Associate Professor E. Charles Morris

• Biography
• Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise
• Grants / Current Projects
• Awards and Recognition
• Selected Publications
• Contact Details

Biography

Associate Professor Morris conducted research into the restoration ecology of Cumberland Plain Woodland, particularly the role of elevated levels of soil nutrients as a barrier to restoration, and on the germination mechanism of Grevillea species. He was supported by a research grant from the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation. He was principal supervisor for three PhD students; de Barse, Fitzgerald and Hewitt

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Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise

Terrestrial Ecology; Ecological Physiology; Environmental Science and Management; Flora and Fauna of Forest and Woodlands; Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests and Woodlands; Germination of Native Seeds in Response to Fire Cues; Restoration of the Cumberland Plain Woodland; Plant Competition and Self-thinning.

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Grants / Current Projects

Forest ecosystem water use: Does species diversity matter?
Co-Researchers: Dr Belinda Medlyn, Professor David Ellsworth, Mrs Danelia Drewry
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Linkage
Period: 2009-2011

Growth media for roof-top gardens
Partner/Funding Body: The Hills Bark Blower
Period: 2009

Mechanical constraint model of seed coat dormancy in Grevillea juniperina
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Penrith Lakes Development Corporation
Period: 2008-2009

Mechanical constraint model of seed coat dormancy in Grevillea
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Flora Foundation
Period: 2007

Do heat and smoke affect the permeability of the Grevillea seed coat to large molecular weight compounds?
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Flora Foundation
Period: 2006

Predicting the likely impact of fire intensity on wet and dry heath species
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Dept. of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) and UWS Partnerships
Period: 2006-2007

A comparison of mulches for roadside Revegetation by the RTA
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Roads and Traffic Authority
Period: 2004-2006

M7 Expressway Bridge Project
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Roads and Traffic Authority
Period: 2004-2006

Restoration of temperate eucalypt woodlands – getting it right
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Linkage
Period: 2003-2006

Plant diversity in restored native vegetation of agricultural landscapes
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Linkage
Period: 2002-2005

Fuel loads and fire responses of Cumberland Plain Woodland
Co-Researchers:
Partner/Funding Body: Australian Research Council Spirt
Period: 2001-2004

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Awards and Recognition

College of Health and Science Learning and Teaching Excellence Awards. Citation: ‘For development of teaching materials and approaches to assessment that develop higher-order learning in undergraduates’, 2008

EO Tout Memorial Prize Student Prize in Botany, UNSW, 1975

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Selected Publications

Watson PJ, Bradstock RA, Morris EC, (2009) ‘Fire frequency influences composition and structure of the shrub layer in an Australian sub-coastal temperate grassy woodland’, Austral Ecology, vol.34, pp 218-232

Briggs CL, Morris EC, (2008) ‘Seed-coat dormancy in Grevillea linearifolia: Little change in permeability to an apoplastic tracer after treatment with smoke and heat’, Annals of Botany, vol.101, no.5, pp 623-632. IF 2.939

Thomas PB, Morris EC, Auld TD, (2007) ‘Response surfaces for the combined effects of heat shock and smoke on germination of sixteen species forming soil seedbanks in south eastern Australia’, Austral Ecology, vol.32, pp 605-616

Deng J, Wang G, Morris EC, Wei X, Li D, Chen B, (2006) ‘Plant mass-density relationship along moisture gradient in north-west China’, Journal of Ecology vol.94, pp 953-958

Wangiyana W, Cornish P, Morris EC, (2006) ‘Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi dynamics in contrasting cropping systems on vertisol and regisol soils of Lombok, Indonesia’, Experimental Agriculture, vol.42, pp 427-439

Popov VH, Cornish PS, Sultana K, Morris EC, (2005) ‘Atrazine degradation in soils: the role of microbial communities, atrazine application history and soil carbon’, Australian Journal of Soil Research, vol.43, pp 861-871

Briggs CL, Morris EC, Ashford AE, (2005) ‘Investigations into seed dormancy in Grevillea linearifolia, G. buxifolia and G. sericea: anatomy and histochemistry of the seed coat’, Annals of Botany, vol.96, pp 965-90

Thomas PB, Morris EC, Auld TD, (2003) ‘Interactive effects of heat shock and smoke on germination of nine species forming soil seed banks within the Sydney region’, Australian Ecology, vol.28, pp 674-83

Morris EC, (2003) ‘How does fertility of the substrate affect intraspecific competition? Evidence and synthesis from self-thinning’, Ecological Research vol.18, pp 287- 99

Morris EC, (2003) ‘Increased death of new leaves of coastal banksia (Banksia integrifolia L.f.) around ocean sewage outfall sites’, Australian Ecology, vol.28, pp 75-81

Morris EC, (2002) ‘Self-thinning lines differ with
fertility level’, Ecological Research, vol.17, pp 17-28

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