Tracking the climate threat to Australia’s unique ecosystems

How do we monitor the impacts of climate change on Australia’s terrestrial ecosystems?

The beaks and body sizes of some Australian birds
are changing in response to climate change.

It’s a complex issue. This is mainly because of how variable the climate can be on land, as well as the unpredictability of extreme events like drought, fire and flooding, which typically reoccur at decade scales. These extreme events are expected to have the largest impacts on our terrestrial biodiversity.

As a result, detecting any climate-driven changes in the frequency and intensity of these extreme events needs sets of data that only come from decades of long-term monitoring. While this long-term monitoring is critical for ensuring the endurance of species and communities into the future, there are challenges.

The story from the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit - “Tracking the climate threat to Australia’s unique ecosystems.”