Professor David Ellsworth

Professor David Ellsworth, from the UWS Research Centre for Plants and the Environment, is recognised as one of the most cited and influential researchers in the fields of ecology and environmental science, with a particular focus on the response of forests to climate change.

He is a key researcher on a major new climate change research initiative at UWS which builds on the success of the Hawkesbury Forest Experiment which exposes native trees to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Professor Ellsworth says the experiments at UWS will directly assess the effects of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide on micro organisms such as fungi that live in soil, individual trees, and entire ecosystems including plants and fauna.

Current Research

• UWS Climate Change and Energy Research Facility

• How leaf and canopy growth in eucalypts will adapt to increasing carbon dioxide levels and drought

• Hawkesbury Forest Experiment

• Climate research in the Centre for Plants and the Environment. This research is aimed at investigating the impact of climate change on native trees and forests. The focus is on understanding how forests capture carbon and thus mitigate climate change.

• Trade off between carbon sequestration in forests and water yields under rising CO2

Past Media Releases

• Finding the right number of trees for carbon storage

Media Interviews

For media interviews with Professor Ellsworth, contact Paul Grocott, Office of Public Affairs.