There is growing awareness of the substantial contributions that urban greening makes to the environmental, socio-economic and cultural prosperity of cities. This recognition has transformed urban trees and green spaces into valuable assets, prompting the establishment of registries to document their attributes and maintenance schedules. However, as our cities continue to expand and temperatures rise, these assets can become a double-edged sword. While urban greening aids in mitigating warming, the plants themselves may become susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change. Indeed, there are growing examples worldwide of urban trees suffering damage due to extreme heat events. As such, the selection of ‘climate-ready’ vegetation, plants with the resilience to endure the climate changes predicted for a given region during their lifespan, is paramount. But how can practitioners and local government officials identify climate-ready vegetation specific for their area?
This talk centres on collaborative initiatives with industry and local government aimed at enhancing the resilience of urban green spaces to climate change and identifying remnants of native vegetation in peri-urban areas that are likely to provide climate refugia to fauna and flora. Key among these projects is Which Plant Where, an AUD$12 million partnership between universities, state government and the horticultural industry in Australia, tasked with a) evaluating the climate readiness of thousands of tree species used for urban greening across Australia and b) creating an online tool enabling end-users to identify the most suitable plant species, or combination of species, based on climate readiness for their specific location and requirements.
This talk underscores the importance of developing user-friendly tools for non-scientist users to facilitate decision-making in a warming world. It also addresses the challenges associated with translating scientific knowledge and uncertainties for lay audiences.
Biography
Linda Beaumont is a Professor in the School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, and Deputy Dean overseeing education within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. The potential for climate change to have dramatic impacts on species and ecosystems has been at the core of her research for two decades. Having received more than AUD$30 million in funding, Linda has substantial expertise in species distribution models and biological responses to climate change, which have resulted in her being on the Editorial Boards of multiple key journals, including Global Change Biology. Her work spans a range of taxa, including plants used in urban greening, invasive species that devastate horticultural crops, species of conservation significance, and those that cause human illness. Working with government and industry, Linda and her group specialize in developing tools for stakeholders to visualize and understand the consequences of climate change on biodiversity and, ultimately, to empower their decision-making capabilities.
You can find information about Linda Beaumont’s Lab in link below: