The big dry: forests and shrublands are dying in parched Western Australia

By Joe Fontaine, Lecturer, Environmental and Conservation Science, Murdoch University
George Matusick, Director, Center for Natural Resources Management on Military Lands, Auburn University
Jatin Kala, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA felllow, Murdoch University
Kerryn Hawke, Lecturer in Atmospheric Science, Murdoch University
Nate Anderson, PhD candidate, The University of Western Australia

Perth has just had its driest six months on record, while Western Australia sweltered through its hottest summer on record. Those records are remarkable in their own right. But these records are having real consequences.

Unlike us, trees and shrubs can’t escape the heat and aridity. While we turn up the air conditioning, they bear the full brunt of the changing climate. Our previous research has shown plants are more vulnerable to heatwaves than we had thought.

Beginning in February…

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