PhD Candidate: Paola Pisetta Raupp

PhD Supervisors: Dr Yolima Carillo (WSU), Associate Professor Paul Rymer (WSU), Associate Professor Uffe Nielsen (WSU), Dr Ian Oliver (DCCEEW)

Project Summary: This study investigates the variation in aboveground and belowground factors, and their interactions, as drivers of plant species establishment across degradation gradients in three plant communities in the Sydney bioregion. I am building on previously collected field data that assessed multiple vegetation and soil biological, chemical, and physical parameters in 48 field plots located within three threatened ecological communities (TECs), spanning high to low degradation conditions. These sites naturally vary in water, nutrient availability, and soil types, representing the diversity of the communities in the Sydney bioregion. Following the field assessment, soil samples from these plots were used to quantify the germination and biomass growth of a native grass, a native tree, and an exotic herb under controlled conditions. This analysis focuses on how aboveground and belowground factors influence the establishment of these three functionally distinct plant species across degradation gradients in the three TECs.

Collaborators: Dr Kamrul Hassan (WSU/DCCEEW), Dr Kumari Rajapaksha (WSU), Dr Alison Hewitt (WSU), Professor Jeff Powell (WSU)