Personal profile
Biography
I'm fascinated by the role of disturbances in ecosystems, in particular the effects of fire on the landscape. I have two main areas of research. The first is focused on understanding how ecosystems respond to disturbance, and what this means for ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, habitat values and water resources. The second research area I focus on is developing models of forest flammability due to dynamics in fuel loads and fuel moisture content.
I enjoy being out in the bush, so much of my research often involves fieldwork. I also work on remote sensing and modelling.
Related links
Qualifications
Bachelor of Environmental Science, Monash University
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Melbourne
Research keywords
- fire
- forests
- carbon
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Combined use of R-VSPI and VSPI for enhanced quantification of fire severity in south-eastern Australian forests
Chhabra, A., Rüdiger, C., Hilton, J., Nolan, R. H., Bendall, E. R., Yebra, M. & Jagdhuber, T., 15 Jan 2026, In: Remote Sensing of Environment. 333, 15 p., 115163.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure) -
Decoupled responses of mycorrhizal fungal communities and function to recurrent wildfire
Maerowitz-McMahan, S., Gordon, C. E., Nolan, R. H., Matta, P., Montalban de la Mata, A. & Powell, J. R., Mar 2026, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 214, 13 p., 110070.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Downloads (Pure) -
Incorporating fire severity mapping into fuel accumulation curves
Gordon, C. E., Collins, L., Jenkins, M., Murphy, B. P., Nguyen, T. H., Price, O. F., Volkova, L., Weston, C. J. & Nolan, R. H., 20 Mar 2026, In: Science of the Total Environment. 1022, 10 p., 181574.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Moisture content ranges in live Eucalyptus leaves vary among species and strongly affect ignitability
McNeice, W., Griebel, A., Krix, D. W., Murray, B. R., Boer, M. M., Choat, B. & Nolan, R. H., 2026, In: Fire Ecology. 22, 1, 14 p., 11.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Spatially explicit prediction of Nepal’s forest biomass stocks, a data-driven bioregionalisation and machine learning approach
Khanal, S., Nolan, R. H., Medlyn, B. E. & Boer, M. M., Dec 2026, In: Carbon Balance and Management. 21, 1, 14 p., 23.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure)
-
Improved Monitoring of Canopy Dieback in Coastal IFOA region forests
Choat, B. (PI) & Nolan, R. (Investigator)
1/01/26 → 30/09/26
Project: Research
-
Quantifying the recovery trajectory and aboveground productivity in rainforest species after fire on rich versus poor soils
Crous, K. (PI), Ellsworth, D. (Investigator), Nolan, R. (Investigator) & Choat, B. (Investigator)
1/07/22 → 31/01/27
Project: Research
-
Physics-aware machine learning for data-driven fire risk prediction
Boer, M. (PI), Nolan, R. (Investigator), Hurley, P. (Investigator) & Bradstock, R. (Investigator)
1/01/22 → 30/06/26
Project: Research
-
Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan - Research Strategy and Implementation
Rymer, P. (PI), Nielsen, U. (Investigator), Powell, J. (Investigator), Carrillo Espanol, Y. (Investigator), Macdonald, C. (Investigator), Boer, M. (Investigator), Pendall, E. (Investigator), Nolan, R. (Investigator), Moore, B. (Investigator), Riegler, M. (Investigator), Salazar Sutil, J. F. (Investigator), Perry, N. (Investigator) & Pisetta Raupp, P. (Scholarship Recipient)
Department of Planning and Environment
1/05/21 → 30/11/26
Project: Research
-
Forecasting live fuel moisture content, the on/off switch for forest fires
Nolan, R. (PI), Boer, M. (Investigator), Medlyn, B. (Investigator) & Choat, B. (Investigator)
Australian Research Council, Australian National University (non ACRG), New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Department of Planning and Environment, University of Lleida, ACT Parks and Conservation Service
31/10/20 → 30/10/26
Project: Research
Datasets
-
Data for: Bark attributes determine variation in fire resistance in resprouting tree species
Nolan, R., Bradstock, R., Simpson-Southward, H. M., Rahmani, S., Boer, M. & Samson, S. A., Mendeley Data, 2020
DOI: 10.17632/4nn7d4d2vk.1, http://www.doi.org/10.17632/4nn7d4d2vk.1 and one more link, https://research-data.westernsydney.edu.au/published/b13226a04d4911efafda1feff82ccf89/ (show fewer)
Dataset
-
Forest responses to megadisturbance
Nolan, R. & Bendall, E., figshare, 26 Feb 2024
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.24540127.v2, https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24540127.v2
Dataset
-
Data from Hydraulic failure and tree size linked with canopy die-off in eucalypt forest during extreme drought
Nolan, R., Fuller, K., Chhajed, S., Song, M., Li, X., Medlyn, B., Smith, R., Boer, M. & Choat, B., Mendeley Data, 2021
DOI: 10.17632/6j6fp3jhgj.1, http://doi.org/10.17632/6j6fp3jhgj.1 and one more link, https://research-data.westernsydney.edu.au/published/300291e04d7211ef978799cbf5ccbd8c/ (show fewer)
Dataset
-
Observations of live fuel moisture content, water potential, specific leaf area and associated meteorological data
Griebel, A., Ellsworth, D. & Nolan, R., Western Sydney University, 17 Aug 2022
DOI: 10.26183/bf6d-kh20, https://research-data.westernsydney.edu.au/published/1d3667601c6611ed911963163ec815f7
Dataset
-
SAPFLUXNET: A global database of sap flow measurements
Poyatos, R., Granda, V., Flo, V., Molowny-Horas, R., Steppe, K., Mencuccini, M., Martínez-Vilalta, J., Adams, M., Adorján, B., Aguadé, D., Aidar, M. P. M., Allen, S., Alvarado, S., Anderson-Teixeira, K., Aparecido, L. M., Arain, A., Aranda, I., Asbjornsen, H., Baxter, R., Beamesderfer, E., Berry, C., Berveiller, D., Blakely, B., Boegelein, R., Boggs, J., Bohrer, G., Bolstad, P., Bonal, D., Bracho, R., Brito, P., Brodeur, J., Casanoves, F., Chave, J., Cisneros, C., Clark, K., Cremonese, E., Dang, H., David, J., David, T., Delpierre, N., Desai, A., Do, F. C., Dohnal, M., Domec, J.-C., Dzikiti, S., Edgar, C., Elbers, J., Eller, C., Ellsworth, D., El-Madany, T. S., Euskirchen, E., Ewers, B., Fonti, P., Forner, A., Forrester, D., Freitas, H., Galvagno, M., Garcia-Tejera, O., Ghimire, C. P., Gimeno, T., Grace, J., Granier, A., Griebel, A., Guangyu, Y., Gush, M., Hanson, P., Hasselquist, N., Heinrich, I., Hernandez-Santana, V., Herrmann, V., Hölttä, T., Holwerda, F., hui, C., Irvine, J., Isarangkool na Ayutthaya, S., Jarvis, P., Jochheim, H., Joly, C. A., Kaplick, J., Kim, H. S., Klemedtsson, L., Kropp, H., Lagergren, F., Lane, P., Lang, P., Lapenas, A., Lechuga, V., Lee, M., Leuschner, C., Limousin, J.-M., Linares, J. C., Linderson, M.-L., Lindroth, A., Llorens, P., Lopez-Bernal, A., Loranty, M., Lüttschwager, D., Macinnis-Ng, C., Maréchaux, I., Martin, T., Martínez-Vilalta, J., Matheny, A., McDowell, N., McMahon, S., Meir, P., Mencuccini, M., Mészáros, I., Migliavacca, M., Mitchell, P., Mölder, M., Montagnani, L., Moore, G., Nakada, R., Niu, F., Nolan, R., Norby, R., Novick, K., Oberhuber, W., Obojes, N., Oishi, A. C., Oliveira, R., Oren, R., Ourcival, J.-M., Paljakka, T., Perez-Priego, O., Peri, P., Peters, R. L., Pfautsch, S., Pockman, W., Poyatos, R., Preisler, Y., Rascher, K., Robinson, G., Rocha, H., Rocheteau, A., Röll, A., Rosado, B., Rowland, L., Rubtsov, A., Sabaté, S., Salmon, Y., Salomón, R. L., Sánchez-Costa, E., Schäfer, K., Schuldt, B., Shashkin, A., Stahl, C., Stojanović, M., Suárez Salazar, J. C., Sun, G., Szatniewska, J., Tatarinov, F., Tesař, M., Thomas, F. M., Tor-ngern, P., Urban, J., Valladares, F., van der Tol, C., van Meerveld, H. J., Varlagin, A., Voigt, H., Warren, J., Werner, W., Werner, C., Wieser, G., Wingate, L., Wullschleger, S., Yi, K. & Zweifel, R., ZENODO, 4 Aug 2020
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3971689, https://zenodo.org/record/3971689
Dataset
Press/Media
-
-
Entire hillsides of trees turned brown this summer. Is it the start of ecosystem collapse?
1/01/00
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
-
Dry winter primes Sydney Basin for early start of bushfire season,
1/01/00
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
-
Drought and climate change were the kindling, and now the east coast is ablaze
1/01/00
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
-
Climate change is testing the resilience of native plants to fire, from ash forests to gymea lilies
1/01/00
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media