climatewatch

Phenology and Climate Change in Australia

Citation:
Chambers L.E. (2008). Phenology and Climate Change in Australia. In: Harmony within Nature. The 18th International Congress of Biometeorology Sept 22nd – 26th, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract:
Rising temperatures have led to a resurgence of interest in climate impacts on natural systems, flow-on effects to human society, and the use of natural systems as climate change indicators. The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report provides evidence that climatic changes are affecting natural systems. Although the majority of the studies are still from the northern hemisphere, 6 are Australasian. However, Australia lacks detailed information on local, regional, and national scales and has a paucity of knowledge on climate impacts on many key groups, e.g. amphibians and reptiles. Further research is needed to obtain a clear picture of how a changing climate is impacting on Australian flora and fauna, with its high proportion of endemic species that have already adapted to a highly variable climate system. To further understand the links between phenology and climate in Australia, and to better coordinate research efforts, a national ecological meta database was developed (http://www.bom.gov.au/nemd). This will significantly improve natural resource management decisions, aid policy development, and increase public awareness of climate change and its impacts in Australia. It also improves knowledge sharing between regions and institutions and is used to identify baseline data for future monitoring programs. In addition, an attempt to engage the public in science at national scales is being developed. The project will trial a dispersed observer network, to monitor trends and patterns vital to the understanding of a national perspective on natural resource management and climate change. The project will also allow the public to generate displays of trends and patterns in natural resources nationwide and investigate the timing and variation of key biotic events and their responses to climatic conditions. The major input: a coordinated national indicator program to monitor the impacts of climate change in Australia; a step towards Australia's first national phenological monitoring network. Our current knowledge of what historical flora and fauna data has already been collected within Australia is very limited. With the establishment of a national ecological database and the development of a national phenological monitoring network, a systematic and co-ordinated approach to the monitoring and analysis of natural systems data is possible, with the findings being fed into national and international programs, such as the IPCC.

Please click on the link at the top of the page to download the text to this poster presented by Dr Chambers at the 18th International Congress of Biometeorology in Tokyo, Japan.