This module of the National NRM Impacts and Adaptation project delivers a summary of knowledge, processes and tools specifically targeted at NRM groups for climate adaptation planning for invasive plant species and weeds. The module is delivered in three parts:
- the Weeds and Climate Change Technical Guide (PDF),
- this website, featuring a summary of key messages from the technical guide, and
- supporting materials and information on invasive plant species, including datasets, available through the CSIRO Data Access Portal by searching for keywords such as ‘adaptNRM’.
Together, these tools will be useful for guiding the management of existing weeds and likely future weeds as climate change continues to alter the world in which we live.
The Weeds under Climate Change section provides an overview of key scientific insights and tools to assist planning for weed control in a changing climate.
It includes sections on:
- Key climatic change factors that will drive changes in weed growth and distribution
- The use and constraints of weed distribution modelling under climate change
- The potential effects on weed dispersal pathways of human responses to climate change, such as increased landscape connectivity, refugia and translocation
- Implications for biosecurity from both exotic and native species under climate change
- A note on the role of weeds in novel ecosystems under climate change
Cat’s ear outbreak, Source: Burnett-Mary Regional Group
The Weed Management Planning section outlines key elements to develop a vision, strategy and weed management plan in the context of climate change:
- Development of a vision and strategy for managing weeds under climate change, with reference to national, state, regional and NRM planning level considerations
- Adapting key weed control methods and avoiding maladaptation under climate change
- A framework outlining the core elements of a weed management plan that is adapted to climate change
The Weeds adaptation campus provides useful supporting information, such as a list of key definitions, supporting literature and data and links to examples and useful websites.
How to cite the Weeds and Climate Change webpages:
Scott JK, Murphy H, Kriticos DJ, Webber BL, Ota N and Loechel B (2014) Weeds and Climate Change: supporting weed management adaptation. CSIRO, Australia. ISBN 978-1-4863-0401-1