Megan K. Good

University of Melbourne | MSD · School of BioSciences

The global decline in the extent and condition of ecological communities has resulted in an increasing demand for recovery and conservation plans. Conservation plans for ecological communities require a management framework with measurable, time-bound objectives, a targeted management strategy, and indicators that enable actions to be evaluated in...

Grassy ecosystems cover ~40% of the global land surface and are an integral component of the global carbon (C) cycle. Grass litter decomposes via a combination of photodegradation (which returns C to the atmosphere rapidly) and biological decomposition (a slower C pathway). As such, decomposition and C storage in grasslands may vary with climate an...

Although variation in effect sizes and predicted values among studies of similar phenomena is inevitable, such variation far exceeds what might be produced by sampling error alone. One possible explanation for variation among results is differences among researchers in the decisions they make regarding statistical analyses. A growing array of studi...

1. Grassy ecosystems cover ~40% of the global land surface and are an integral component of the global carbon cycle. Grass litter decomposes via a combination of ultraviolet radiation degradation (which returns carbon to the atmosphere rapidly) and biological decomposition (a slower carbon pathway). As such, decomposition and carbon storage in gras...

The biogeochemical properties of soils drive ecosystem function and vegetation dynamics, and hence soil restoration after mining should aim to reinstate the soil properties and hydrological dynamics of remnant ecosystems. The aim of this study is to assess soil structure in two vegetation‐types in an arid ecosystem, and to understand how these soil...

Water availability is a critical driver of population dynamics in arid zones, and plant recruitment is typically episodic in response to rainfall. Understanding species’ germination thresholds is key for conservation and restoration initiatives. Thus, we investigated the role of water availability in the germination traits of keystone species in an...

Seed germination traits are key drivers of population dynamics, yet they are under-represented in community ecology studies, which have predominately focussed on adult plant and seed morphological traits. We studied the seed traits and germination strategy of eight woody plant species to investigate regeneration strategies in the arid zone of easte...

We study the seed traits and germination strategies of arid plant species to investigate their regeneration strategies and classify seed dormancy. Seeds of eight keystone species were germinated under three dirunal temperatures (30/20C, 25/15C and 17/7C) for 30 days. We also tested for decline in seed viability across 24 months in dry aging, and re...

Seed germination traits are key drivers of population dynamics, yet they are under-represented in community ecology studies, which have predominately focussed on adult plant and seed morphological traits. We studied the seed traits and germination strategy of eight woody plant species to investigate regeneration strategies in the arid zone of easte...

Plant strategy schemes aim to classify plants according to measurable traits and group species according to their shared evolutionary responses to selective pressures. In this way, it becomes possible to make meaningful comparisons among ecosystems and communities and to predict how plant communities might respond to changes in their environment. H...

Recovery planning for threatened ecological communities could be made more efficient with a formal process for generalising knowledge on how ecosystems respond to different threats. This project aims to build on current progress in using State-Transition-Models (STMs) to support management decisions across many listed southern Australian eucalypt w...

Disturbance has been considered essential for maintaining biodiversity in temperate grassy ecosystems in Australia. This has been particularly well demonstrated for inter-tussock plant species in C4 Themeda-dominated grasslands in mesic environments. Disturbance is also thought crucial to maintain the structure of preferred habitat for some animals...

Motivation: The Tundra Trait Team (TTT) database includes field‐based measurements of key traits related to plant form and function at multiple sites across the tundra biome. This dataset can be used to address theoretical questions about plant strategy and trade‐offs, trait–environment relationships and environmental filtering, and trait variation...

Mundulla Yellows is a dieback disorder of trees (predominantly eucalypts) along roadsides in the southeast of South Australia, characterized by interveinal yellowing of leaves and eventual death. There are two main theories about the cause of Mundulla Yellows: (1) that the yellowing is lime chlorosis, caused by crushed limestone dust from roads bei...

Key Points - Alternating temperatures increase seed germination in coolibah and black box. - Leaf litter inhibited germination of both coolibah and black box seed. - Coolibah had a lower optimal germination temperature regime but a greater range of optimal germination temperatures when compared with black box. Abstract Eucalyptus coolabah sub...

Australia’s floodplain and riparian environments are dynamic, boom-bust systems shaped by spatial and temporal variation in water availability. Plant communities occupying riparian and floodplain environments broadly follow predictable patterns in terms of structure and diversity according to water availability (both surface and groundwater) in the...

A popular hypothesis for tree and grass coexistence in savannas is that tree seedlings are limited by competition from grasses. However, competition may be important in favourable climatic conditions when abiotic stress is low, whereas facilitation may be more important under stressful conditions. Seasonal and inter-annual fluctuations in abiotic c...

Semi-arid rangelands have strong feedbacks between vegetation and abiotic factors (rainfall and soil), which manifest at the small patch/inter-patch scale. The effects of excluding grazing at the small patch scale have not been studied in these systems, despite fine-grained patch/inter-patch mosaics determining landscape-scale ecosystem function an...

Coolibah (Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. coolabah Blakely & Jacobs) woodlands in the Darling Riverine Plains of New South Wales have been extensively cleared and modified since European occupation. Coolibah regenerated densely following floods in the 1970s and patches of dense regeneration are perceived to have negative effects on plant biodiversity al...

Clearing of native vegetation and changes to disturbance regimes have resulted in dense regeneration of native trees and shrubs in parts of Australia. The conversion of open vegetation to dense woodlands may result in changes to the composition of plant communities and ecosystem function if structure, composition and function are tightly linked. Wi...

Woody plant encroachment – the conversion of grasslands to tree- or shrub-dominated ecosystems – occurs in rangelands and savannas worldwide. In eastern Australia, coolibah (Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. coolabah Blakely & Jacobs) regenerated densely following floods in the mid 1970s, converting derived grasslands to dense woodlands. We compared soil...