Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
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christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
@christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
430 followers 1K following 39 posts
Senior Lecturer in Terrestrial Ecology @soaes-unisq.bsky.social @unisq.bsky.social | Lead Convenor of @esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
Plant-soil Ecology Special Interest Network | she/her, own views

https://sites.google.com/site/birnbaumchristina/home
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christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃 @christinabirnbaum.bsky.social · 7d
I'm so sad to miss out on this fantastic symposium.
Please make sure you check it out and share the insights with us on Bluesky, too! 🍄
esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social ESA Plant-Soil Ecology @esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social · 7d
Ecological Society of Australia conference is already next week!
Our symposium "Functional biodiversity and bold insights from plant-soil ecology" will be on Wed (Nov 26) afternoon 130-530pm.
Cracker talks on 🔥❄️⛰️🚱🧬🫧🌿🐮🌾🍄 (did you guess them?!)

@ecolsocaus.bsky.social
esa2025.org.au
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Well done to Genavieve (pictured below on the right) presenting at her first ever scientific conference!
Even better when your co-supervisor makes a special trip from Western Australia to support you 🥹

#ESA2025
@esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
November 27, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
wa-orchids.bsky.social
🌳🌿💚 Monday morning good news story!

Following strong opposition from local councils & residents, Alcoa has shelved its plans to explore the Perth Hills #jarrah #forests for its #bauxite mining expansion... for now at least.

#wildoz #conservation #ozflora #trees
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Alcoa shelves plans to explore Perth Hills for mining expansion
US mining giant Alcoa will withdraw part of its plans to expand its mining operations in the world's only jarrah forests, following community concerns around water security and environmental impacts.
www.abc.net.au
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 AM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
How good is this poster from our master's student Genavieve Jurd ?! 👇🎉☺️
If you are attending @ecolsocaus.bsky.social conference next week, please support ECRs like Genavieve during the Barbara Rice memorial poster session on Monday evening!
November 20, 2025 at 3:58 AM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
I'm so sad to miss out on this fantastic symposium.
Please make sure you check it out and share the insights with us on Bluesky, too! 🍄
esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social ESA Plant-Soil Ecology @esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social · 7d
Ecological Society of Australia conference is already next week!
Our symposium "Functional biodiversity and bold insights from plant-soil ecology" will be on Wed (Nov 26) afternoon 130-530pm.
Cracker talks on 🔥❄️⛰️🚱🧬🫧🌿🐮🌾🍄 (did you guess them?!)

@ecolsocaus.bsky.social
esa2025.org.au
November 20, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
ecologybrad.bsky.social
The final version is now available #AmJBot
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Toward a macroevolutionary understanding of live‐leaf flammability in plant species of fire‐prone forests
Premise The flammability of live leaves in canopies varies considerably among plant species. Identifying macroevolutionary processes that shape variation in leaf flammability contributes to an under.....
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:29 AM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2...
Flower likened to 'cancer' for environment still sold at nurseries
The colourful flowers of gazanias might attract you to buy them at a nursery but it is worth considering whether you are getting an invasive weed causing havoc to our landscapes.
www.abc.net.au
November 5, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
keila-stark.bsky.social
Most major theories in ecology assume some sort of equilibrium, but only ~half of empirical tests acknowledge it & even fewer observed it in their system. Does this matter? How did the idea become so pervasive in ecology anyway? Find out in our new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Equilibrium Conundrum
Although an assumption of equilibrium dynamics underlies most ecological theory, the evidence for this dynamic in nature and in empirical studies is scarce. This creates an unfortunate disconnect bet...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:38 PM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Monday was spent scouting for new field sites when we stumbled upon this beauty 😍
Dipodium roseum - a saprophytic orchid that does not produce chlorophyll but rather relies on carbon from decaying matter near eucalypt trees.
November 3, 2025 at 11:30 PM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Invasion impacts in terrestrial ecosystems: Global patterns and predictors
Biological invasions can alter ecosystems, yet their impacts vary across ecological contexts. Using a global meta-analysis of 775 studies (2223 effect sizes) in terrestrial systems, we show that the m...
www.science.org
October 23, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social
.@cmarin.bsky.social and 127 co-authors present a global call to strengthen national #SoilBiodiversity action, in an #OpenLetter to policymakers at 27th meeting of the @unbiodiversity.bsky.social SBSTTA taking place in Panamá City this week.

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#SBSTTA27
A quote from the article. Text reads: "The decline of soil biodiversity has visible and growing consequences. The science is clear, the frameworks exist, and the need for action is urgent."
October 20, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
thegsbi.bsky.social
📢 Over 120 researchers have issued a major call to action for a coordinated approach to studying soil biodiversity! 📢

This letter urges policymakers, scientists, and others to recognize the importance of soil biodiversity and harmonize efforts. 🪱

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:45 PM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
128 authors - 1 message:
Open letter: A global call to strengthen national soil biodiversity action through coordination and harmonization - Marín - PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET - Wiley Online Library nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Thanks @cmarin.bsky.social @thegsbi.bsky.social for leading!
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:58 PM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Here goes a bit of shameless self-promotion:
If you missed my National Science Week online webinar, it is now available via YouTube.

Friends with benefits or frenemies: The role of soil biota in shaping plant responses.

youtu.be/B_hnTfg10TM?...
Friends with benefits or frenemies: The role of soil biota in shaping plant responses
YouTube video by University of Southern Queensland
youtu.be
October 20, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
ecolsocaus.bsky.social
The October intake of our free mentoring for early career ecologists is now open for registration! 🦇

You've got questions and they've got the answers! (They'll try their best 😅) Jump online to apply and check out the range of mentors available: tinyurl.com/bderjjxj

#mentoring #mentor #ecology
September 21, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
dougparr.bsky.social
In the first half of 2025, renewables became the biggest source of global electricity for the first time, as wind & solar growth exceeded global demand growth

Shocking that it's China & India leading - EU & USA have fossil power growing

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
October 7, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
temporalecology.bsky.social
Our department at UBC is hiring for a professor of forest ecophysiology, including "tree ecophysiology; plant abiotic or biotic stress physiology; forest mortality and climate change responses; forest carbon balance; tree water relations; or nutrient use." Learn more at: tinyurl.com/5da56f5c
October 6, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
Loyalty and nutrient trade… University of Western Australia researchers show how plants and fungi keep their partnerships alive—even in the face of cheating 🍃 ❤️ 🍄

#Mycorrhiza #Evolution
A simple plant–mycorrhizal fungal resource trade co‐evolution model explains mutualism stability, extinction and transitory parasitism via fitness feedback
The mutualism between mycorrhizal fungi and plants has persisted for over 400 million years, despite the mutualism paradox predicting that mutualisms should be evolutionarily unstable due to the fit.....
t.co
October 4, 2025 at 1:04 AM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
The world needs more of Jane Goodalls and alike.
Dr Goodall was such an inspiration. I was fortunate enough to see her speak and meet at Tulane University speaking tour in 2016-2017, she came across so humble and gentle yet firm in her opinions and of course, very wise.
RIP, legend 💫
greenpeaceuk.bsky.social Greenpeace UK @greenpeaceuk.bsky.social · Oct 1
We’re heartbroken to learn that Dr Jane Goodall has passed away, aged 91.

Dr Goodall was one of the true conservation giants of our time. Let’s honour her legacy by choosing to make a difference in the world - by protecting it.

Thank you, Jane, for everything you did for our planet. 💚
"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make" - Jane Goodall
October 1, 2025 at 9:17 PM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Started my Friday with this lovely E-Mail:
"Well I also happened to watch your interview on YouTube today and I must say you are truly an amazing person both inspiring and insightful." ☺️
So, I went and checked the above-mentioned interview, a talk actually, and it has 1.1 k views on YouTube! 🤯
September 26, 2025 at 1:49 AM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
What do leaf endophytes and koalas have in common?

They co-occur in our native ecosystems!
If you are keen to learn more or come and study with us, check out our programs 👇

unisq.edu.au/study/degree...

📷@unisq.bsky.social Master of Research student Fiona Stone captured this fab footage 💚
September 23, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
“Nature conservation is not working unless it protects entire ecosystems with all their interacting members—big and small”

Fantastic opinion piece on advancing nature conservation to the next level by applying existing microorganism strategies to microbes.
Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services | PNAS
Microbial conservation is essential for sustaining ecosystem functions and services
www.pnas.org
September 22, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
hyphaltip.bsky.social
Assistant Professor (Quantitative Microbe-Plant-Environment Interactions), Dept of Microbiology, Fall 2026 apply.interfolio.com/173345 at University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Position is part of a faculty cluster hire in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Quantitative-based Solutions for Food Security.
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Christina Birnbaum, PhD 🍃
esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social
Tiny organisms - big impact: microbes are finally receiving the attention they deserve 👏👏👏
www.monash.edu/news/article...
Big plans to conserve tiny organisms globally
A global body will promote conserving microbes, which are as important to biodiversity as plants, animals, and people.
www.monash.edu
September 15, 2025 at 4:34 AM
christinabirnbaum.bsky.social
Love getting emails from my students:
"Dear Professor Birnbaum,
My name's X and I've just completed the course REN3302 - Sustainable Resource Use with you this trimester. I loved the course and found it very engaging [...]."

Also, Professor Birnbaum has a good ring to it 🤓

#teaching #academia
September 12, 2025 at 12:12 AM