The Ralph Slatyer medal ceremony

Forest responses to a warming climate

Ralph Slatyer's seminal series of papers on the temperature responses of growth and photosynthesis in snowgum, published in the 1970's, laid the foundation for our scientific understanding of physiological acclimation and adaptation to growth temperature in trees. Forty years on, this work is more important than ever, as we attempt to understand and predict the consequences of rising global temperatures for Australian forests.

In this talk Belinda will survey the current state of our predictive capacity. Belinda will review the outcomes of recent experiments and meta-analyses investigating the impact of temperature on tree photosynthesis and growth, including acclimation and adaptation capacity. Belinda will describe how this information is being incorporated into process-based models of forest growth and vegetation dynamics. Belinda will highlight the key areas of uncertainty needing further investigation, and finish with some thoughts on where the future of our forests is headed.