Ruby Paroissien

Ruby Paroissien is a PhD candidate at UNSW, researching the impact of altered fire regimes on threatened wet sclerophyll forest. Ruby is also a seedbank officer at the Australian PlantBank and holds a dual degree in Science and Fine Arts bringing unique perspectives to her research.

Project: Effects of altered fire regimes on wet sclerophyll forest threatened ecological communities

Supervised by: Mark Ooi, Ryan Tangney, Cathy Offord (Australian Botanic Gardens)

Project Description: Wet sclerophyll forests form the ecotone between less fire-prone rainforest and more fire tolerant dry sclerophyll forest. The level of fire tolerance they maintain differs with their composition and structure and may be subject to shifts as fire regimes change. The 2019/2020 wildfires were phenomenal in their extent and severity and understanding how wet sclerophyll forests will respond and recover represents a large knowledge gap. I aim to assess the impacts of altered fire regimes on the resilience of wet sclerophyll forest threatened communities through identifying and evaluating pathways of ecosystem recovery: dispersal, resprouting and recruitment.

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