He has previously worked as a forest dendrochronologist (1997-2003) and has designed and implemented a range of forest inventory and research programs. As well as leading a program collecting and analysing tree-ring materials from native eucalypt forests in Victoria, he has also conducted assessment and interpretation of forest structural attributes including external features and injuries associated with internal decay and canopy characteristics associated with tree- and forest-level processes of ageing and disturbance.
During and since completing his Ph.D. Matthew has pioneered dendrochronological research in Australia. This has included proposing and verifying the annularity of unique tree-ring features in eucalypts as a source of forest growth and climatological data, developing the first climate-sensitive tree-ring chronologies for eucalypts as well as identifying elevation-dependent climate sensitivity in eucalypts and their potential for climatological and hydrological reconstructions. Matthew provides professional dendrochronological services and has contributed to assessments of culturally modified trees and provided expert-witness evidence in land-clearing prosecutions and bushfire inquiries.
