Dr Shaun Cunningham

B.Sc.(Hons) Botany, University of Melbourne

Ph.D., Monash University

Building/Room: 17/G18A
Telephone: +61-3-9902 0142
Fax: +61-3-9905-5613
E-mail: Shaun.Cunningham@sci.monash.edu.au

• Physiological explanations for plant distribution
• Relationships between climate and physiology of tree species
• Dieback of native forests
• Restoring vegetation and ecological processes in degraded landscapes
• Predicting vegetation responses to environmental stress across landscapes using remote sensing based modelling

• Past, present and future health of river red gum along the Victorian Murray river floodplain (ARC Linkage 2005-2009)
• Mapping of stand condition for The Living Murray icon sites (MDBA 2008-2011)
• The Carbon Project: Carbon, biodiversity and water consequences of carbon farming for a whole catchment (ARC Linkage 2009-2013)
• Change ecology – gaining broad-scale, timely biodiversity knowledge in a time of uncertainty (ARC Discovery 2009-2013)

• Cunningham S.C., Thomson J.R., Read J., Baker P.J., Mac Nally R. (in press) Does stand structure make eucalypt floodplain forests more susceptible to dieback? Austral Ecology
• Horner G.J., Baker P.J., Mac Nally R., Cunningham S.C., & Thomson J.R. (2009) Mortality of floodplain forests subjected to a drying climate and water extraction. Global Change Biology 15, 2176–2186.
• Cunningham S.C., Mac Nally R., White M., Read J., Baker P.J., Thomson J., Griffioen P. (2009) A robust technique for mapping vegetation condition across a major river system. Ecosystems 12: 207-219
• Mac Nally, R., Cunningham, S.C., Shelly, S., Sgrò, C.M., Thompson, R.M., Lake, P.S., Sunnucks, P., Cavagnaro, T.R., O’Dowd, D., Patrick Baker, P.J., Beardall, J., (2008) Biodiversity and Climate Change. Garnaut Climate Change Review. Australian Centre for Biodiversity, Melbourne.
• Cunningham S.C., Read J., Baker P.J., Mac Nally R. (2007) Quantitative assessment of tree condition and its relationship to physiological stress in stands of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae) in southeastern Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 55: 692-699
• Cunningham S.C., Mac Nally R., White M., Read J., Baker P.J., Thomson J., Griffioen P. (2007) Mapping the current condition of river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.) stands along the Victorian Murray River floodplain. A report to the Northern Victorian Catchment Management Authorities and the Department of Sustainability and Environment. 59 pages.
• Cunningham S.C. (2006) Effects of vapour pressure deficit on growth of temperate and tropical evergreen rainforest trees of Australia. Acta Oecologia 30: 399-406
• Cunningham S.C., Read J. (2006) Foliar temperature tolerance of temperate and tropical evergreen rain forest trees of Australia. Tree Physiology 26: 1435–1443
• Cunningham, S.C. (2005) Photosynthetic responses to vapour pressure deficit in temperate and tropical evergreen rainforest trees of Australia. Oecologia 142: 521-528.
• Cunningham, S.C. (2004) Stomatal sensitivity to vapour pressure deficit of temperate and tropical evergreen rainforest trees of Australia. Trees – Structure and Function 18: 399-407.
• Cunningham S.C., Read J. (2003) Do temperate trees have a greater capacity to acclimate to changing temperatures than tropical rainforest trees? New Phytologist 157: 55-64.
• Cunningham, S.C., Read, J., (2003) Comparison of temperate and tropical rainforest tree species: growth responses to temperature. Journal of Biogeography 30: 143-153.
• Cunningham S.C., Read J. (2002) Comparison of temperate and tropical rainforest tree species: photosynthetic responses to growth temperature. Oecologia 133: 112-119.