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    • Associate Professor Richard Silberstein
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    • Associate Professor Richard Silberstein

      Associate Professor Richard Silberstein

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Associate Professor Richard Silberstein

Adjunct Lecturer

Staff Member Details
Email: r.silberstein@ECU.edu.au
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9704-782X

Richard is an Associate Professor in the School of Science. He leads the research project on understanding carbon, energy and water balances of native Banksia woodland at the Gingin Banksia Woodland SuperSite. This is part of a national programme of several dozen sites, and an international network aimed at understanding how vegetation systems respond to climate and environmental changes. The project is funded under the Federal Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme, TERN OzFlux - Ecosystem Processess programme.

Current Teaching

  • Not currently teaching

Background

Richard is a catchment hydrologist investigating interactions between vegetation and surface and groundwater, particularly in the context of a drying climate. He was previously a Principal Research Scientist after 19 years in CSIRO Land and Water. He is interested in water resources issues and the influences land use and climate have on hydrological and water related ecological problems.  He has 25 years’ experience hydrological modelling and field observations, both groundwater and surface water, coupling hydrologic systems with vegetation and understanding hydrological and ecological influences of climate and land use changes, ensemble modelling and parameter optimisation.

Previous Projects that Richard has worked on include:

  • Modelling coupled hydrology and vegetation responses to climate, soil, water and salt conditions (Topog model)
  • Field and modelling catchment forest dynamics, recharge, hydrological non-stationarity and water yield in response to thinning, fire and climate
  • Ecosystem carbon, energy and water balances through modelling, eddy covariance flues, soil and vegetation monitoring
  • Stream flow and nutrient and carbon export in the Kimberley, for the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI)
  • Development of a Vertical Flux Model (Based on WAVES) for a MODFLOW model of the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia (PRAMS)
  • Development of agroforestry guidelines for salinity and waterlogging control

Professional Memberships

  • 1991 - present:  American Geophysical Union (Member)
  • 2001 - 2015:  Western Australia Bauxite Hydrology Committee

Research Areas and Interests

  • Delivering field studies and simulation models for hydrological applications in mining, agriculture, forest catchment and groundwater management
  • Quantifying land-surface-atmospheric fluxes and catchment weather balances
  • Research to quantify links between land and forest management climate change and water resources
  • Developing and testing hydrological models with field observations

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Western Australia, 1999.
  • Bachelor of Science with Second Class Honours in Physics, The University of Western Australia, 1979.

Research Outputs

2025

Journal Articles

  • Galalizadeh, S., Morrison-Saunders, A., Silberstein, R., Blake, D., Horwitz, P. (2025). A Practical Mobile Measurement Approach for Urban Climate Data Collection: Proposing a Method to Investigate the Cooling Effect of Urban Green Areas in Joondalup, Western Australia. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 2025(Article in press), Article number 128891. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128891.
  • Moore, CE., Thompson, SE., Beringer, J., Cooper, W., Gelsinari, S., Nguyen, HL., Wang, H., Xie, Q., Silberstein, R. (2025). Biophysical response of a coastal woodland to extreme water deficit during a year of record-breaking heat. Environmental Research Letters, 20(3), article number 34043. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adb6c1.
  • Nguyen, HL., Gelsinari, S., Callow, JN., Silberstein, R., Thompson, SE. (2025). Satellite and eddy covariance analysis reveals short-lived evapotranspiration changes after fire in Mediterranean woodland. Journal of Hydrology, 653(2025), article number 132654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132654.

2024

Journal Articles

  • Galalizadeh, S., Morrison-Saunders, A., Horwitz, P., Silberstein, R., Blake, D. (2024). The cooling impact of urban greening: A systematic review of methodologies and data sources. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 95(2024), article number 128157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128157.
  • Kunadi, AS., Silberstein, R., Thompson, SE. (2024). Variation in Zero Plane Displacement and Roughness Length for Momentum Revisited. Boundary-Layer Meteorology: an international journal of physical and biological processes in the atmospheric boundary layer, 190(8), article number 36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-024-00876-8.
  • Nelson, JA., Walther, S., Gans, F., Kraft, B., Weber, U., Novick, K., Buchmann, N., Migliavacca, M., Wohlfahrt, G., Šigut, L., Ibrom, A., Papale, D., Göckede, M., Duveiller, G., Knohl, A., Hörtnagl, L., Scott, RL., Zhang, W., Hamdi, ZM., Reichstein, M., Aranda-Barranco, S., Ardö, J., De Beeck, MO., Billesbach, D., Bowling, D., Bracho, R., Brümmer, C., Camps-Valls, G., Chen, S., Cleverly, JR., Desai, A., Dong, G., El-Madany, TS., Euskirchen, ES., Feigenwinter, I., Galvagno, M., Gerosa, GA., Gielen, B., Goded, I., Goslee, S., Gough, CM., Heinesch, B., Ichii, K., Jackowicz-Korczynski, MA., Klosterhalfen, A., Knox, S., Kobayashi, H., Kohonen, K., Korkiakoski, M., Mammarella, I., Gharun, M., Marzuoli, R., Matamala, R., Metzger, S., Montagnani, L., Nicolini, G., O'Halloran, T., Ourcival, J., Peichl, M., Pendall, E., Reverter, BR., Roland, M., Sabbatini, S., Sachs, T., Schmidt, M., Schwalm, CR., Shekhar, A., Silberstein, R., Silveira, ML., Spano, D., Tagesson, T., Tramontana, G., Trotta, C., Turco, F., Vesala, T., Vincke, C., Vitale, D., Vivoni, ER., Wang, Y., Woodgate, W., Yepez, EA., Zhang, J., Zona, D., Jung, M. (2024). X-BASE: the first terrestrial carbon and water flux products from an extended data-driven scaling framework, FLUXCOM-X. Biogeosciences, 21(22), 5079-5115. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5079-2024.
  • Gelsinari, S., Bourke, S., McCallum, J., McFarlane, D., Hall, J., Silberstein, R., Thompson, S. (2024). Nonstationary Recharge Responses To A Drying Climate In The Gnangara Groundwater System, Western Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 633(2024), article number 131007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131007.
  • Kunadi, AS., Lardner, T., Silberstein, R., Leopold, M., Callow, N., Veneklaas, E., Puri, A., Sydney, E., Thompson, SE. (2024). Introducing Pour Points: Characteristics and Hydrological Significance of a Rainfall-Concentrating Mechanism in a Water-Limited Woodland Ecosystem. Water Resources Research, 60(3), article number e2023WR035458. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR035458.

2023

Journal Articles

  • Balocchi, F., Galleguillos, M., Rivera, D., Stehr, A., Luis Arumi, J., Pizarro, R., Garcia-Chevesich, P., Iroume, A., Armesto, JJ., Herve-Fernandez, P., Oyarzun, C., Barria, P., Little, C., Mancilla, G., Yepez, S., Rodriguez, R., White, D., Silberstein, R., Neary, DG., Ramirez De Arellano, P. (2023). Forest Hydrology In Chile: Past, Present, And Future. Journal of Hydrology, 616(2023), article number 128681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128681.

2022

Journal Articles

  • Mallick, K., Baldocchi, D., Jarvis, A., Hu, T., Trebs, I., Sulis, M., Bhattarai, N., Bossung, C., Eid, Y., Cleverly, J., Beringer, J., Woodgate, W., Silberstein, R., Hinko-Najera, N., Meyer, W., Ghent, D., Szantoi, Z., Boulet, G., Kustas, W. (2022). Insights Into the Aerodynamic Versus Radiometric Surface Temperature Debate in Thermal-Based Evaporation Modeling. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(15), article number e2021GL097568. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097568.
  • White, D., Ren, S., Mendham, D., Balocchi-Contreras, F., Silberstein, R., Meason, D., Iroumé, A., De Arellano, P. (2022). Is the reputation of Eucalyptus plantations for using more water than Pinus plantations justified?. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(20), 5357-5371. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5357-2022.
  • Balocchi, F., Rivera, D., Arumi, J., Morgenstern, U., White, D., Silberstein, R., De Arellano, P. (2022). An Analysis of the Effects of Large Wildfires on the Hydrology of Three Small Catchments in Central Chile Using Tritium-Based Measurements and Hydrological Metrics. Hydrology, 9(3), article number 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9030045.
  • Zanne, A., Flores-Moreno, H., Powell, J., Cornwell, W., Dalling, J., Austin, A., Classen, A., Eggleton, P., Okada, K., Parr, C., Adair, E., Adu-Bredu, S., Alam, M., Alvarez-Garzón, C., Apgaua, D., Aragón, R., Ardon, M., Arndt, S., Ashton, L., Barber, N., Beauchêne, J., Berg, M., Beringer, J., Boer, M., Bonet, J., Bunney, K., Burkhardt, T., Carvalho, D., Castillo-Figueroa, D., Cernusak, L., Cheesman, A., Cirne-Silva, T., Cleverly, J., Cornelissen, J., Curran, T., D'angioli, A., Dallstream, C., Eisenhauer, N., Evouna Ondo, F., Fajardo, A., Fernandez, R., Ferrer, A., Fontes, M., Galatowitsch, M., González, G., Gottschall, F., Grace, P., Granda, E., Griffiths, H., Guerra Lara, M., Hasegawa, M., Hefting, M., Hinko-Najera, N., Hutley, L., Jones, J., Kahl, A., Karan, M., Keuskamp, J., Lardner, T., Liddell, M., Macfarlane, C., Macinnis-Ng, C., Mariano, R., Méndez, M., Meyer, W., Mori, A., Moura, A., Northwood, M., Ogaya, R., Oliveira, R., Orgiazzi, A., Pardo, J., Peguero, G., Penuelas, J., Perez, L., Posada, J., Prada, C., Přívětivý, T., Prober, S., Prunier, J., Quansah, G., Resco De Dios, V., Richter, R., Robertson, M., Rocha, L., Rúa, M., Sarmiento, C., Silberstein, R., Silva, M., Siqueira, F., Stillwagon, M., Stol, J., Taylor, M., Teste, F., Tng, D., Tucker, D., Türke, M., Ulyshen, M., Valverde-Barrantes, O., Van Den Berg, E., Van Logtestijn, R., Veen, G., Vogel, J., Wardlaw, T., Wiehl, G., Wirth, C., Woods, M., Zalamea, P. (2022). Termite sensitivity to temperature affects global wood decay rates. Science, 377(6613), 1440-1444. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3856.
  • Beringer, J., Moore, C., Cleverly, J., Campbell, D., Cleugh, H., De Kauwe, M., Kirschbaum, M., Griebel, A., Grover, S., Huete, A., Hutley, L., Laubach, J., Van Niel, T., Arndt, S., Bennett, A., Cernusak, L., Eamus, D., Ewenz, C., Goodrich, J., Jiang, M., Hinko-Najera, N., Isaac, P., Hobeichi, S., Knauer, J., Koerber, G., Liddell, M., Ma, X., Macfarlane, C., McHugh, I., Medlyn, B., Meyer, W., Norton, A., Owens, J., Pitman, A., Pendall, E., Prober, S., Ray, R., Restrepo-Coupe, N., Rifai, S., Rowlings, D., Schipper, L., Silberstein, R., Teckentrup, L., Thompson, S., Ukkola, A., Wall, A., Wang, Y., Wardlaw, T., Woodgate, W. (2022). Bridge to the future: Important lessons from 20 years of ecosystem observations made by the OzFlux network. Global Change Biology, 28(11), 3489-3514. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16141.

2021

Journal Articles

  • Trebs, I., Mallick, K., Bhattarai, N., Sulis, M., Cleverly, J., Woodgate, W., Silberstein, R., Hinko-Najera, N., Beringer, J., Meyer, W., Su, Z., Boulet, G. (2021). The role of aerodynamic resistance in thermal remote sensing-based evapotranspiration models. Remote Sensing of Environment: an interdisciplinary journal, 264(October 2021), Article number 112602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112602.
  • Balocchi, F., White, D., Silberstein, R., Ramirez De Arellano, P. (2021). Forestal Arauco experimental research catchments; daily rainfall-runoff for 10 catchments with different forest types in Central-Southern Chile. Hydrological Processes, 35(4), Article number e14047. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14047.
  • Bennett, A., Arndt, S., Bennett, L., Knauer, J., Beringer, J., Griebel, A., Hinko-Najera, N., Liddell, M., Metzen, D., Pendall, E., Silberstein, R., Wardlaw, T., Woodgate, W., Haverd, V. (2021). Thermal optima of gross primary productivity are closely aligned with mean air temperatures across Australian wooded ecosystems. Global Change Biology, 27(19), 4727-4744. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15760.
  • Balocchi, F., Flores, N., Arumí, J., Iroumé, A., White, D., Silberstein, R., Ramírez De Arellano, P. (2021). Comparison of streamflow recession between plantations and native forests in small catchments in Central-Southern Chile. Hydrological Processes, 35(6), Article number e14182. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14182.
  • Zhou, H., Shao, J., Liu, H., Du, Z., Zhou, L., Liu, R., Bernhofer, C., Grunwald, T., Dusek, J., Montagnani, L., Tagesson, T., Black, TA., Jassal, R., Woodgate, W., Biraud, S., Varlagin, A., Mammarella, I., Gharun, M., Shekhar, A., Buchmann, N., Manco, A., Magliulo, E., Billesbach, D., Silberstein, R., Ohta, T., Yu, G., Chen, Z., Zhang, Y., Zhou, X. (2021). Relative importance of climatic variables, soil properties and plant traits to spatial variability in net CO2 exchange across global forests and grasslands. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 307(15 September 2021), Article number 108506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108506.
  • White, D., Silberstein, R., Balocchi-Contreras, F., Quiroga, J., Meason, D., Palma, J., Ramírez De Arellano, P. (2021). Growth, water use, and water use efficiency of Eucalyptus globulus and Pinus radiata plantations compared with natural stands of Roble-Hualo forest in the coastal mountains of central Chile. Forest Ecology and Management, 501(1 December 2021), Article number 119676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119676.

2020

Journal Articles

  • Balocchi, F., Flores, N., Neary, D., White, D., Silberstein, R., Ramírez De Arellano, P. (2020). The effect of the ‘Las Maquinas’ wildfire of 2017 on the hydrologic balance of a High Conservation Value Hualo (Nothofagus glauca (Phil.) Krasser) forest in Central Chile. Forest Ecology and Management, 477(1 December 2020), Article number 118482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118482.
  • White, DA., Balocchi-Contreras, F., Silberstein, R., Ramírez De Arellano, P. (2020). The effect of wildfire on the structure and water balance of a high conservation value Hualo (Nothofagus glauca (Phil.) Krasser.) forest in central Chile. Forest Ecology and Management, 472(15 September 2020), Article number 118219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118219.
  • Aryal, SK., Silberstein, R., Fu, GB., Hodgson, G., Charles, S., McFarlane, D. (2020). Understanding spatio-temporal rainfall-runoff changes in a semi-arid region. Hydrological Processes, 34(11), 2510-2530. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13744.
  • White, DA., Silberstein, R., Balocchi-Contreras, F., Quiroga, J., Ramírez De Arellano, P. (2020). Contribution of advanced regeneration of Pinus Radiata D. Don. to transpiration by a fragment of native forest in Central Chile is out of proportion with the contribution to sapwood area. Forests, 11(2), Article number 187. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11020187.

2018

Journal Articles

  • Macfarlane, C., Grigg, A., McGregor, R., Ogden, G., Silberstein, R. (2018). Overstorey evapotranspiration in a seasonally dry Mediterranean eucalypt forest: Response to groundwater and mining. Ecohydrology, 11(5), Article number e1971. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1971.

2016

Journal Articles

  • Beringer, J., Hutley, L., McHugh, I., Arndt, S., Campbell, D., Cleugh, H., Cleverly, J., De Dios, V., Eamus, D., Evans, B., Ewenz, C., Grace, P., Griebel, A., Haverd, V., Hinko-Najera, N., Huete, A., Isaac, P., Kanniah, K., Leuning, R., Liddell, M., Macfarlane, C., Meyer, W., Moore, C., Pendall, E., Phillips, A., Phillips, R., Prober, S., Restrepo-Coupe, N., Rutledge, S., Schroder, I., Silberstein, R., Southall, P., Yee, MS., Tapper, N., Van Gorsel, E., Vote, C., Walker, J., Wardlaw, T. (2016). An introduction to the Australian and New Zealand flux tower network - OzFlux. Biogeosciences, 13(21), 5895-5916. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5895-2016.
  • Van Gorsel, E., Wolf, S., Cleverly, J., Isaac, P., Haverd, V., Ewenz, C., Arndt, S., Beringer, J., De Dios, V., Evans, B., Griebel, A., Hutley, L., Keenan, T., Kljun, N., Macfarlane, C., Meyer, W., McHugh, I., Pendall, E., Prober, S., Silberstein, R. (2016). Carbon uptake and water use in woodlands and forests in southern Australia during an extreme heat wave event in the "angry Summer" of 2012/2013. Biogeosciences, 13(21), 5947-5964. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5947-2016.

2014

Journal Articles

  • McJannet, D., Franz, T., Hawdon, A., Boadle, D., Baker, B., Almeida, A., Silberstein, R., Lambert, T., Desilets, D. (2014). Field testing of the universal calibration function for determination of soil moisture with cosmic-ray neutrons. Water Resources Research, 50(6), 5235-5248. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR015513.

Conference Publications

  • Bennett, D., George, R., Silberstein, R., Ryder, A., Lambert, T. (2014). Changes in run-off and groundwater conditions under saltbush grazing systems: Results of a ten year paired catchment study. Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium 2014 (1064-1071). Engineers Australia.
  • Silberstein, R., Macfarlane, C., Lambert, T., Hawdon, A., McJannet, D. (2014). Innovative ways to estimate recharge to Perth's groundwater mound. Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium 2014 /​ Engineers Australia and National Committee on Water Engineering (986-993). Engineers Australia.

2013

Journal Articles

  • Ali, R., Silberstein, R., Byrne, J., Hodgson, G. (2013). Drainage discharge impacts on hydrology and water quality of receiving streams in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185(11), 9619-9637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3278-0.
  • Silberstein, R., Dawes, WR., Bastow, TP., Byrne, J., Smart, NF. (2013). Evaluation of changes in post-fire recharge under native woodland using hydrological measurements, modelling and remote sensing. Journal of Hydrology, 489(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.01.037.

2012

Journal Articles

  • McFarlane, D., Stone, R., Martens, S., Thomas, J., Silberstein, R., Ali, R., Hodgson, G. (2012). Climate change impacts on water yields and demands in south-western Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 475(1), 488-498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.05.038.
  • Hughes, J., Petrone, K., Silberstein, R. (2012). Drought, groundwater storage and stream flow decline in southwestern Australia. Geophysical Research Letters, 39(3), article no. L03408. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL050797.
  • Barron, O., Silberstein, R., Ali, R., Donohue, R., McFarlane, D., Davies, P., Hodgson, G., Smart, N., Donn, M. (2012). Climate change effects on water-dependent ecosystems in south-western Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 434-435(1), 95-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.02.028.
  • Silberstein, R., Aryal, S., Durrant, J., Pearcey, M., Braccia, M., Charles, S., Boniecka, L., Hodgson, G., Bari, M., Viney, N., McFarlane, D. (2012). Climate change and runoff in south-western Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 475(1), 441-455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.02.009.

2011

Conference Publications

  • Bari, M., Silberstein, R., Aryal, S. (2011). The impact of climate change and plantation development on streamflow in the Denmark River catchment, Western Australia. MODSIM2011, 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation. Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (3539-3545). The Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Research Projects

  • WA State Government Co-Investment for NCRIS, Project Plan 2019-2022 for NCRIS TERN – WA Node, Department of Education, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) Project, 2019 ‑ 2023, $16,000.
  • TERN OzFlux - Ecosystem Processes - carbon, water and energy balances of Banksia woodland, Department of Education, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) Project, 2019 ‑ 2023, $430,013.
  • OzFlux - measurement of atmospheric fluxes over a native vegetation at Gingin, Department of Education, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) Project, 2015 ‑ 2019, $228,870.
  • TERN Gingin Banksia Woodland SuperSite, Department of Education, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) Project, 2017 ‑ 2019, $66,658.
  • Off-site impacts of mining on the hydrology of Yamba catchment, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), CSIRO - Grant, 2015 ‑ 2016, $32,400.
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