NEXT WEEK Tuesday 6th May at 4pm, 312.207 at Curtin University
Professor Grant-Wardell Johnson
Curtin University
Environment & Agriculture

Refugia as a focus for conservation management in the 21st Century

Abstract:
Economically efficient emissions reduction is urgent for local, national and international interests. However, even with immediate strong action on emissions significant climate change debt persists. So a continuing warming planet is inevitable – with consequences for climate, biodiversity and humanity. Therefore, adaptation and transformation will remain as critical responses to climate change. Refugia are habitats where species can contract to, persist in and expand from as the regional climate changes. Therefore they have potential for facilitating the regional persistence of biodiversity under anthropogenic climate change, and are critically important in climate change adaptation management. I introduce the idea of refugia and outline progress towards the identification and protection of refugia, with an emphasis on Australia in general and south-western Australia in particular. The identification of refugia is particularly problematic in drying landscapes of subdued topography – exemplified by south-western Australia – a global biodiversity hotspot. I outline results from ARC funded research to determine whether and how granite outcrops act as refugia. I also introduce research on forests which integrate management of carbon and biodiversity for better conservation outcomes; flag developing areas of conservation-focussed research on refugia on macro and micro-scales; the identification of living museums; and priority refugia with capacity to decouple local from regional climate impacts. I conclude with discussion of the limitations of refugia and the broader societal contract needed for the sustainability of the things we value.

Grant Wardell-Johnson is Associate Professor in the Department of Environment and Agriculture at Curtin University. His Environmental Science and Management research program is integrated across several disciplines in Ecology, Botany, Biodiversity conservation & Environmental science involving the analysis and evaluation of multiple data forms for more effective environmental management. He has wide experience in biogeographical survey and impact assessment, particularly of disturbance, including logging and fire, and has published extensively on pattern and scale, and the interactive effects of disturbance. His current research is associated with biodiversity, and climate change in high rainfall mediterranean-climate ecosystems, especially refugia. He has published more than a 100 refereed journal articles and book chapters. He leads a significant postgraduate program and convenes and teaches several undergraduate units including Climate Change & Adaptation, Plant diversity and adaptation and Terrestrial and Marine Field Ecology.