Margaret Friedel


Dr. Margaret Hilda Friedel is an Australian rangeland ecology and management researcher, widely cited nationally and internationally for her work on the concept of ecosystem thresholds and her collaborative research with landholders and communities in outback Australia to foster understanding of the nature of rangeland ecosystems and how to balance commercial production with maintenance of a fragile resource base.
Friedel's research has made an outstanding contribution to better understanding the Australian rangelands from social, ecological and production perspectives, and the human-environment nexus in arid and semi-arid lands. Her research work has included collaborative scenario making to test regional development options for arid land communities, mainly in the Northern Territory. She is also well known for her research into the sustainable management of buffell grass – a species useful for pastoral meat production but disadvantageous ecologically as it is invasive and out-competes native grasses.
Friedel is an Honorary Fellow at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences' laboratory in Alice Springs, Australia and a member of the Alice Springs Regional Weed Reference Group.

Background

Friedel attained a Bachelor of Science in 1967 followed by a Doctor of Philosophy, both from the University of Melbourne, Australia. In 1978, Friedel was awarded a Diploma of Education from Murdoch University, Australia.
In 1974, Friedel joined CSIRO in Alice Springs initially researching pasture productivity and nutrient cycling in rangelands production systems. Her research expanded to encompass arid land ecology and management, with a focus on woody plant dynamics, fire as a management tool and ground-based rangeland monitoring.
In 1985-86, Friedel researched similar issues in South Africa and later, from 2000 to 2004, ran a collaborative study in Rajasthan, India using remote sensing to assess land degradation.
The year 1995 marked the beginning of Friedel's involvement in community-based planning and integrated approaches to regional development that incorporate economic, social and ecological values.

Awards

Friedel delivered The 2013 Rangeland Journal Lecture on the topic of "A million years of change: wind, flood and fire in the Simpson Desert", the origin and development of the Simpson Desert.

Achievements