With 2023 marking the hottest year on record and heatwaves now affecting over 10% of Earth’s land, understanding and mitigating the effects of extreme heat is more urgent than ever. Join us in shaping strategies to extend the thermal limits of life and safeguard the future of our ecosystems.
Abstract submission and registration will open in the Autumn of 2025
Travel grant application deadline - 2 February 2026
Abstract deadline - 2 March 2026
Background
Extreme heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense, and widespread, threatening biodiversity, food security, and ecosystem stability. Since mid-2023, temperatures have exceeded 50°C in multiple countries, prompting the UN to declare heatwaves a climate emergency. While the effects of extreme heat on human health and urban environments are increasingly studied, its impacts on natural and agricultural landscapes remain poorly understood. Without adaptive intervention, future heatwaves could drive collapses in key ecosystem functions, endangering productivity, biodiversity, and economic security.
This symposium will unite experts across a range of disciplines to explore how extreme heat affects plants and other ectothermic organisms that underpin ecosystem productivity.
Discussions will focus on:
Adapting plant metabolism to heat stress: how does heat stress affect plant metabolism, how have organisms adapted in hot environments, and what potential adaptation options are there?
Water use to mitigate heat stress: how do plants use water to avoid heat stress, what options are there for efficient water use to minimise heat stress
Adapting life history to heat stress: how do organisms use phenology to avoid heat stress, considering e.g. sensitivity of reproductive phase to heat and changes in the timing of plant growth
Biotic interactions under heat stress: how are biotic interactions affected by heat stress, how can we use biotic interactions to increase resilience to heat?
Microclimate management to mitigate heat stress: how do temperatures vary within natural and managed ecosystems, how do organisms use microclimates to avoid heat stress, what adaptation options are there to modify microclimates?
Organising Committee
Owen Atkin, Australian National University, Australia (Chair)
Adrienne Nicotra, Australian National University, Australia
Andrew Feldman, NASA Goddard, USA
Belinda Medlyn, Western Sydney University, Australia
Cristina Crespo Bastias, University of Cordoba, Spain
Kevin Hultine, Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, USA
Rafael Villar, University of Cordoba, Spain
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