Plant Invasion and Restoration Ecology Lab

Welcome to the Plant Invasion and Restoration Ecology Lab’s (PIREL) website. PIREL is the research lab of Professor Michelle Leishman. We do fundamental plant ecological research, focusing on the response of plants to climate change, on how exotic plants can become invasive in novel environments, on the development of rehabilitation and restoration strategies for native vegetation, and on urban greening. We use a range of different approaches including field and glasshouse studies, bioclimatic modelling, functional trait comparisons, genetic analyses, and meta-analyses.

PIREL in 2016 – (from left) Samyia, James, Katie, Michelle, Nola, Alex and Finn, Guyo, Ina, Laura

 

Header pictures (L-R): River (photo: John Martyn), weedy Paraserianthes lophantha and Delairea odorata (photo: Julia Cooke), Acacia cyclops seeds (photo: Christina Birnbaum), fieldwork (photo: Carla Harris), replantings (photo: Dan Keating) and Sydney vegetation (photo: John Martyn).