Professor John Herbohn
PhD James Cook, MCom James Cook, GradDipAcc James Cook, BSc(Hons) James Cook
Director, Tropical Forests and People Research Centre
Project Coordinator of Project Tarsier
Email: jherbohn@usc.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 5456 5187
Location: Sunshine Coast, B1.08A
Professor John Herbohn is a highly experienced forestry researcher with substantial practical forest industry experience. He is an international expert in small-holder and community forestry systems, especially in the Philippines where he has led collaborative projects with Filipino counterparts for over 24 years.
These projects have had substantial impacts on Philippines national forestry policy. He has substantial experience in establishing and leading large multi-disciplinary teams, including being the Foundation Director of the both the University of the Sunshine Coast Forest Research Institute (FRI) and the Tropical Forests and People Research Centre. The USC FRI comprises the largest concentration of forestry researchers in Australia.
He has substantial corporate strategic leadership experience over a period of 12 years as a non-executive company director for the two NZ forest management companies having assets of around $2.5B, one of which had substantial income streams from the sale of carbon credits.
Research
Publications
Selected Research Publications
| Gregorio, NO, Herbohn, JL, Harrison, SR, Smith, C (2015). A systems approach to improving the quality of seedlings for reforestation, agroforestry and tree farming in the Philippines. Land Use Policy, 47, pp. 29–41. |
| Nguyen H, Lamb D, Herbohn J, Firn J (2014) Designing Mixed Species Tree Plantations for the Tropics: Balancing Ecological Attributes of Species with Landholder Preferences in the Philippines. PLoS ONE 9(4): e95267. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095267 |
| Le, HD, Smith, C and Herbohn, JL (2014). What drives the success of reforestation projects in tropical developing countries? The case of the Philippines. Global Environmental Change, 2, pp. 334–348. |
| Meadows, J, Emtage, N and Herbohn, J (2014). Engaging Australian Small-Scale Lifestyle Landowners in Natural Resource Management Programs — perceptions, past experiences and policy implications. Land Use Policy, 36, pp. 618–627. |
| Nguyen H, Firn J, Lamb D and Herbohn J (2014) Wood density: a tool to find complimentary species for the design of mixed species plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, 334, pp. 106–113. |
Research Summary
Research Grants
| Project name | Investigators | Funding body | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systematic map of literature related to mixed-species reforestation in the tropics | J.L Herbohn, lead author with J. Firn, D. Lamb, W. Dressler, Engel | CIFOR (US$20,000) | 2014 |
| Enhancing the implementation of community forestry approaches in Papua New Guinea | J.L Herbohn, project leader | ACIAR PRoject FST/2011/057 (A$2,088,234) | 2013–2017 |
| Improving watershed rehabilitation outcomes in the Philippines using a systems approach | J.L Herbohn, project leader | ACIAR ASEM/2010/050 | 2012–2017 |
Potential Research Projects for HDR & Honours Students
Field-based projects in Philippines, PNG, North Queensland and Fraser Island in a wide range of areas related to improving the outcomes of reforestation and related to John's areas of expertise. Possible projects include the following:
- Design of mixed species plantations
- Forest dynamics of tropical and subtropical forests based on long term plot data from NQ and Fraser Island
- Socio-economic assessment of reforestation programs
- Carbon dynamics in tropical forests
- Climate change policy related to tropical forests
- Multidimensional reporting systems for the forests
- Sapflow and water relations in tropical plantations
- Nutrient cycling dynamics in tropical plantations
- Impacts of plantations on soil properties
Professional
Awards and memberships
Professional Memberships
- Certified Practising Accountant
- Institute of Foresters of Australia