Mana Gharun
University of Sydney
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Publication
Featured researches published by Mana Gharun.
Oecologia | 2015
Mana Gharun; Tarryn L. Turnbull; Sebastian Pfautsch; Mark A. Adams
Understanding the regulation of water use at the whole-tree scale is critical to advancing the utility of physiological ecology, for example in its role in predictive hydrology of forested catchments. For three eucalypt species that dominate high-elevation catchments in south-eastern Australia, we examined if whole-tree water use could be related to three widely discussed regulators of water use: stomatal anatomy, sensitivity of stomata [i.e. stomatal conductance (gs)] to environmental influences, and sapwood area. While daily tree water use varied sixfold among species, sap velocity and sapwood area varied in parallel. Combined, stomatal structure and physiology could not explain differences in species-specific water use. Species which exhibited the fastest (Eucalyptus delegatensis) and slowest (Eucalyptus pauciflora) rates of water use both exhibited greater capacity for physiological control of gs [indicated by sensitivity to vapour pressure deficit (VPD)] and a reduced capacity to limit gs anatomically [indicated by greater potential gs (gmax)]. Conversely, gs was insensitive to VPD and gmax was lowest for Eucalyptus radiata, the species showing intermediate rates of water use. Improved knowledge of stomatal anatomy will help us to understand the capacity of species to regulate leaf-level water loss, but seems likely to remain of limited use for explaining rates of whole-tree water use in montane eucalypts at the catchment scale.
Journal of Environmental Management | 2017
Mana Gharun; Malcolm Possell; Tina L. Bell; Mark A. Adams
Fire plays a critical role in biodiversity, carbon balance, soil erosion, and nutrient and hydrological cycles. While empirical evidence shows that fuel reduction burning can reduce the incidence, severity and extent of unplanned fires in Australia and elsewhere, the integration of environmental values into fire management operations is not well-defined and requires further research and development. In practice, the priority for fuel reduction burning is effective mitigation of risk to life and property. Environmental management objectives, including maintenance of high quality water, reduction of CO2 emissions and conservation of biodiversity can be constrained by this priority. We explore trade-offs between fuel reduction burning and environmental management objectives and propose a framework for optimising fuel reduction burning for environmental outcomes.
Science of The Total Environment | 2018
Mana Gharun; Malcolm Possell; R. Willem Vervoort; Mark A. Adams; Tina L. Bell
Empirical evidence from Australia shows that fuel reduction burning significantly reduces the incidence and extent of unplanned fires. However, the integration of environmental values into fire management operations is not yet well-defined and requires further research and development. WAVES, a plant growth model that incorporates Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer, was used to simulate the hydrological and ecological effects of three fuel management scenarios on a forest ecosystem. WAVES was applied using inputs from a set of forest plots for one year after three potential scenarios: (1) all litter removed, (2) all litter and 50% of the understorey removed, (3) all litter and understorey removed. Modelled outputs were compared with sites modelled with no-fuel reduction treatment (Unburnt). The key change between unburnt and fuel reduced forests was a significant increase in soil moisture after fire. Predictions of the recovery of aboveground carbon as plant biomass were driven by model structure and thus variability in available light and soil moisture at a local scale. Similarly, effects of fuel reduction burning on water processes were mainly due to changes in vegetation interception capacity (i.e. regrowth) and soil evaporation. Predicted effects of fuel reduction burning on total evapotranspiration (ET) - the major component of water balance - were marginal and not significant, even though a considerable proportion of ET had effectively been transferred from understorey to overstorey. In common with many plant growth models, outputs from WAVES are dictated by the assumption that overstorey trees continue to grow irrespective of their age or stage of maturity. Large areas of eucalypt forests and woodlands in SE Australia are well beyond their aggrading phase and are instead over-mature. The ability of these forests to rapidly respond to greater availability of water remains uncertain.
Forest Ecology and Management | 2012
Thomas N. Buckley; Tarryn L. Turnbull; Sebastian Pfautsch; Mana Gharun; Mark A. Adams
Forest Ecology and Management | 2013
Mana Gharun; Tarryn L. Turnbull; Mark A. Adams
Journal of Hydrology | 2013
Mana Gharun; Tarryn L. Turnbull; Mark A. Adams
Water | 2015
Mana Gharun; Mohammad Azmi; Mark A. Adams
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology | 2015
Mana Gharun; Tarryn L. Turnbull; Joseph Henry; Mark A. Adams
Journal of Hydrology | 2014
Mana Gharun; R. Willem Vervoort; Tarryn L. Turnbull; Mark A. Adams
Forest Ecology and Management | 2017
Mana Gharun; Malcolm Possell; Meaghan Jenkins; Lai Fan Poon; Tina L. Bell; Mark A. Adams