Timber industry advocates have used freedom of information requests to access emails between prominent Australian National University scientist ecologist David Lindenmayer and environment journalists.

In a freedom of information (FOI) request lodged with ANU, a timber industry advocate applied to access any emails between Professor Lindenmayer and The Age’s environment reporter Miki Perkins. The same person, who can’t be named, also requested emails between Professor Lindenmayer and Michael Foley, the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

In a separate application, Justin Law, the managing director of Forest and Wood Communities Australia, made an FOI request for emails between Professor Lindenmayer, ANU research fellow Chris Taylor and the ABC’s national science technology and environment reporter, Michael Slezak.

Professor Lindenmayer is one of the world’s most cited scientists, and has previously clashed with the Australian forestry industry over his call to immediately end native forest logging. He says his research shows logging makes native forests more prone to fire because they lose moisture and grow back more densely. These findings have been challenged by some other scientists.

Professor Lindenmayer said he was shocked to receive the FOI requests, and described the process as trying to “shoot the messenger”.

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“I do my work to make my contribution to the country and it’s impossible for journalists to keep up with science these days, so we’re asked to communicate our results, as we should,” Professor Lindenmayer said.

“This whole process of trying to shoot the messenger - which is journalists - and beating up on scientists is not in the spirit of trying to progress discussions and debates.”

Professor Lindenmayer has more than 30 years’ experience in ecology and has written more than 1000 published items, including more than 600 scientific papers in international journals and 40 books.