Science Collected Works

The three sections in the thesis represent different periods of my work. Section 1, Assessment of pulpwood quality, represents my research work at the CSIRO Division of Chemical and Wood Technology as Co-ordinator of the Pulping and Pulpwood Resources Program (1971-86). The paper physics work at the CSIRO Division of Forest Products (1962-70) is collated in Section 2, Studies on pulp and paper. The papers in Section 3, Studies on wood from plantation grown conifers, represent my research at the Queensland Forest Service (1955-62). (Prior to joining QFS, I was with the NSW Forestry Commission.) I presented the following papers at the Annual General Conferences of Appita (Technical Association of the Australian and New Zealand Pulp and Paper Industry):- A2, Al, A1O, All, A13, A16, A17, A23, A21, A25, B1 and B9.*

My investigations have been concentrated on root rotting fungi, their physiological relationships with their hosts, and their ecological associations with the soil micro-organisms and other plants in the environment. Prior to I969 my research was concerned with the biology of Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx & Olivier var. tritici Walker, which causes take-all, a common root disease of wheat. Most of this research was submitted for a Ph.D. degree and has not been included here. Since 1969 I have studied the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands, the disease it causes and the changes resulting from its invasion of Victorian plant communities. The majority of papers submitted in this thesis report that research. In 1969 P. cinnamomi was first recorded from Victorian native vegetation (Podger S Ashton 1970). Dr. Podger had just completed a study of jarrah dieback in which he demonstrated that P. cinnamomi was responsible for the dieback and death which had been observed for the past forty years in West Australian jarrah forests (Podger 1968). In 1969 Podger visited the Brisbane Ranges in south-west Victoria, noted early dieback symptoms and isolated P. cinnamomi from the roots of seven species of diseased understorey shrubs in a small area. As a result of this finding I considered that the pathogen represented a threat to Victorian plant communities and should be investigated. I therefore consulted the Victorian Forests Commission, who were then responsible for the Brisbane Ranges forests. Three senior research officers visited the area, but were not concerned with the disease, which they reported as threatening only a few grass trees in a poor forest. It was not then realised that the deaths of eucalypts, observed during the past ten years (Lee 1962) in coastal forests of East Gippsland, were caused by P. cinnamomi. Since 1972 the study of disease due to Phytophthora has expanded with active participation from departments of forestry, agriculture, horticulture, universities and the C.S.I.R.O. From the outset I have recognized that P. cinnamomi threatens (1) the existence of susceptible Victorian dry sclerophyll forests, especially where conditions favour the pathogen rather than the trees, areas where soils are shallow, drainage poor, water stress or water saturation likely and the soil has a low organic content; (2) the survival of endemic plant species, unknown elsewhere in the world and confined to isolated Victorian plant communities such as the Grampians; (3) timber, honey and wildflower production of susceptible species, and horticultural propagation of native plants in nurseries. These threats are severe because 75 per cent of Victorian dry sclerophyll species are highly susceptible to the pathogen; and because Victorian dry sclerophyll forests normally experience a period of water stress in late summer or autumn when a diseased root system may be fatal. From the beginning of this research I have recognized a responsibility to alert the concerned general reader about the risks to the Victorian flora incurred by the use of infected soil or road gravel, or by the planting of infected nursery stock, and have therefore written articles for journals such as Victoria's Resources, Australian Plants, etc. I have also published advance accounts which included results of ongoing research in the International Phytophthora Newsletter, Australian Forest Research Newsletter, etc. About twenty papers on mycology are included. I am only a minor contributor to these. The basic research is by Gordon Beaton, an amateur mycologist from Eildon, Victoria. My role has been to procure and study the references, and to write the papers, thus enabling the work to become internationally available.

Science Collected Works - Theses

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