Skip to content

Climate change and future-proofing plants

Climate change is the defining issue of our time and 47 per cent of Australia's vegetation could be impacted by an increase in mean annual temperature by 2070. 

Plants are the building blocks for all life on Earth. Discover how Evolutionary Ecologist Dr Maurizio Rossetto from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Plant Ecologist Dr Rachael Gallagher from Macquarie University and Climate Scientist Dr Stephanie Downes from the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment are trying to understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on flora and our future.

Hit play to get an insight into how complex climate models are created and how digital plant data and DNA research is helping to create more resilient habitats. 

Evolutionary Ecologist Dr Maurizio Rossetto leads the Restore and Renew project and the team has so far collected over 30,000 plants from across NSW for genetic analysis. 
Scientists extracting DNA from sampled plant material for genetic analysis. 
Genetic data is put into an interactive online tool that allows users to select genetically-appropriate plants to create more resilient habitats across NSW. 

Follow Branch Out on your preferred podcast platform