Research Assistant Professor Viki Cramer
Email: viki.cramer@uwa.edu.au

Biography

I am a plant ecologist with experience working in tropical, semi-arid, and Mediterranean-climate ecosystems. I completed a BSc (Hons) at the University of Queensland. I began my career working with the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service in south-western Queensland. My time working with QNPS in pastoral landscapes led me to recognize that conservation and restoration in the broader landscape was just as critical as what happened within the reserve system, and this has shaped the course of my research career since. I completed my PhD in the Botany Department at the University of Queensland, and then undertook postdoctoral research in the School of Environmental Science at Murdoch University from 2000 to 2005, after a brief time working as a science communicator at Curtin University. From 2006 to 2008 I taught restoration ecology at Murdoch. I joined UWA in 2009.

Education

• 1999: Ph.D. University of Queensland, Botany Department
• 1992: B.Sc. (Hons 1), University of Queensland, Botany Department

Key research

• My research focuses on understanding change in ecosystems, and how humans respond to and manage these changes. I am interested in bridging research in plant and landscape ecology with the realities of conservation and restoration in social-ecological systems. Recent projects include ecosystem assembly on abandoned farmland and the impacts of secondary salinity on woodland ecosystems.

• At present I am working with Rachel Standish on the impacts of urbanisation on remnant vegetation, and with Richard Hobbs on the challenges for ecological restoration in a time of rapid environmental change, particularly climate change. We are also working in collaboration with Greening Australia to restore Nell’s Block, a former grazing area to the southeast of Perth. This is a long-term collaboration that provides many opportunities to answer both theoretical and practical questions related to restoring abandoned farmland. I also have extensive research experience in plant eco-physiology, particularly stress physiology and water and nutrient acquisition.

Major Research Interests

• Restoration ecology
• Old field restoration
• Plant ecology and ecophysiology
• Landscape ecology and restoration
• Nature conservation and ecological restoration in social-ecological systems

Publications

View Publications here >>

Research Profile

Research profile and publications >>

Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Woodland and Forest Health
School of Plant Biology,
University of Western Australia (M084)
35 Stirling Highway CRAWLEY WA 6009
Australia

Ph: +61 (8) 6488 4692
Fax: +61 (8) 6488 1108
[ Email Viki ]

Sister Sites