The Latest Fad – climate change

The Latest Fad – Climate ChangeTales from a confused revegetator
After attending both the Qld Landcare Weeks “Biodiversity Forum” in Brisbane and the Big Scrub Day near Lismore, one could easily be left with the feeling from some of the speakers that everything we have undertaken so far in the field of ecological restoration is pointless. After all the seas will rise/or fall, temperatures will rise at least that’s what we think, but variables may cause an ice age? And that it will get drier if present trends continue but that it may also get wetter in the long term!Without a doubt climate change is inevitable due to human induced change to the atmosphere, however if this fact causes us to be uncertain about our work in ecological restoration or to even question the point of ecological restoration work given the variable future scenarios we are faced with, then this discussion bodes ill for our work and the survival of many ecosystems.What can we do in the face of climate change then, I hear you say? Well when it comes to ecological restoration work I’d suggest that the fundamental principles we have developed so far are more important than ever.Survival of ecosystems and all the species and processes that call them home will depend on the genetic variability of those ecosystems and their ability to move throughout and across the landscape as circumstance and conditions arise. The  greatest threat to ecosystems is not so much climate change, that is a reality that has been dealt with previously over the 100,000’s or even millions of years that ecosystems have evolved. The real threat to the survival of ecosystems regardless of climate change (or perhaps more importantly) is human induced ecosystem fragmentation.If we are to draw any inspiration from the threat of climate change let it be that our work is more important and urgent than ever.That the scale of work undertaken needs to increase massively. That the skills, knowledge and guidelines developed thus far be used to rehabilitate existing ecosystems under threat.That the protection of remaining uncleared ecosystems be enshrined in law and that the importance of links across the landscape be planned and undertaken not in a piecemeal manner and become a fundamental reality of our culture.
One of the discussions in circulation at present relates to the movement of endangered fauna and flora to ecosystems that may have similar conditions to what they may require in the future ie. The movement of possums and tree kangaroos from high altitude environments in north queensland, that may warm too much for their survival, to the border ranges between seq and nth nsw. Its only a few years ago we where still deriding the work of the acclimitisation societies of the 1800’s and early 1900’s for their efforts to “improve” and “diversify” ecosystems by moving species around the globe. If  human induced climate change causes sufficient change within ecosytems that species will become  extinct, then let that remain as a black mark on our record.