Belinda Medlyn

Extreme Heat: extending the thermal limits of life

Save the date! 47th New Phytologist Symposium on 'Extreme Heat: extending the thermal limits of life'. Explore how extreme heat affects plants that underpin ecosystem productivity.
2-5 June 2026, Cordoba, Spain.
@newphyt.bsky.social

www.newphytologist.org/events/47-nps

Check out our latest updates!

🌱 New Phytologist #TansleyMedal application deadline
🌱 Upcoming New Phytologist Now webinar
🌱 An exciting announcement from Plants, People, Planet
🌱 Details of next year's New Phytologist Symposium on extreme heat

...and more:

📨 www.newphytologist.org/news/latest-...

PhD advert for Genomic and trait-based indicators of restoration success

Exciting PhD opportunity advertised by superstar colleague Prof. Rachael Gallagher "Genomic and trait-based indicators of restoration success" (collaboration with Botanic Gardens of Sydney). See attached image. Contact Rachael directly for more information (email in advert). Closes 30th Nov.

Yesterday we were treated to an inspirational seminar from Dr Laura Williams from @westsyduhie.bsky.social all about the importance of tree diversity, novel ways to quantify it and its consequences for how forests function. Good luck with the richly-deserved DECRA Laura!!! Ping @bmedlyn.bsky.social

Our global meta-analysis is finally out - we explore the most important influencer on C4 photosynthetic capacity using ~1700 C4 Aci curves! Data are freely available for the community.

NB Applicants must have working rights in Australia

One more! Here the stellar Laura Williams leads a review of detection + attribution of change in Australian vegetation. The upshot: with current monitoring, it's remarkably difficult to attribute effects of climate - which has important consequences for management

Dead Trees in a row at Currency Creek

The arboretum has been even more heavily affected by drought this year - sad to see, but fascinating from a research perspective

Drought sensitivity is climate‐adapted and consistently influenced by wood density and maximum height in eucalypts Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Drought sensitivity in eucalypts is climate‐adapted and consistently influenced by wood density - great work by PhD student Victoria Perez-Martinez at @deannicolle1.bsky.social Currency Creek Arboretum during the Tinderbox drought

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The Response and Recovery of Carbon and Water Fluxes in Australian Ecosystems Exposed to Severe Drought We examined flux data across a range of Australian ecosystems exposed to severe drought over two years (2018-19). The driest ecosystems experienced large productivity declines, but intermediate ecosy...

Analysis of eddy-covariance C and water fluxes during the Australian Tinderbox drought of 2017-2019 showed remarkable resilience and recovery in most Australian forest types. Great work from @clares-hydro.bsky.social and OzFlux community

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Forest Monitoring Company Description: Western Sydney University is a modern, forward-thinking, research-led institution at the heart of Australia’s fastest-growing and most economically significant region. With 11 cam...

Postdoctoral position in Forest Monitoring available. Know your way around spatial datasets? Join us to help monitor changes in Australia's precious forest estate! @westsyduhie.bsky.social
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/WesternSydne...

📢🌿Available #traits #FunctionalTraits PhD position in my group @westsyduhie.bsky.social, closes 30th Oct. Topics: “Climate adaptations in Australian native grasses”; OR “Plant resource economics”. Apply via WSU Online Portal. Eligibility and other key info here: wrightlab.wordpress.com/news/

Fabulous #PhD project opportunity on #Eucalypt diversity - super interesting project plus you get to work with the truly amazing Laura Williams

🌿 Eucalypt Australia is offering research grants of up to $50K to advance knowledge of eucalypts.

1-year ($25K) or 2-year ($50K) projects supported.
Open to Australia-based researchers with a strong track record.

Apply by Tues 12 Aug eucalyptaustralia.org.au/grants/
#LoveAGum #ozplants

Using in situ microrefugia to safeguard stringybark eucalypts from hot droughts Facilitating species persistence under climate change is a pressing issue. Refugia, places where the impacts of climate change may be less severe, can constitute the only option for in situ persisten...

How can we save threatened forests from climate change? Refugia can be an answer, but we need to monitor their effectiveness - Our paper out now, on whether topography is effectively buffering the vulnerable Red Stringybark eucalypt 🟥🌳 from hot droughts in South Australia 👉🏻 doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

#ESAus2025 abstracts are due this Friday! If you research vegetation #dieback, consider submitting to the 'Beyond the Brink–Navigating vegetation dieback and climate-succession' symposium chaired by Cal Bryant and @bmedlyn.bsky.social.

🧪🌏 #WildOz #ecology #ClimateChange

Symposium description:

Alpine forests face collapse without urgent reforestation, say scientists Bushfires and a lack of seed have created a "ticking time bomb" in Victoria's alpine and mountain ash forests, scientists are warning.

"It isn't that the alarm bells are about to ring. They already have & if these last 2 fires are not enough to scare the pants off you, I don't know what is."

VIC's mountain forests are on the brink of collapse due to frequent bushfires & lack of regeneration support.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

#oneforjournalclub

Long-leaved Box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx) Long-leaved Box from Arapiles VIC 3409, Australia on April 20, 2025 by Aaron Midson. Canopy browning on top of mt Arapiles (Durrite)

Cam, this is from the #DeadTreeDetective project on #inaturalist, near Arapiles. Would love to get more records from Victoria to map occurrence of canopy dieback
www.inaturalist.org/observations...

#oneforjournalclub

Ring 2 of the EucFACE experiment, May 2025. Trees have finally returned to good health after a string of extreme events

PhD students Wout and Zane from University of Ghent with TLS scanner at EucFACE

The #EucFACE canopy has finally recovered from the 19-20 drought and the 21-22 floods. Beautiful time for new Lidar scans! @westsyduhie.bsky.social @kimcalders.bsky.social

Climate and Weather Master's Program

@climateandweather.bsky.social at CCRC is re-opening its call for domestic master’s students for 2025. If you’d like to learn about climate and weather, and work together with NSW government agencies to make NSW a safer place to live and work, apply at www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...

#oneforjournalclub

Five emerging scientists receive 2025 J G Russell Award (from left) Dr Morgan Li, Dr Alexandre Siqueira, Dr Sarah Piper, Dr Marcus Giansiracusa and Dr Laura Williams. Images supplied. Five researchers have been awarded funding from the Australian Academy

Congrats to our superstar postdoc Laura Williams for winning a JG Russell Award from the Australian Academy of Science! Award will support Laura's cool research on #spectra and #eucalypt diversity @westsyduhie.bsky.social
www.science.org.au/news-and-eve...

#DeadTreeDetective Last year it was Western Australia, this year South Australia is seeing canopy collapse from drought. If you're in SA, please help us figure out how widespread it is!

Forest dieback induced by climate change: an emerging challenge for Australia The impacts of climate change are placing increasing stress on organisms. For plants, drought and extreme heat are key stressors that have been intensifying, causing large-scale dieback events in t…

Forest Dieback: an emerging problem (summary of our recent symposium) biodiversityoceania.com/2025/04/11/f...

🥇Eucalypt Australia is thrilled to announce that the 2025 Eucalypt to the Year has been awarded to the Wondrous Forests of the #WalpoleWilderness in WA!

Thank you to all who voted and took part in this year's #EucalyptoftheYear2025 campaign!
#NationalEucalyptDay2025

#oneforjournalclub

Dieback on Monaro High Plains - photo Catherine Ross

Interested in tree dieback in Australia? Callum Bryant at ANU has started up the Dieback & Climate Succession Network. Virtual meetings monthly!
Tomorrow March 21, 1 pm AEDT hear from Mike Dunlop (CSIRO) + Liz Dalgleish-Wright (Parks Victoria)
Contact Cal (or me) for details.

Oceania #EcologicalForecasting Folk!
Join our community call tomorrow Wed 19 March 3:30 pm AEDT
Contribute to our horizon scan manuscript: How can we advance ecological forecasting in the Oceania region?
Details: ecoforecast.org/oceania-ecol...
@desert-ecology.bsky.social @ecoforecast.bsky.social