UWA calling for public help to identify drought-stricken trees across WA

After one of the driest summers WA has endured, with record-hot temperatures baking the country, plants across the State have been showing signs of stress as the impacts of drought take hold.

UWA is calling on the public to better understand the scope of drying and dying trees.

Researchers from UWA’s Centre for Water and Spatial Science have asked people to report both healthy and impacted trees through a web-based app.

It was initially intended to primarily cover the Perth metro area but project leader Associate Professor Sally Thompson said there had been significant interest from people in the South West contributing to the study.

“I’m welcoming everyone who wants to participate to use that app to report what they are seeing locally,” she said.

“If our UWA team doesn’t end up working in their area, we will get the information they recorded to other teams that are working in their area.”

Dr Thompson said preliminary work with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions showed drought-impacted trees stretched from Monkey Mia to Esperance.

Being able to establish a percentage of tree canopy that was healthy, bare or had dead leaves in specific areas would help the researchers better form a picture of what is happening with native vegetation.

“Vegetation in WA is suffering, with mass plant death that some have likened to coral bleaching events,” Dr Thompson said.

“Future work is being planned which will include in-depth field studies to measure specific tree and canopy health metrics.”

With more than 5000 endemic species of plants throughout the South West, Dr Thompson said the impact of drought across the region could not be fully understood at this stage.