Professor F.E. “Jack” Putz | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Jack’s research is primarily focused on conservation in tropical forests managed for timber, but he is also much engaged in ecosystem restoration both as a scientist and a practitioner. He captured some of his experiences with restoration in a collection of Florida-based natural history essays entitled Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the South as well as in Yaupon Wins: An Ethnobotanical Novella. A fictionalized version of some of his tropical experiences appear in his steamy jungle novel, Borneo Dammed, published under the nom de plume of Juan Camilo Moro. His most recent non-scientific publication is a collection of free verse poems about his aging canine companion, Luna Llena, entitled From One Old Dog to Another.

Despite numerous publications about improved forest management, some of which served as the basis for favourable policies, Jack admits that his efforts to improve the fates of tropical forests have mostly failed. While this realization causes him to feel a bit like Monty Python’s Dark Knight, it also inspired his gradual transition from focussing on the problems of forest degradation to finding workable solutions. These solutions require transdisciplinary approaches with extended collaborations, many of which are especially challenging for a died-in-the-wool field biologist. To maintain forward momentum with a good spirit, he engages part-time in ‘blue sky’ research related to natural history that involves ecophysiology, ethnobotany, and fire ecology.