Dr Daniel Mendham is a Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader of the Landscape and Forest Function Team at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. He has over 30 years of experience in agriculture, agroforestry, and plantation forestry research, with a focus on sustaining productivity and rural livelihoods through improved plantation management and incorporation of natural capital thinking to maximise both public and private benefit from trees in our landscapes. Dr Mendham’s expertise includes forest landscape soil and water management, ecosystem modelling and landscape transitions, and he has worked extensively on eucalypt and acacia plantations in Australia and Southeast Asia. His research emphasises holistic strategies to maximise plantation yields and economic returns – from closing yield gaps in commercial forestry to optimising the value of Acacia smallholder plantations via targeted thinning – all while enhancing natural capital and environmental sustainability. Dr Mendham received his Ph.D. in Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility from the University of Tasmania and continues to lead international collaborations on sustainable forestry management.