Dr Michael Battaglia using CABALA in a plantation.

Dr Michael Battaglia: finding solutions for greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture

Dr Michael Battaglia is leading Australia's efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and land use systems.

• 16 September 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Battaglia is the Theme Leader: Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Carbon Storage in Land Use Systems, for the Sustainable Agriculture Flagship. 

Dr Battaglia draws on leadership and communication skills and research expertise in tree physiology and forest ecology, function and modelling to help Australia tackle this major national challenge.

His areas of expertise include:

• greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture
• carbon sequestration in forests
• whole tree physiology
• gas exchange measurement
• field ecology
• process-based modelling of forest function
• decision support systems.

Dr Battaglia's work focuses on using his expert knowledge to develop quantitative hypotheses and predictive process-based models. His current research projects include:

• modelling climate change impacts of forest function
• modelling the effect of environment and silviculture on wood properties
• developing decision support systems to predict the risk of, and rotation length impact of, forest health matters.

Background

Dr Battaglia commenced with CSIRO in 1995 and now works as Senior Principal Research Scientist, in CSIRO Ecosystems Sciences.

Prior to working with CSIRO, Dr Battaglia was:

• Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 1994–95
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 1994–95
• Forester, Forest Commission Tasmania, 1987–92
• Assistant Protection Officer, World Heritage Area, Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage, 1986–87
• Forester, Forest Commission, Tasmania, 1985–86.

Academic qualifications

Dr Battaglia has been awarded the following:

• Bachelor of Forest Science with First Class Honours from The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1984
• Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 1994.
• Australian Graduate School of Management, University New South Wales Leadership course, 2009
• Auckland University, Business school ‘Excelerator’ Leadership course, 2007

Achievements

Dr Battaglia is one of a select group of researchers to be awarded the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) Scientific Achievements Award.

Dr Battaglia received the award in 2010 for his contribution to internationally recognised research and leadership of multidisciplinary teams delivering outstanding achievements and tools for advancing forest science. In 2009, he was the recipient of the CSIRO One-CSIRO Award.

Dr Battaglia was an author for landmark publications in the climate change and greenhouse gas mitigation field including as a lead author in An Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Carbon Biosequestration Opportunities from Rural Land Use (2009) and a chapter author in Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change (2010).

He has also:

• published more than 70 journal articles and reports.
• developed quantitative hypotheses and predictive process-based models including CABALA, ProMod and AGGRO forest growth models used nationally and internationally
• contributed to the Farm Forestry Toolbox

Dr Battaglia also served on the:

• Scientific review panel IUFRO Canopy Processes Conference, October 2010
• General Assembly Member of TRANZFOR: Climate change collaboration between Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, UK, France
• scientific review panel of the International Symposium on Eucalyptus globulus, Pontevedra, Spain, 17–19 October 2006
• Management committee member of Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, 2003–08
• scientific review panel of IUFRO EUCPROD2002, an international conference on Eucalypt productivity
• editorial panel of Tree Physiology, 1999–2006
• editorial panel for Forest Ecology and Management, 2000–06.

Learn more about CSIRO's research in Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Carbon Storage in Land Use Systems.