Jonathan Cornelius

Senior Lecturer

2007-2008: Senior Lecturer; Coordinator, Agroforestry and Novel Crops Unit, JCU 2003-2007: Tree Domestication Specialist and Country Coordinator (Peru), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) 1996-2002: Researcher, Center for Higher Education and Research in Tropical Agronomy (CATIE), Costa Rica Ph.D. (Alberta, Forest Biology and Management) M.Sc.F. (New Brunswick, Forest Genetics) B.Sc. (Hons) (Wales, Forestry) Memberships: Commonwealth Forestry Association, International Society of Tropical Foresters, Society for Conservation Biology

Research and teaching interests

My interests focus on understanding and facilitating the role of tree biodiversity and agroforestry in meeting human needs, particularly in tropical agricultural landscapes. Specific interests include:

• Domestication of agroforestry timber and fruit trees

• Economic impact of tree improvement and other agroforestry research

• Estimation of genetic parameters and their interpretation

• Human impacts on genetics of natural tree populations, particularly through fragmentation, disturbance and negative (“dysgenic”) selection

• Participatory approaches to training curricula

• Quantitative genetic variation in forest trees

• Smallholder plantation forestry, particularly of mahogany and related species

Current projects

I coordinate the Agroforestry and Novel Crops Unit, with special responsibility for the Project ‘Domestication and Commercialization of Canarium indicum in Papua New Guinea’. C. indicum is a high-quality nut species native to PNG, known locally as Galip-nut.

Teaching

I have a coordinating role for the Bachelor of Tropical Agricultural Science degree, and also coordinate the following courses:

AG3001

Tropical Crops and Pastures

AG3005

Agroecology

AG5001

Advanced Tropical Crops and Pastures

AG5005

Advanced Agroecology.

Principal publications

Guariguata, M., Cornelius, J.P., Locatelli, B., Forner, C., Sánchez-Azofeifa, G.A. 2008. Mitigation needs adaptation: tropical forestry and climate change. Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change (in press).

De la Torre, A.; Cesar López, C.; Yglesias, E.; Cornelius, J.P. 2008. Genetic (AFLP) diversity of nine Cedrela odorata populations in Madre de Dios, southern Peruvian Amazon. Forest Ecology and Management (in press).

Clement, C.R., Cornelius, J.P., Pinedo-Panduro, M., Yuyama, K. 2007. Native fruit tree improvement in Amazonia: an overview. In Akinnefesi, F.K., Leakey, R.B., Sileshi, G., Matacala, P., Kwesiga, F. (eds) Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utillization and Commercialization. CABI, 464p.

Cornelius, J.P., Clement, C.R., Weber, J.C., Sotelo-Montes, C., Van Leeuwen, J., Ugarte-Guerra, L.J., Ricse-Tembladera,A., Arévalo-López, L. 2006. The trade-off between genetic gain and conservation in a participatory improvement programme: the case of peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth). Forests, Trees And Livelihoods 16: 17-34.

Cornelius, J.P., Navarro, C.M., Wightman, K.W., Ward, S.E. 2005. Is mahogany dysgenically selected? Environmental Conservation 32(2): 129-139.

Cornelius, J.P., Wightman, K.W., Grogan, J.E., Ward, S.E. 2004. Swietenia (American mahogany). Pp. 1720-1726 in J. Burley, J. Evans and J. Youngquist (Eds.), Elsevier Encyclopaedia of Forest Science. Elsevier, Netherlands.

Cornelius, J.P., Watt, A.D. 2003. Genetic variation in a Hypsipyla-attacked clonal trial of Cedrela odorata under two pruning regimes. Forest Ecology and Management 183 (2003) 341-349.

Montagnini, F., Campos, J.J., Cornelius, J.P., Finegan, B., Guariguata, M., Marmillod, D., Mesén, J.F., Ugalde, L. 2002. Environmentally-friendly management systems in tropical forestry: experiences from Central America. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques 272(2): 33-44.

Gillies, A.C.M., Navarro, C., Lowe, A.J., Newton, A.C., Hernández, M., Wilson, J., Cornelius, J.P. 1999. Genetic diversity in mesoamerican populations of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) assessed using RAPDs. Heredity 83: 722-732.

Hamilton, P.C., Chandler, L., Brodie, A., Cornelius, J.P. 1998. A financial analysis of a small-scale Gmelina arborea Roxb. improvement programme in Costa Rica. New Forests 16: 89-99.

Cornelius J.P., Mesén J.F. 1997. Provenance and family variation in growth rate, stem straightness, and foliar mineral concentration in Vochysia guatemalensis. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 27:1103-1109.

Cornelius, J.P., Apedaile, L. and J.F. Mesén. 1996. Provenance and family variation in height and diameter growth of Cupressus lusitanica Mill. at 28 months in Costa Rica. Silvae Genetica 45: 82-85.

Cornelius, J.P., Mesén, J.F., Corea, E.A., Henson, M. 1996. Variation in growth and form of Alnus acuminata Kunth. in Costa Rica. Silvae Genetica 45: 24-30.

Newton A.C., Cornelius J.P., Baker P., Gillies A.C.M., Hernández M., Ramnarine S., Mesén J.F., Watt A. 1996. Mahogany as a genetic resource. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 122:61-73.

Cornelius, J.P. 1995. Especies nativas versus especies exóticas: ¿una distinción de importancia en la selección de especies? Revista Forestal Centroamericana 10 (3): 11-15.

Cornelius, J.P. 1994. Heritabilities and additive genetic coefficients of variation in forest trees. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 24: 372-379.

Cornelius, J.P. 1994. The effectiveness of plus-tree selection for yield. Forest Ecology and Management 67: 22-34.

Contact details

Campus: Cairns

Telephone: +61.7.40421789

Skype: jonathancornelius

Email: jonathan.cornelius@jcu.edu.au