1. Associate Professor Oya Demirbilek Professor Rob Freestone
Associate Dean/Education Associate Dean/Research
Staff Surname/s: Osmond Staff First Name/s: Paul
Telephone/Email: X 54915; p.osmond@unsw.edu.au
Your School: ASA+D AGSU Both Schools represented
Name of the direct supervisor of this project (if other than
the applicant or if there is more than one applicant i.e. team
application)
Student preference: Undergraduate Postgraduate Coursework Either
What types of skills would you prefer student applicants to have? (Please check all boxes as appropriate)
Quantitative
SPSS
Excel
NVivo
GIS
Qualitative
Library research skills
Survey
Interview skills
Design
Digital
Physical
Model making
3D modelling
Other
Please state
Field work skills
SUMMARY RESEARCH PROJECT INFORMATION
Title of Project Developing a leaf area index database to inform green infrastructure research
Project description and objectives
Vegetation leaf area index (LAI) – the single sided leaf area per unit ground area – is a key indicator of ecological function.
Used to investigate plant health and predict crop yield in forestry and agronomy since the 1920s, LAI has more recently
emerged as an important metric in quantifying the ecosystem services provided by urban “green infrastructure” such as
green roofs (Lundholm et al, 2015); street trees (Jim and Chen, 2009; Jin et al, 2014); and city parks (Jansson et al, 2007;
Zhang et al, 2013). While there are considerable LAI data pertaining to crop and timber species, the information available
for plants typically utilised in urban landscapes is sparse and inconsistent. One interesting exception – involving a researcher
with whom the applicant (PO) has been collaborating on a separate project – is the extensive LAI database developed for
Singapore to support the authors’ tropical green infrastructure research (Hien & Jusuf, 2008).
The objective of the present project is to develop an LAI database of common species used as green infrastructure in
Sydney, with the emphasis on the City of Sydney (CoS) and adjacent LGAs. The proposal has been discussed with the CoS
Arborist and she has confirmed the City’s interest. It is intended that the LAI database will support existing and future green
infrastructure research within the Faculty*, urban climate research conducted by the Climate Change Research Centre, with
whom the applicant has been collaborating, and also provide material for publication to add to the body of knowledge in
this emerging field.
*(E.g. application for 2016 ARC Discovery funding, led by QUT with UNSW BE as partner, relating to building façades.)
Methodology
The applicant acquired a “LI-COR Plant Canopy Analyzer” instrument for the Faculty via an MREII grant allocated at the start of
2015. This instrument calculates LAI and other canopy attributes from light measurements made with a specialised optical
sensor. The project will involve three stages:
1. Planning – includes familiarisation with this complex instrument, identification of sites and species of interest,
development of a sampling strategy and completion of a small campus-based pilot study.
2. Fieldwork – data collection on site, including determination of LAI and digital photographs of the vegetation.
3. Data analysis and interpretation – uploading to the LI-COR software program for processing, analysis and write-up.
Expected project outputs
The main output will be a digital database including LAI and other canopy attributes, digital images and locations of
representative examples of vegetation in the inner Sydney region. This will be capable of supplementation over time as an
ongoing resource for BE research in the ecosystem services/green infrastructure domain. In addition, given the dearth of

2. Associate Professor Oya Demirbilek Professor Rob Freestone
Associate Dean/Education Associate Dean/Research
published material on LAI in this domain, there is an evident opportunity to make this material available to a wider audience via
publication in a suitable journal.
Student responsibilities
With guidance from the applicant, the student will be expected to:
1. Familiarise him/herself with the basic theory of LAI from the literature;
2. Familiarise him/herself with the operation and care of the LI-COR instrument, including conducting a pilot study on
UNSW campus vegetation;
3. Identify relevant vegetation species and locations within inner metro Sydney and develop a sampling strategy;
4. Carry out field measurements in the selected sites;
5. Compile digital database;
6. Write up results in a format suitable for publication.
Depending on the quality of the work, it is hoped that the student would be credited as the lead author. Note also that if the
QUT-UNSW ARC Discovery application referred to above is successful, there may be further opportunities for the student to be
involved.
Minimum student qualifications
The student is more likely to come from a postgraduate background (e.g. Sustainable Built Environment program) although a
suitably skilled / qualified senior undergraduate student (e.g. final year Landscape Architecture) may be suitable. The key
selection criteria are skills in quantitative data collection and analysis, willingness to undertake fieldwork, experience with
digital / remote sensing equipment or capacity to learn quickly, and well developed skills in written expression and graphic
communication (capacity to convert raw fieldwork data into a competent draft of a publishable paper). The specific
discipline/program to which the student belongs is of less importance than meeting the above criteria.
Application due on 15 April 2015, fbe.ade.office@unsw.edu.au
References:
Lundholm J, Tran S & Gebert L (2015). Plant functional traits predict green roof ecosystem services, Environmental Science & Technology.
Jim C, & Chen, W (2009). “Ecosystem services and valuation of urban forests in China”, Cities 26(4): 187-194.
Jin S, Guo J, Wheeler S, Kan L & Che S (2014). “Evaluation of impacts of trees on PM 2.5 dispersion in urban streets”, Atmospheric
Environment 99: 277-287.
Jansson C, Jansson P & Gustafsson D (2007). “Near surface climate in an urban vegetated park and its surroundings”, Theoretical and
Applied Climatology, 89(3-4), 185-193.
Zhang Z, Lu Y & Pan H (2013). “Cooling and humidifying effect of plant communities in subtropical urban parks”, Urban Forestry & Urban
Greening 12(3): 323-329.
Hien W & Jusuf S (2008). “An assessment method for existing greenery conditions in a university campus”, Architectural Science Review
51(3): 212-222.