Catherine Pohlman

Environmental Management and Conservation

Dr Catherine Pohlman

BScHons (ANU) conferred April 2001 PhD (JCU) conferred May 2007

Lecturer in Environmental Science and Management
Port Macquarie
Building 802, Room 2154

Catherine joined the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in 2023. Before joining CSU, she worked as an environmental officer at the Fitzroy Basin Association in Rockhampton and as a lecturer at the School for Field Studies in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, where she taught tropical plant ecology and biogeography. Catherine has also completed a number of postdoctoral fellowships at James Cook University, where she conducted research on the effects of fragmentation and cyclone disturbance on tropical rainforest and tropical savanna. She has also taken part in consultancy work for the Queensland Department of Main Roads and Powerlink QLD. Catherine completed her PhD in tropical biogeography at James Cook University in 2007 and has significant experience working in tropical and subtropical ecosystems in Australia

ORCiD

Catherine has taught at the School for Field Studies (in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area of north-eastern Australia), James Cook University and the University of Technology, Sydney. Catherine’s teaching areas include:

  • Plant ecology
  • Biogeography
  • Tropical vegetation ecology
  • Restoration Ecology
  • Introductory statistics and vegetation survey methods

Catherine is a plant ecologist interested in conducting research that contributes to our ability to develop socio-economic systems that are genuinely sustainable and resilient, so that we can enjoy a long-term future without causing a mass extinction of the Earth’s biodiversity. My research is focused particularly on:

  • Understanding the effects of habitat fragmentation on plant communities and understorey microclimate;
  • Understanding the effects of climate change on tropical plant communities and ecosystem function;
  • Understanding the relationship between the flammability of different plant species and the fire ecology of the ecosystems where those species occur; and
  • Exploring ways to preserve and restore ecosystems while also increasing the ability of human-dominated landscapes to meet our social and economic needs.