Associate Professor Cris Brack ‘How trees surprise us’

Cris, an Associate Professor at ANU, will encourage us to wonder about a future where trees could provide many of society's needs. Trees produce some beautiful wood, but they can also produce some incredible things too.

Cris Brack is an Associate Professor in the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. He is also a Director, National Arboretum Canberra Foundation. For the past two decades, his major work has related to measurement, modelling and management or natural resources – predominantly forested or treed landscapes – with an emphasis on carbon sequestration, biodiversity, sustainability and livelihoods.  This work has produced over 70 peer reviewed papers; a similar number of professional and conference presentation; and supported research grants, consultancies or other income in excess of $2.5million (including Greenhouse Action Strategic R&D project initiatives; climate change and plantation management for FWPRDC; various ACIAR projects to improve human resources and education systems and inventory and information systems; examination of sustainable yields and the ecological thinning of Australian forests; support for enquiries into sustainable yield calculations for RFAs; and integrated Forest Operations Approval). In particular, he developed a city-wide census of urban public-land trees and the development of a decision support system (DISMUT) and is working on improved methods to inventory urban forests and quantify their dynamics

Cris will encourage us to wonder about a future where trees could provide many of society's needs. Trees produce some beautiful wood, but they can also produce some incredible things too.