Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW

Doug Benson

Position

Senior Plant Ecologist

Branch

Science & Public Programs

Section

Conservation and Horticultural Research

Email

doug.benson@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

Phone

+61-2-9231 8148

Fax

+61-2-9251 7231

Research interests

Ecology of plant communities and species, particularly in Sydney area

Keywords

ecology, conservation, management, fire effects, threatened species, remnant bushland, Sydney Basin

Current research projects

  • Ecology of Sydney plant species - currently monocotyledon families Lemnaceae to Zosteraceae (with Lyn McDougall)
  • Long term monitoring of vegetation change in Western Sydney plant communities (with Jocelyn Howell)
  • Life form attributes and strategies of species in Cumberland Plain Woodland(with Jocelyn Howell, Lotte von Richter)
  • Management factors relevant to conservation of woodland remnants including fire, grazing, weed invasion (with Jocelyn Howell, Debra Little)

Key publications

  • Benson, D.H. & Howell, J. (1990a) Sydney's vegetation 1788-1988: utilisation, degradation and rehabilitation. Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia 16, 115-127.
  • Benson, D. & Howell, J. (1990b) Taken for Granted: The Bushland of Sydney and its Suburbs. (Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 160 pp. Paperback Edition 1995). (pdf downloads: Chapters 1-3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5a, Chapter 5b, Chapter 5c, Chapter 5d, Chapter 6)
  • Benson, D.H. (1992) The natural vegetation of the Penrith 1:100 000 map sheet. Cunninghamia 2(4), 541-596.
  • Benson, D. & Howell, J. (1994a). The natural vegetation of the Sydney 1:100 000 map sheet.  Cunninghamia 3(4): 677-787.
  • Howell, J., McDougall, L. & Benson, D. (1995) Riverside Plants of the Hawkesbury-Nepean (Royal Botanic Gardens: Sydney 62 pp). (pdf downloads: pdf 1, pdf 2, pdf 3, pdf 4)
  • James, T., McDougall, L.& Benson, D. (1999) Rare Bushland Plants of Western Sydney. Revised Edition (Royal Botanic Gardens: Sydney 94 pp).
  • Benson,D., Ondinea,D. & Bear, V. (1999) Missing Jigsaw Pieces: the bushplants of the Cooks River Valley. (Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, 80 pp).
  • Howell, J. & Benson, D. (2000) Predicting potential impacts of environmental flows on weedy riparian vegetation of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, south-eastern Australia. Austral Ecology 25, 463-475.
  • Howell, J. & Benson, D. (2000) Sydney’s Bushland: more than meets the eye. (Royal Botanic Gardens: Sydney 128 pp).
  • Benson, D. & McDougall, L. (2001) Ecology of Sydney Plant Species: Part 8 - Dicotyledon families Rutaceae to Zygophyllaceae. Cunninghamia 7 (2), 241-462.

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