural Resource Management in tropical Australia. I also have a strong interest in karst and caves, and especially resource management and development issues in limestone terrains. Under the auspices of the Rainforest CRC, we are carrying out remote sensing studies in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. We have mapped the extent and internal heterogeneity of fires in rainforests in the Macallister Range behind Cairns, and are also using high-resolution IKONOS imagery for mapping weed invasion and Phytophthora dieback. We also carry out ground measurements of spectral signatures using a Cropscan radiometer. We also plan to look at the remote detection of edge effects along stream, road and powerline corridors in the Wet Tropics. I am co-leader of a new Savanna CRC project which will facilitate the development of sustainable management systems for woody vegetation in tropical savannas by developing better methods for quantifying woody vegetation change, then applying those methods to selected case study areas to investigate the nature, extent, causes, impacts and treatments of woody vegetation change across northern Australia. It will also develop “The Dynamic Savanna” website to provide an active forum for exchange of information on woody vegetation dynamics in north Australia from diverse perspectives. With Leasie Felderhof of QPWS and Garry Cook of CSIRO, we have been running a project on bushfire dynamics, plant ecology and risk management along powerline corridors near Mount Isa. This is funded by the Savanna CRC and Ergon Energy. We have also been assisting a study of rare plants in Cape York Peninsula, and evaluating the use of ASTER imagery for fire scar mapping. I have been involved in the development of the strategic management plan for the Gunung Mulu WHA in Sarawak and am planning more work there on cave visitor impacts. I am also involved in a terrain and cave mapping project at Chillagoe caves, and am interested in using 3D cave maps and digital terrain models to better understand cave development and landscape evolution in this area of tropical tower karst.

Potential PhD/MSc projects 2004

Publications

Dieback mapping & assessment in rainforests of tropical North Queensland

Land Classification and Vegetation Mapping at Jenolan Caves

Hillslope stability in tower karst at Ipoh, Perak State, Malaysia

Habitat Preferences of the Proserpine rock-wallaby (Petrogale persephone) by Chris Holloway - BSc Honours thesis 2001

Current and past postgraduate and Honours students

Rona Dennis (PhD) Spatio-temporal changes and socio-cultural variability associated with woody vegetation patterns in the savannas of the Gulf Region of northern Queensland, (co-supervisors Dr Jill Landsberg and Dr Jeremy Russell-Smith), APA & Savanna CRC scholarship.
Chris Holloway (PhD) Spatial distribution of patch grazing and pasture selection by cattle in a semi-arid tropical savanna (co-supervisor Dr Peter O’Regain, DPI). Savanna CRC & MLA scholarships.
Penny Davidson (PhD) Developing social and environmental indicators for the Jenolan Caves Reserve, NSW (co-supervisor Peter Valentine) APAI – Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust.
Leasie Felderhof (PhD) Fire management in the North-West Highlands bioregion: prescribed burning under powerlines (co-supervisor Dr Garry Cook, CSIRO). Savanna CRC & Ergon Energy scholarship.
John Guinotte (PhD) A spatial index for coral bleaching thresholds in the Great Barrier Reef (co-supervisors Dr Terry Done AIMS, Dr Joan Kleypas NCAR). IPRS.
Catherine Pohlman (PhD) Changes in micro-climatic regimes and plant community dynamics of rainforest at powerline corridor boundaries and natural linear barriers (co-supervisor A/Prof Steve Turton) APA.
Marji Puotinen (PhD, submitted 2003) Tropical cyclone impacts on coral reefs: modelling the disturbance regime in the Great Barrier Reef region (co-supervisor Dr Terry Done, AIMS).
Leah Talbot (MSc) Indigenous land management techniques of the Djabugay people (co-supervisor Dr R.Hill) Rainforest CRC Aboriginal PG Scholarship.
Nigel Young (PhD) An investigation of biophysical impacts and psychosocial experiences of visitors using the Misty Mountains Walking Track Network in the WTWHA (co-supervisor A/Prof Steve Turton) Atherton Tableland Environmental Scholarship.
Ian Curtis (PhD, 2003) Valuing and financing ecosystem services in a green economy (co-supervisors A/Prof Steve Turton, Prof Brian Roberts).
Yoshimi Izumi (MAppSc, 2000) A GIS model for relationships between tree-kangaroo roadkills and potential corridors between habitat fragments (co-supervisor Dr Miriam Goosem). Skyrail TropEco Fund.
David Paull (PhD – UNSW, 2003) Conservation planning for threatened species at multiple spatial scales: A biogeographic study of the Southern Brown Bandicoot Isoodon obesulus in South-eastern Australia.
Hugh Pringle (PhD – ANU, 2001) Grazing gradients, biodiversity, range condition and ecosystem integrity in the mulga zone of Western Australia. APA, Funding from Western Mining Corporation & WA Dept of Agriculture.
Praphon Vibulsukh (PhD – UNSW, 1999) "=An assessment of radar remotely sensed data for land cover and soil moisture mapping in Thailand. Funding from Royal Thai Air Force and Ministry of Agriculture, Thailand.
Yun Chen (PhD – UNSW, 1999) Assessing, monitoring and predicting the recovery of dryland degradation in arid protected areas by remote sensing and GIS. IPRS, collaborative research with NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service.
Greg Jackson (PhD – UNSW, 1996) The use of ants as bioindicators of ecosystem recovery after mining. (co-supervisor Prof Barry Fox) APA.
Russell Drysdale (PhD – UNSW, 1995) Tufa deposits at Louie Creek, Northwestern Queensland: modern processes and palaeoenvironments in a tropical karst APA.

Honours @ JCU:
Shane Garozzo BScHons. Distribution and environmental correlates of Cycas media and Cycas tuckeri in Cape York using spatial analysis. (co-supervisor Dr John Clarkson).
Aaron Crosbie BScHons Incorporating traditional knowledge into geographic information systems: a case study from Napranum, Cape York Peninsula.
Michael Milione BScHons Habitat preferences of the Platypus on the Atherton Tableland (co-supervisor Dr Elaine Harding).
Elizabeth Poon BscHons 1, 2002 Searching for new populations of rare plant species. Two case studies from Cape York Peninsula (co-supervisor Dr Jill Landsberg).
Craig Harriss BAppScHons 1, 2002 Weed Surveys in the Wet Tropics Using Spectral Component Analysis of Remotely Sensed Images (co-supervisor Dr Miriam Goosem).
Chris Holloway BscHons 1, 2001. Habitat preferences of the Proserpine Rock Wallaby (Petrogale persephone) (co-supervisor James Moloney).
Shannon Wetherall BAppScHons 2A, 2001 Effects of disturbed and undisturbed catchments on flow rates and water quality entering Trinity Inlet (co-supervisor Dr Jon Nott).
Jodie McNiff, BScHons 2A, 1999. Identification of sediment sources in tropical rivers using field gamma-ray spectrometry (co-supervisor Dr B. Lottermoser).
Aurea Jaime-Sanchez, BScHons2A, 1999. The use of on-ground gamma-ray spectrometry to measure plant-available potassium in soils of the Atherton Tableland, North Queensland (co-supervisor Dr B. Lottermoser).

Honours students at ANU and UNSW-ADFA from 1984 to 1996 investigated the following topics:

· ecology of firewood supply in the A.C.T.
· environmental history of Liawenee Moor, Central Plateau, Tasmania
· stream transport of phosphorus from military firing ranges at Lithgow, NSW
· environmental history and trophic status of Pattimore's Lagoon, Lake Conjola, NSW
· environmental history of Kiandra goldfield, Kosciusko N.P.
· winter visitor impacts in the White's River corridor, Kosciusko N.P
· environmental history of basaltic lake catchments on the Monaro, NSW
· satellite imagery assessment of vegetation change at Jervis Bay
· GIS approach to the habitat preference of feral pigs in northern NSW
· GIS analysis of reptile habitat preferences in the Canberra Nature Park
· GIS analysis of bushfire hazard at the urban-rural interface, northern ACT

Potential PhD/MSc projects 2004

Landscape and vegetation change in the Gulf Plains of Queensland: evidence from historical photography, pastoralists and indigenous land owners.

Geomorphic indicators of channel form and stability in Cape York Peninsula: a remote sensing and GIS approach.

Ecological disturbance in the riparian zones of the Wet Tropics WHA: evidence from high-resolution remote sensing.

Landscape evolution and geological control over the Chillagoe karst, North Queensland.

Extent and intensity of bushfires on Cape York Peninsula: a remote sensing approach using scaling up from ground observations to satellite imagery.

Interested in one of there projects? Contact Professor Gillieson