Visiting Fellow
Quantitative, population and conservation genetics of forest trees, genetics of wood properties
Phone: +61 2 62818322
Fax: + 61 (0)2 6125 0746
E-mail: colin.matheson@csiro.au

Colin Matheson was born in the UK and moved to Melbourne with his family to complete his time at school. He came to Canberra to undertake his first degree at the ANU in Botany and Zoology with Honours in Botany for a population genetics project on a small crucifer, after which he had a year working on eucalypts with Professor Lindsay Pryor at the Botany Department. He then returned to Melbourne for his PhD at La Trobe University on the genetics of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. After that he came again to Canberra to take up a position with the then Department of National Development at the then Forest Research Institute in Yarralumla, Canberra, working on the genetics of trees. He then undertook a degree in Mathematics and Statistics at the ANU part time. In 1975, the Institute joined CSIRO and Colin has remained working at Yarralumla on breeding pines, eucalypts and acacias in collaboration with various industry bodies.

Colin has been Chair of Research Working Group No 1 of the Australian Forestry Council and Chair or Co-chair of two Working Parties of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations. He has conducted a number of consultancies to Zimbabwe, China and Malaysia, was a Visiting Scientist at Oxford University and the University of Florida and was Co-Director of the Oxford Forestry Institute summer course on forest research. In addition, he has been an Invited Speaker at a number of international conferences in various countries.

Professional Activities

My current interests are in forest genetics with some emphasis on the genetics of wood properties, conservation and disease resistance in radiata pine as well as the strategy of breeding programs themselves. I am working on projects aimed at finding the best ways of improving the quality of juvenile wood and reducing its incidence as well as acoustic methods of measuring wood stiffness. Another of my projects aims to breed softwoods for planting on sites drier than those traditionally used for radiata pine. Because of the new pine pitch canker disease in California and Mexico, new collections from candidate species in these regions is not possible, so I am working to conserve ex situ genetic resources of these species as well as to find genetic resistance to pitch canker. Because of its applied focus, my work has been funded for many years partly by private companies and cooperatives both in Australia and New Zealand.

Although employed in a research position, I have supervised graduate and Honours students for many years, both through ANU and Melbourne University. I have designed and delivered courses on tree breeding and on design and analysis of experiments, one of which culminated in a collaborative book. In addition, I have contributed occasional lectures to the ANU Forest Genetics course; teaching most of the 'Production Genetics' part of the Conservation and Production Genetics course at the Fenner School in 2003.

Selected Publications

Williams, E.R., Matheson, A.C. and Harwood, C.E. 2002. Experimental Design and Analysis for Tree Improvement. (2nd Ed, CSIRO: Melbourne).

Rogers, D.L., Matheson, A.C., Vargas-Hernández, J.J. and Guerra-Santos, J.J. 2004. Genetic Conservation of Insular Populations of Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). Biodiversity and Conservation (In Press)

Wu, H.X. and Matheson, A.C. 2005.. Genotype by environment interactions in an Australia-wide radiata pine diallel mating experiment: implications for regionalised breeding. Forest Science 51, 29-40.

Dickson, R.L., Matheson, A.C., Joe, B., Ilic, J. and Owen, J.V. 2004. Acoustic segregation of Pinus radiata logs for sawmilling. NZ Jour. For. Sci. 34(2), 175-189.

Wu, H.X. and Matheson, A.C. 2004. General and specific combining ability from partial diallels of radiata Pine: Implications for utility of SCA in breeding and deployment populations. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 108, 1503-1512.

Matheson, A.C., Wu, H.X., Spencer, D., Raymond, C.A. and Griffin, A.R. 2002.. Inbreeding in radiata pine: III. Effect of inbreeding on age-age correlation and early selection efficiency. Silvae Genetica 51 (2-3), 115-122.

Wu, H. X., Matheson, A.C. and Abarquez, A..2002.. Inbreeding in radiata pine: IV. Inbreeding effect on wood density. Annals of Forest Science 59(5-6), 557-562

Matheson, A. C., Dickson, R. L., Spencer, D. J., Joe, B. and Ilic, J.2002. Acoustic segregation of Pinus radiata logs according to stiffness. Annals of Forest Science, 59(5-6), 471-477.

Schimleck, L. R., Evans, R., Ilic, J., and Matheson, A. C. 2002. Estimation of wood stiffness of increment cores by near-infrared spectroscopy. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 32, 129-135.

Yang, J.L., Fife, D. and Matheson, A.C. 2001. Growth strain in three provenances of plantation-grown Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Australian Forestry 64 (4), 248-256.

Wu, H. X. and Matheson, A. C. 2001a. Analyses of half-diallel mating design with missing crosses: theory and SAS program for testing and estimating GCA and SCA variance components. Silvae Genetica. 50, 265-271.

Wu, H.X. and Matheson, A.C. 2001.. Reciprocal, maternal, non-maternal effects in radiata pine diallel mating experiment on four Australia sites. Forest Genetics 8, 205-212.

Nyakuengama, J.G., Matheson, A.C., Evans, R., Spencer, D.J. and Vinden, P. 2000. Genetics of heartwood formation and moisture status in Pinus radiata. Appita J. 53, 30-35.

Nyakuengama, J.G., Matheson, A.C., Evans, R., Spencer, D. and Vinden, P. 2000. Effect of Age on Genetic Control of Pinus radiata Earlywood and Latewood Properties. Appita J. 53(2), 103-107.

Wu, H.X. and Matheson, A.C. 2000.. Analysis of half-diallel mating design with missing crosses: theory and SAS program for testing and estimating GCA and SCA fixed effects. Silvae Genetica 49, 130-137.

Matheson, A.C., Eldridge, K.G. and Spencer, D.J. 2000. A workshop on issues and strategies to conserve the genetic resources of Pinus radiata ex situ. Forest Genetic Resources 27, 75-78.

White, T.L., Matheson, A.C., Cotterill, P.P., Johnson, R.G, Rout, A.F. and Boomsma, D.B. 1999. A Nucleus Breeding Plan for Radiata Pine in Australia. Silvae Genetica 48(3-4), 122-133.

Nyakuengama, J.G., Matheson, A.C., Evans, R., Spencer, D.J. and Vinden, P. 1997. Wood quality and quantitative genetics of Pinus radiata IV. Time trends in the genetic control of density and pulp and paper-making traits and their interrelationships. Appita J. 50 (6), 486-494.

Wu, H.X., Matheson, A.C., and Spencer, D.J. 1997. Study of inbreeding in radiata pine I. The effect of inbreeding on growth, survival and variance. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 97, 1256-1268.

Wu, H.X., Matheson, A.C., and Spencer, D.J. 1997. II. Evolution of inbreeding depression and effect on growth curve. NZ Jour. For. Sci. 28(2), 123-139.

Butcher, P.A., Matheson, A.C. and Slee, M.U. 1996. Potential for genetic improvement of oil production in Melaleuca alternifolia and M. linariifolia. New Forests 11, 31-51.

Matheson, A.C., Spencer, D.J. and Kriedemann, P.E. 1995. Age-age correlations and early selection in radiata pine. 1. Family x environment interactions in plantation and greenhouse. Australian Forestry 58(2), 35-43.

Matheson, A.C., White, T.L. and Powell, G.L. 1995. Effects of inbreeding on growth, stem form and rust resistance in Pinus elliottii. Silvae Genetica 44(1), 37-46.

Matheson, A.C., Spencer, D.J. and Magnussen, D. 1994. Optimum age for selection in Pinus radiata using area under bark for age:age correlations. Silvae Genetica 43(5/6), 352-357.