As a tree scientist who works with urban trees, I can assure you some large, old trees are well worth leaving alone, even you find them annoying sometimes.
Articles on Trees
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Sacred trees are a cornerstone of our national identity. They transcend simple economics and sit at the centre of the sacred — sentinels in ceremony, birthing and burials.
Despite their good intentions, cities rarely have the full set of skills and capabilities to turn their plans into a reality. Our research looks at what needs to change.
Climate change is causing jacarandas to flower earlier. If this trend continues, they could be at risk of flowering when it’s too cold and become dormant.
It’s no coincidence that more books about trees are popping up. There is an air of desperation in new books by Peter Wohllben, Janine Burke and others.
Without enough water, trees can develop embolisms, similar to blockages in human blood vessels, and they’re more likely to die from drought or fires.
A better understanding of the science behind falling trees – followed by informed action – will help keep us safe and ensure trees continue to provide their many benefits.
Using remnants of fossilized trees, scientists and an artist figured out what the forest looked like long before humans existed.
When a big old tree dies or is cut down, even if we plant a new one we might have to wait hundreds of years before it provides a good possum house.
Children need to connect with Australia’s bountiful variety of trees. New picture books are helping them to do so.
For temperature-sensitive animals, the dense, leafy canopy of willow trees may make them the lesser of two evils in a warming climate.
Invisible to the eye, the microbial life in the air around us can vary depending on our environment.
Large-scale tree-planting projects are politically popular and media-friendly, but without effective planning and long-term management, they can do more harm than good.
People have painted on cave walls and written on clay and wax tablets, papyrus and paper made from wood. Could screens replace paper someday?
Even if they can’t save us from climate change, society still depends on forests.
Avenues of Honour were planted to remind us of the sacrifice and suffering of our servicemen and women. But as the years wore on, many declined or disappeared.
We may think of plants as passive life forms, but they can cooperate, share resources, send one another warnings, and distance themselves from their communities when survival depends on it.
Advanced techniques allowed our research team to build an open database of billions of individual trees and challenge some common perceptions about vegetation in arid and semi-arid zones.
Scientists are learning trees can emit methane, which could be a big problem for global warming. But a world-first discovery of methane-eating bacteria in paperbark can help moderate this.
As sea levels rise along the Atlantic coast, saltwater is intruding inland, killing trees and turning coastal forests into marshes. Should scientists try to slow the process, or work with it?
Top contributors
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Senior Research Associate, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Honorary Associate Professor, Forest Measurement and Management, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
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Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
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Professor of Environmental Science, Australian National University
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Distinguished Professor, Ecosystem Function and Integration, Western Sydney University
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Professor Emeritus of Global Change Biology and Terrestrial Systems Science, Oregon State University
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Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy, Tufts University
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Vice-Chancellor's Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
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Associate professor, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Plant Eco-physiology, Western Sydney University
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Professor in Forest and Landscape Dynamics, The University of Melbourne
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Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Grinnell College
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Professor of Atmospheric Science, University of Birmingham
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Professor, Plant Physiology, James Cook University
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Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University