Phill McKenna
Master of Philosophy, PhD Candidate
Research Fellow
CMLR
+61 7 3346 4187
Mine site relinquishment and mine closure, and specialises in the ecological assessments of mine site rehabilitation using the disciplines of restoration ecology and remote sensing.
Particular areas of interest include rehabilitation resilience, fire ecology and the use of UAV technology and remote sensing methods to characterise site stability and vegetation development through time
Phill joined CMLR in 2007 as a field ecologist and GIS specialist and has been chief investigator on a number of research projects in Australia and overseas. He has developed and implemented long-term monitoring programs on mine site rehabilitation at more than ten mines, providing specialist advice on matters such as vegetation and ecosystem development and legislative compliance.
Industry
Phill has engaged widely within the mining industry, with state, territory and federal environmental regulators and NGOs. Phill has played a lead role in projects with industry partners including Wesfarmers Curragh, Centennial Coal, Sibelco Australia, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Peabody Energy and jointly runs environmental monitoring projects with global consultants WSP. Phill's research on fire and rehabilitation has resulted in significant collaborations with the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
Collaborations
At The University of Queensland, Phill has worked on collaborative projects across research centres within SMI, and with other faculties within the University including the Remote Sensing Research Centre within the School of Earth and Environment Sciences. His collaborative work with SMI's Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and the Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry has taken him to Mongolia where he led the GIS and remote sensing component of the multidisciplinary Mongolian project studying the effects of open cut coal mining on the livelihoods of traditional herders.
Funding
Phill has been successful in contributing to, and leading industry and research grants in excess of 8 million dollars.
Publications
Book
Cane, Isabel, Schleger, Ashlee, Ali, Saleem, Kemp, Deanna, McIntyre, Neill, Lechner, Alex, McKenna, Phillip, Dalaibuyan, Byambajav, Bulovic, Nena and Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala (2015). Responsible mining in Mongolia: enhancing positive engagement. St Lucia, QLD, Australia: Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland.
Journal Articles
McKenna, Phillip B., Ufer, Natasha, Glenn, Vanessa, Doley, David, Phinn, Stuart and Erskine, Peter D. (2023). Old Man Saltbush mortality following fire challenges the resilience of post‐mine rehabilitation in central Queensland, Australia. Ecological Management and Restoration, 24 (1), 36-46. doi: 10.1111/emr.12579
McKenna, Phillip B., Lechner, Alex M., Hernandez Santin, Lorna, Phinn, Stuart and Erskine, Peter D. (2023). Measuring and monitoring restored ecosystems: can remote sensing be applied to the ecological recovery wheel to inform restoration success?. Restoration Ecology, 31 (1) e13724. doi: 10.1111/rec.13724
McKenna, Phillip B., Lechner, Alex M., Phinn, Stuart and Erskine, Peter D. (2020). Remote sensing of mine site rehabilitation for ecological outcomes: a global systematic review. Remote Sensing, 12 (21) 3535, 3535-32. doi: 10.3390/rs12213535
McKenna, Phill, Erskine, Peter D., Glenn, Vanessa and Doley, David (2019). Response of open woodland and grassland mine site rehabilitation to fire disturbance on engineered landforms. Ecological Engineering, 133, 98-108. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.04.013
Erskine, P. D., Bartolo, R., McKenna, P. and Humphrey, C. (2019). Using reference sites to guide ecological engineering and restoration of an internationally significant uranium mine in the Northern Territory, Australia. Ecological Engineering, 129, 61-70. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.01.008
McKenna, Phillip, Phinn, Stuart and Erskine, Peter (2018). Fire severity and vegetation recovery on mine site rehabilitation using WorldView-3 imagery. Fire, 1 (2) 22, 22-28. doi: 10.3390/fire1020022
McKenna, Phill, Glenn, Vanessa, Erskine, Peter D., Doley, David and Sturgess, Andrew (2017). Fire behaviour on engineered landforms stabilised with high biomass buffel grass. Ecological Engineering, 101, 237-246. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.01.038
Lechner, Alex M., Devi, Bernadette, Schleger, Ashlee, Brown, Greg, McKenna, Phill, Ali, Saleem H., Rachmat, Shanty, Syukril, Muhammad and Rogers, Paul (2017). A socio-ecological approach to GIS least-cost modelling for regional mining infrastructure planning: a case study from South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia. Resources, 6 (1) 7, 7. doi: 10.3390/resources6010007
McKenna, Phill, Erskine, Peter D., Lechner, Alex M. and Phinn, Stuart (2017). Measuring fire severity using UAV imagery in semi-arid central Queensland, Australia. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 38 (14), 4244-4264. doi: 10.1080/01431161.2017.1317942
McIntyre, Neil, Bulovic, Nevenka, Cane, Isabel and McKenna, Phill (2016). A multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the impacts of mines on traditional uses of water in Northern Mongolia. Science of the Total Environment, 557-558, 404-414. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.092
Lechner, Alex M., McCaffrey, Nic, McKenna, Phill, Venables, William N. and Hunter, John T. (2016). Ecoregionalization classification of wetlands based on a cluster analysis of environmental data. Applied Vegetation Science, 19 (4), 724-735. doi: 10.1111/avsc.12248
Glenn, Vanessa, Doley, David, Unger, Corinne, McCaffrey, Nic, McKenna, Phill, Gillespie, Melina and Williams, Elizabeth (2014). Mined land rehabilitation - is there a gap between regulatory guidance and successful relinquishment. AusIMM Bulletin (3), 48-54.
Audet, Patrick, Gravina, Amanda, Glenn, Vanessa, McKenna, Phill, Vickers, Helen, Gillespie, Melina and Mulligan, David (2013). Structural development of vegetation on rehabilitated North Stradbroke Island: Above/belowground feedback may facilitate alternative ecological outcomes. Ecological Processes, 2 (20) 20, 1-17. doi: 10.1186/2192-1709-2-20
Gravina, A., McKenna, P. and Glenn, V. (2011). Evaluating the success of mineral sand mine rehabilitation on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland: Comparisons with reference eucalypt communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 117, 419-435.
Conference Papers
McKenna, Phillip, Lechner, Alex, Phinn, Stuart and Erskine, Peter (2021). A review of remote sensing of post-mine rehabilitation for ecological outcomes. SERA 2021 Restoration - Connecting Land, Water, Culture And Environment, Darwin, NT, Australia, 10-13 May 2021.
McKenna, Phillip, Erskine, Peter, Phinn, Stuart, Glenn, Vanessa and Ufer, Natasha (2021). Recovery trends following fires in rehabilitation in central and southern Queensland. Life of Mine 2021, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 28-30 April 2021.
McKenna, Phillip, Erskine, Peter, Glenn, Vanessa, Doley, David, Ufer, Natasha and Nath, Vinod (2020). The recovery potential of vegetation at rehabilitated mine sites in Queensland. Federation University Fire Workshop, Online Webinar, 3 August 2020. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Erskine, Peter and Phinn, Stuart (2019). Mapping fire severity using planet and drone imagery. Earth Observation Australia - Understanding fire in the Australian landscape, Online Webinar, 12 December 2019. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Erskine, Peter D., Phinn, Stuart, Glenn, Vanessa and Doley, David (2018). Measuring the recovery of coal mine rehabilitation following fire in Queensland using remote sensing and ground surveys.. SERA 2018 Striving For Excellence, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 25-28 September 2018.
McKenna, Phillip, Erskine, Peter, Phinn, Stuart, Glenn, Vanessa and Doley, David (2018). Measuring the recovery of coal mine rehabilitation following fire in Queensland using remote sensing and ground surveys. Life of Mine 2018, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 25-27 July 2018.
McKenna, Phillip (2016). Fire behaviour in Buffel grass dominated mine site rehabilitation in Central Queensland, Australia. Bushfire 2016: Connecting Science, People and Practice, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 28-30 September 2016.
McKenna, P., Glenn, V. C., Erskine, P. D., Doley, D. and Sturgess, A. (2016). Fire Behaviour in Buffel Grass Dominated Mine Site Rehabilitation in Central Queensland, Australia. Life-of-Mine 2016, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 28-30 September 2016. AusIMM: Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
McIntyre, N., McKenna, P., Bulovic, N., Lechner, A. and Cane, I. (2016). Water management challenges of rapidly developing mining economies: a case study of Mongolia. International Congress on Water Management in Mining, Santiago Chile, 18-20 May 2016.
Ford, Arianne, Micklethwaite, Steven, Devi, Bernadetta and McKenna, Phillip (2015). A GIS-based exploration initiative to help steer sustainable development. 13th SGA Biennial Meeting on Mineral Resources in a Sustainable World, Nancy, France, 24-27 August 2015. France: Association Scientifique pour la Géologie et ses Applications.
Audet, P., Gravina, A., Glenn, V., McKenna, P., Vickers, H., Gillespie, M. and Mulligan, D. (2012). Above/belowground feedback may facilitate and sustain mono-dominance on rehabilitated North Stradbroke Island. Life of Mine Conference (AusIMM), Brisbane, Australia, 10-12 July 2012. Carlton North, VIC, Australia: The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM).
Newspaper Article
McKenna, Phillip, Lechner, Alex, Phinn, Stuart and Erskine, Peter (2021, 02 21). Measuring rehabilitation success using remote sensing AusIMM Bulletin
Thesis
McKenna, Phillip (2018). Measuring rehabilitation responses to fire using transects and remote sensing. MPhil Thesis, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2018.859
Department Technical Report
McKenna, P., Kilgour, C., Johns, C.V., Brownstein, G., Blick, R., Bricher, P., McCaffrey, N., Glenn, V. and Erskine, P.D. (2012). Autumn 2012 swamp vegetation monitoring at Centennial Coal operations, Newnes Plateau. Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Research Reports
Mandana Shaygan, Monia Anzooman, Thomas Baumgartl, Phill McKenna and Natasha Ufer (2023). Fire resilience of temperate highland peat swamps on sandstone. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Australian Coal Research.
Phillip McKenna, Natasha Ufer and Vanessa Glenn (2023). Assessing the extent, spread and risk of pasture dieback on mine site rehabilitation using remote sensing. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Australian Coal Association Research Program.
Erskine, Peter, McKenna, Phillip, Hernandez-Santin, Lorna and Ufer, Natasha (2021). Detection of weed species using high-resolution drone imagery: phase II draft report for Ensham Mine. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queesnland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha , Erskine, Peter, Glenn, Vanessa, Doley, David and Nath, Vinod (2021). Testing the resilience of mine site rehabilitation. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
Erskine, Peter, Mckenna, Phillip and Hernandez-Santin, Lorna (2020). Detection of weed species using high-resolution drone imagery and object based image analysis. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip,, Ufer, Natasha, Erskine, Peter and Glenn, Vanessa (2020). Testing the resilience of mine site rehabilitation: final project report for Newlands Coal. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
Ufer, Natasha, McKenna, Phillip and Erskine, Peter (2020). GCAA Hunter Valley Operations Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Pagliero, Liliana and McIntyre, Neil (2020). Using high resolution satellite remote
sensing products to identify emergence
of reservoir leakage. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha and Erskine, Peter (2019). GCAA Mount Owen Complex Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha and Erskine, Peter (2019). GCAA Liddell Coal Operations Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha and Erskine, Peter (2019). GCAA Ulan Coal Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
Ufer, Natasha, McKenna, Phillip and Erskine, Peter (2019). GCAA Ravensworth Coal Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
Ufer, Natasha, McKenna, Phillip and Erskine, Peter (2019). GCAA Mangoola Coal Operations Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha, Glenn, Vanessa and Erskine, Peter (2019). Testing the resilience of mine site rehabilitation: interim progress report for Newlands Coal. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Erskine, Peter and Ufer, Natasha (2019). Final Report GCAA Bulga Open Cut Rehabilitation Monitoring Procedure Review. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha, Glenn, Vanessa and Erskine, Peter (2019). Testing the resilience of mine site rehabilitation: interim progress report for Newlands Coal. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Glenn, Vanessa and Erskine, Peter (2018). Testing the resilience of mine site rehabilitation: interim progress report for Ensham Mine. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Ufer, Natasha, Glenn, Vanessa, Erskine, Peter, Doley, David and Nath, Vinod (2018). Testing the resilience of mine site rehabilitation: interim progress report for Newlands Coal. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip, Gravina, Mandy, Glenn, Vanessa, Erskine, Peter, Nath, Vinod and Johns, Caitlin (2016). Compliance Assessment of North Stradbroke Island Mine Site Rehabilitation. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
Johns, Caitlin and McKenna, Phillip (2016). Reference community similarity analysis for mine site rehabilitation on North Stradbroke Island. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
Johns, Caitlin, McCaffrey, Nic, Gravina, Mandy, Glenn, Vanessa, Williams, Elizabeth and McKenna, Phillip (2015). Review of rehabilitation monitoring conducted on Sibelco’s Stradbroke Island mine leases. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.
Gravina, M., McCaffrey, N., Johns, C., Williams, E. and McKenna, P. (2015). Long-term Rehabilitation Monitoring of Pre-1987 and Post-1987 Rehabilitation Following Heavy Minerals Sand Mining on North Stradbroke Island. 2015 Assessment. Report to Sibelco Australia Limited, September 2015. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation.
Johns, C. V., McKenna, P., McCaffrey, N., Gravina, A., Cooke, J. and Erskine, P. (2014). Stage 1: post-fire research design. To assess how sand mine vegetation rehabilitation objectives can be met, North Stradbroke Island: report to Sibelco Australia Limited. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland.
Gravina, M., Blick, R. and McKenna, P. (2014). Long-term Rehabilitation Monitoring of Post 1987 Rehabilitation Following Heavy Minerals Sand Mining on North Stradbroke Island. 2014 Assessment Unburnt Rehabilitation. Report to Sibelco Australia Limited, December 2014. Brisbane, Australia: The University Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals institute.
Gravina, M., Glenn, V. and McKenna, P. (2014). Long-term Rehabilitation Monitoring of Post 1987 Rehabilitation Following Heavy Minerals Sand Mining on North Stradbroke Island. 2013 Assessment. Report to Sibelco Australia Limited, May 2014. Brisbane, Australia: The University Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals institute.
Gravina, M., McKenna, P. and Glenn, V. (2013). Rehabilitation Monitoring at Ernest Henry Mine. 2012 Assessment, Report to Ernest Henry Mine Pty Ltd, Xstrata Copper, 4 April 2013. Brisbane, Australia: The University Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals institute.
Gravina, M., Ladouceur, E. and McKenna, P. (2013). Long-term Rehabilitation Monitoring of Post 1987 Rehabilitation Following Heavy Minerals Sand Mining on North Stradbroke Island. 2012 Assessment. Report to Sibelco Australia Limited, March 2013. Brisbane, Australia: The University Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals institute.
Gravina, M., Glenn, V. and McKenna, P. (2012). Long-term Rehabilitation Monitoring of Post 1987 Rehabilitation Following Heavy Minerals Sand Mining on North Stradbroke Island. 2011 Assessment. Report to Sibelco Australia Limited, September 2012. The University Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals institute.
McKenna, Phillip, Fletcher, Andrew, Erskine, Peter and Gravina, Mandy (2012). Curragh Coal Mine vegetation monitoring: 2011 Assessment. The establishment and monitoring of native analogue sites. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Fletcher, Andrew, Erskine, Peter and McKenna, Phillip (2011). Proof of Concept - application of hyper resolution imageryin the assessment of rehabilitation. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Fletcher, A., Glenn, V., McKenna, P., Gravina, A., Erskine, P. and McCaffrey, N. (2011). Initial flora survey results and proposed scope to develop a routine monitoring program for Airly Coal Mine (ML1331 & A232). St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip and Baiquni, Hendry (2011). Curragh Coal Mine Rehabilitation Monitoring: 2010 assessment. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip and Vickers, Helen (2010). Curragh Coal Mine rehabilitation monitoring: 2009 assessment. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
McKenna, Phillip and Baiquni, Hendry (2009). Curragh Coal Mine rehabilitation monitoring: 2008 assessment. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Gravina, A., Glenn, V. and McKenna, P. (2008). Tarong Energy Meandu Mine: Rehabilitation compliance with EA criteria. Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation.
Baiquni, Hendry and McKenna, Phillip (2008). Curragh Coal Mine rehabilitation monitoring: 2007 Assessment. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, The University of Queensland.