Wanted: Voices on Shifting Vegetation Communities

Australia’s native vegetation communities are shifting, sometimes subtly, sometimes starkly, due to a mix of climate impacts and altered disturbance regimes.

AABR is planning a webinar series to bring together diverse voices on how these changes are unfolding and what they mean for restoration practitioners, starting with an over at the AGM on 8/11/25.

Across the east coast of Australia and beyond, many of our native vegetation communities are undergoing dramatic shifts in composition and structure. In fire-dependent landscapes, absence of fire or inappropriate application of fire within restoration practices has allowed mesic (moisture-loving) vegetation to spread into spread into fire dependent vegetation communities e.g Pittosporum undulatum and Glochidion ferdinandi on the east coast. This trend often results in a loss of biodiversity, reduced structural complexity, and a decline in ecosystem resilience.

Conversely, climate change and potential other factors are now pushing some mesic and rainforest communities to their limits, with prolonged drought, canopy dieback and more frequent severe fires transforming these ecosystems into drier, fire-prone states. Together, these processes are reshaping landscapes across Australia, with far-reaching implications for restoration and land management.

To discuss this issue from multiple perspectives, AABR is exploring the idea of hosting a series of panel-style webinars as part of the Walks and Talks program. The series aims to bring together speakers from diverse regions and backgrounds—including bush regenerators, ecologists, land managers, researchers, and Traditional Owners—to share insights on vegetation community shifts, their drivers, and the ecological implications. Each session will spotlight a different region or vegetation type, fostering cross-regional dialogue on the challenges faced and the strategies being used in response.

If you’re interested in contributing, or have suggestions for speakers or regions we should include, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Peta at whatson@aabr.org.au by October 11.

Articles of interest –

Shifts in functional group community diversity of threatened mesic forests with changing fire regimes

Shifts in functional group community diversity of threatened mesic forests with changing fire regimes