Talking Plant Science: Vanessa Adams

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series presented by Associate Professor Vanessa Adams.

The good, the bad and the ugly: the dynamics of plant species retention in the landscape

Successful conservation of plants depends upon an understanding of the biogeography of species; how actions can counteract threats to species loss and maintain natural assemblages of species; and the social values placed on these systems and how this influences communities and individuals to support these actions (or not). Thus, conservation and environmental management sit at the cross-section of physical and human geography and effective action will leverage knowledge from both. This talk will present what we know about the good, bad and ugly of plant retention in the landscape, historic drivers causing the ugly, and future looking solutions that can leverage the good. Lastly – it will pose the question of how can we prioritize actions (e.g. in stu or ex situ conservation, restoration or protection) to maximise species retention taking into account land use changes, climate change, and complex interactions between these?

Associate Professor Vanessa Adams

Dr Vanessa Adams is an Associate Professor in Conservation and Planning and ARC Future Fellow at the University of Tasmania. Her research focuses on modelling dynamic social-ecological systems to inform conservation decisions that improve ecosystems and the communities they support. This means her research is broadly aligned with three themes: ecological modelling (to understand dynamic ecosystems), socio-economic aspects of conservation (to understand the human dimensions of social-ecological systems), and conservation decision theory (to inform decision making). Vanessa was raised in New Mexico (USA) but now calls Australia home. She has worked in a variety roles ranging from actuarial analyst for global consulting firm Mercer HR to research scientist at universities. She spent a year as a Fulbright scholar conducting research at University of Queensland in 2004 and completed her PhD at James Cook University in 2011. During her PhD she was awarded a Sir Keith Murdoch fellowship through the American Australian Association to support a component of her research conducted in Fiji modelling costs of conservation actions to local fishermen. Vanessa partners with relevant government agencies and NGOs to ensure that her research is relevant to policy makers and is positioned to influence on-ground conservation.