Protecting plants from population decline and extinction under changing fire regimes and climates

My PhD project examines how interactions between fire, climate change and land fragmentation shape plant population dynamics. The study will be conducted in the heathlands of South-West Victoria. I am developing a trait-based approach, to predict whether different types of heathland plants will persist under shorter intervals between fires, more severe fires, and a more extreme climate. To develop and test predictions I am using a mix of field studies, greenhouse experiments and modelling. My research will identify important fire-related traits (e.g. time to maturity, seed longevity, seedbank location), to determine the plants most at-risk from changes in fire regimes and assist land managers to minimize population declines under a changing climate. Central to this research will be investigating the effect of changes in fire interval and fire severity on plant seedbanks. New fire severity mapping enables me to explore how short fire intervals and very hot fires modify heathland plants above- and below-ground.