Study to collect rainforest plants for climate change conservation

James Cook University in Cairns is to lead a five-year research project to collect and record plant species in Queensland’s tropical rainforests that are at risk from climate change impacts.

The plants to be located and documented range from forest orchids to a native rhododendron found at altitudes above 950 metres in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

Darren Crayn, director of the Australian Tropical Herbarium at JCU, will lead the project. It is funded by a $500,000 philanthropic grant from the Ian Potter Foundation and $50,000 from the Wet Tropics Management Authority, a joint state and federal government agency.