My research program is focused on providing better understanding of the biophysical environment of tropical land and water systems. I have expertise in ecology, ecophysiology and ecohydrological processes aimed at an increased understanding of ecosystem function that informs landscape-scale management and resource usage. I have extensive experience in the measurement of surface fluxes of mass (carbon, water) and energy in tropical ecosystems using eddy covariance systems.

This experience is complimented by my expertise in savanna ecology, ecohydrology, use of stable isotopes and soil biology. Research activity has spanned organisational scales from leaf to ecosystem to regions via my engagement with ecosystem modelers and remote sensing groups as these are essential tools to understand and monitor ecosystems at extensive spatial and temporal scales. 

My expertise is cross-disciplinary in that I have been involved observational, modelling and remote sensing studies working in terrestrial, and more recently, in coastal ecosystems. Coastal ecosystems can capture and store significant levels of carbon in soils and vegetation, and I have been working on drivers of mangrove ecosystem loss and sequestration rates following restoration. I also collaborate on international efforts to restore Indonesia's peat forests to recover forest habitat and reduce the globally significant GHG from peat forest burning. 

My research in carbon and water cycling have been used in water resource management (quantification of ET, recharge, groundwater dependence), carbon accounting of emissions arising from land use change, clearing and changes in soil carbon storage to understand impacts of disturbance, weed invasion and climate change on ecosystem structure and productivity.