The aim of this research is to better understand how past fungal populations have impacted current/pre-logged forest environments, with particular focus on introduced species and the environmental impacts of human activities. The impact of human settlement on fungal communities is a central focus.

Interactions among plant species, such as changes in community composition and dominance, are also considered to assess how they influence the abundance, presence, and dynamics of fungal pathogens.

This study is conducted at various sites across Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū | Horomaka | Banks Peninsula, combining palaeoecological and contemporary approaches to examine fungal community change through time. Fossil records, including fungal remains, will be used to reconstruct historic fungal populations and their relationships with past vegetation and climate conditions. This data will be integrated with modern field surveys that document current fungal populations, which will hopefully provide insight into long-term ecological shifts driven by plant pathogens.