Dr Richard Groves ‘The Genus Acacia at home and abroad’

On this week’s anniversary of the 108^th Wattle Day, I summarise briefly the biological significance of the genus Acacia in Australia.  More even than Eucalyptus, it is the most species-rich of any Australian genus; it has special national significance to us all, as food, as nitrogen-fixers in ecosystems, especially after fire, and in landscaping.  Within Australia, movements of Acacia spp. have occurred, both locally and regionally, with significant changes to regional biodiversity and fire regimes.  Beyond the continent, Australian acacias have been introduced widely and become naturalised in many regions of the world, sometimes with deleterious ecological effects.  The genus Acacia is one of Australia’s significant exports and its impacts, both positive and negative, are only now becoming more fully understood.

Biography

Richard Groves is a plant ecologist who studied both agricultural science and botany at the University of Melbourne.  After two years’ research in the United States he returned to Australia in 1966 to a job with CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra, from which he finally retired two and half years ago.  Study leaves in South Africa, New Zealand and Japan gave him an international perspective on the impacts of Australian plants abroad, as did three years as Officer-in-Charge at the CSIRO Biological Control Unit at Montpellier in south-west France.  This is his fourth Thursday talk to the Friends and he’s hoping to fully retire soon!  He was formerly an Honorary Research Fellow, CSIRO Plant Industry.