Summary of research
Climate change is altering NSW landscapes, with changes to temperatures, rainfall and more extreme climate events. These resources were published by the NSW Government and university partners as part of the Biodiversity Node of the NSW Adaptation Research Hub. They provide information on landscape-scale changes caused by climate change as well as information on climate refugia to support vulnerable species. These resources can be used by researchers, scientists, land managers and policy makers to improve decision making and future management of NSW landscapes.
Technical reports
Identifying regions of high drought mortality risk for tree species in NSW (PDF 3.4MB) – published 2019, an assessment of drought mortality risk for certain tree species across NSW.
Identifying climate refugia for key species in NSW (PDF 8.5MB) – published 2019, an assessment of potential climate change impacts on the distribution of suitable habitat for key species in NSW.
Xylem embolism measured retrospectively is linked to canopy dieback in natural populations of Eucalyptus piperita following drought – published 2018, a study of canopy dieback (caused by xylem embolism) in Eucalyptus piperita after drought.
Ideas and perspectives: how coupled is the vegetation to the boundary layer? – published 2017, a study on the link between transpiration and atmospheric conditions.
Land surface models systematically overestimate the intensity, duration and magnitude of seasonal-scale evaporative droughts – published 2016, a study of how accurately land surface models can simulate drought conditions.
On the minimum leaf conductance: its role in models of plant water use, and ecological and environmental controls – published 2018, a study on how plant water loss (minimum leaf conductance) can be used in ecosystem models.
Modelling evapotranspiration during precipitation deficits: identifying critical processes in a land surface model – published 2016, a study of how effectively land surface models can simulate evaporation during dry periods.
Does physiological acclimation to climate warming stabilize the ratio of canopy respiration to photosynthesis? – published 2016, a study of the relationship between respiration and photosynthesis in Eucalyptus tereticornus under a warming climate.
Triggers of tree mortality under drought – published 2018, a study of plant hydraulic performance (a key factor of whether a plant survives severe drought) under drought conditions, including identifying thresholds for survival and the potential to inform models that predict plant mortality.
Tree hydraulic traits are coordinated and strongly linked to climate-of-origin across a rainfall gradient – published 2018, a study of hydraulic and carbon economy traits of 12 Australian woody plant species under different rainfall and aridity conditions, to help improve vegetation models.
Tools and guides
Climate-ready revegetation: A guide for natural resource managers. Version 2 – published 2018, a compilation of online tools to help natural resource managers plan revegetation activities that incorporate the uncertainties of climate change.
FluxnetLSM R package (v1.0): a community tool for processing FLUXNET data for use in land surface modelling – published 2019, a method to convert surface-atmosphere data from flux towers (FLUXNET data) into formats useful for benchmarking land surface models and other uses of FLUXNET data.
The Dead Tree Detective – published 2018, a citizen science project to identify dead and dying trees around Australia, to help with management and conservation.
ClimateRefugiaNSW – a tool to identify and visualise refugia from climate change for species listed as threatened in NSW.