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Research interests
Caroline’s work focuses on the sustainability and conservation of tropical savanna landscapes in relation to threats associated with climate change, changing fire regimes and habitat fragmentation. This involves work on landscape evolution, multi-scale vegetation dynamics, and the evolution of plant attributes related to disturbance. Caroline undertakes these projects using landscape ecology, remote sensing, ecophysiology, plant demography, population genetics and statistical modelling. A quarter of Caroline’s time is dedicated to Bushfires NT, managing and extending datasets associated with the accounting for the West Arnhem Land fire abatement scheme and the development of the Central Arnhem and Gulf region abatement schemes.
Caroline teaches and co-ordinates WLM 404: Natural resources and livelihoods with Prof. Tony Cunningham. This Masters level course teaches an understanding enterprise development of non-timber forest products and payment for environmental services as a means for livelihood development of indigenous peoples.
Caroline submitted her PhD on spatio-temporal savanna vegetation dynamics in Kakadu National Park and the Australian continent in the latter half of 2007. Caroline is strongly engaged in promoting the development of evidence-based fire management policy in conservation areas across north Australia.

Current projects
Young Scholars Network Interdisciplinary Workshop: on Cultural Uses and Impacts of Landscape Fires: Past, Present and Future, Colorado
14 - 18 July 2008. Visit www.aimes.ucar.edu/ysn.shtml
Working Group on Savanna structure, Darwin
17 - 26 Septmeber 2008. Visit www.vegfunction.net/wg/49/49_Savanna_Structure.htm

Arnhem Land Fire Management Projects - Data manager
See media - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6726059.stm

Teaching
Course co-ordinator WLM 404: Natural resources and livelihoods
- Field trip intensive to Tennant Creek and Barkly region 29 June – 5 July 2008
More information >>

Publications
Peer reviewed papers
2008
Lehmann, C.R., Prior, L.D., Williams, R.J. and Bowman, D.M.J.S. 2008. Spatio-temporal trends in tree cover of a tropical mesic savanna are driven by landscape disturbance. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: 1304-1311 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01496.x Lehmann, C.E.R., Prior, L.D., and Bowman, D.M.J.S. (in revision) Fire controls variation in stand structures of dominant tree species in Australian mesic savanna. Oecologia.
Lehmann, C.E.R., Prior, L.D., Williams, R.J. and Bowman, D.M.J.S. (accepted) Decadal trends in tree cover of a tropical mesic savanna in response to landscape disturbance and inter-annual rainfall variability. Journal of Applied Ecology.
Lehmann, C.E.R., Prior, L.D., and Bowman, D.M.J.S. (in revision) Multi-decadal savanna dynamics in the Australian monsoon tropics. Austral Ecology.
Lehmann, C.E.R., Bradshaw, C.J.A., Woinarski, J.C., Russell-Smith, J., Franklin, D., Prior, L.D., and Bowman, D.M.J.S. (in revision) Rainfall – Fire interactions determine persistence and patterns of biomass in tropical mesic savannas. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
Bowman, D. M. J. S., Riley, J. E., Boggs, G. S., Lehmann, C. E. R. and Prior, L. D. (2008) Do feral buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) explain the increase of woody cover in savannas of Kakadu National Park? Journal of Biogeography
2007
Petty, A.M., Werner, P.A., Lehmann, C.E.R., Riley, J.E., Banfai, D.S. and Elliott, L.P. 2007. Savanna Responses to Feral Buffalo In Kakadu National Park, Australia. Ecological Monographs 77:3, 441-463.

Reports
Lehmann, C. E. R. (2008) The relationship between plant species diversity, plant attributes and fire regimes in the Kakadu Region. Internal report for the Office of the Supervising Scientist.
Lehmann, C.E.R. and Prior, L.D. (2008) Savanna dynamics. In Kakadu National Park Landscape Symposia Series 2007–2009. Symposium 1: Landscape Change Overview, 17–18 April 2007, South Alligator Inn, Kakadu National Park. Internal Report 532, April, Supervising Scientist, Darwin. Unpublished paper, 20 - 28. http://www.environment.gov.au/ssd/publications/ir/532.html
Committees
Environmental Defender’s Office (NT) Management Committee http://www.edo.org.au/edont/
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