Australian Institute of Alpine Studies Newsletter 01
A newsletter connecting Australian mountain researchers, supported by AMRF.
AMRF is now supporting the AIAS!
We are delighted to announce that the Australian Mountain Research Facility (AMRF) is now officially supporting the Australian Institute of Alpine Studies (AIAS)!
Since joining the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) community, AMRF has expanded its capacity to connect and support Australia’s alpine research community. This integration has made it possible for the AMRF to provide direct support to the AIAS, including the delivery of this new quarterly newsletter, to help connect researchers, students, and land managers working in alpine and subalpine ecosystems.
By combining AIAS’s focus on collaboration and knowledge sharing with AMRF’s infrastructure, resources and research capacity, this partnership strengthens opportunities for research exchange, student engagement, and community connection between researchers and land managers who are working to protect Australia’s unique alpine ecosystems.
AMRF Achievements Supported by ARC Funding
The AMRF’s achievements over the ARC Linkage funding period from 4 July 2019 – 3 July 2024 highlight the impact of this support on Australia’s alpine research community.
During this time, AMRF infrastructure and datastreams have underpinned more than 25 presentations at national and international conferences and supported:
10 PhD students
10 Honours students
12 undergraduate interns or research project students
5 early-career researchers
Over 10 senior researchers across multiple institutions
This research has contributed to more than 12 publications, including published papers, works in press, and preprints.
If you’d like to stay connected and receive newsletter updates from AMRF and AIAS, click the link below and ‘Join the AIAS’ to sign up for the mailing list and confirm your subscription via an email sent to your inbox!
Conferences & Events
Upcoming events:
October 2025
‘Liquid Heart: Restoring the Australian Alps’ Documentary Screening
Join us for a Victorian screening of ‘Liquid Heart: Restoring the Australian Alps’
28th October 2025
6 - 8pm
Patagonia Melbourne | 287-289 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
November 2025
Ecological Society of Australia 2025 Conference in Adelaide
Registration to attend ESA2025 in Adelaide from the 23rd - 28th November 2025 is now open!
ESA 2025: Symposia to celebrate Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick
During the ESA conference, there will be a special symposium to celebrate and honour the legacy of Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick.
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Main Plenary/Breakout Room 1 - Hall C
Autumn 2026
AIAS Symposium & AMRF Annual meeting in Canberra
Plans are underway for the upcoming AIAS Symposium and AMRF Annual Meeting in Canberra! The event will feature a day of presentations at the AIAS Symposium, an AMRF program day, and a shared field trip to wrap up the gathering.
More details, including a call for presenters and an event page, will be announced soon, so stay tuned to save the date!
Past events:
From conference presentations to summer school, it’s been a busy season for alpine researchers! Here’s a recap of recent events and the great work shared by our community.
July 2025
International Summer School - Alpine Plant Life
In July 2025, AIAS members and PhD students, Lisa Danzey (UTS) and Lukiel dos Santos Oliveira (Deakin), attended the prestigious International Summer School on Alpine Plant Life led by Christian Körner and Erika Hiltbrunner. The course was held at the Alpine Research and Education Station Furka (ALPFOR) – a restored military barracks turned research facility, sitting at 2440 m asl in the Swiss central Alps.
The program kicked off with a morning lecture from Christian – introducing what alpine really means, plant stress and limitation in the alps – and was followed by a foggy field trip for the remainder of the day. The field trip set the scene for the Swiss Alps fantastically with an introduction to alpine plant growth forms and some key species. Among the many highlights of the walk, the Soldanella pusilla quickly became a group favourite. The field trip concluded with a visit to a snow and drought experiment that has been running for a decade – an impressive example of an in-situ manipulative experiment.
The remainder of the week was packed with a dynamic schedule: lectures in the mornings and evenings, with outdoor, practical activities between. Students engaged in hands-on work in diverse topics of microclimatology, ecosystem carbon fluxes, vegetation composition, clonal plant growth and investment in storage and reproduction. Over the second half of the week, students worked on group or individual projects – designing field studies, collecting and analysing data and presenting their findings to the group. This was an exciting (and intense) part of the summer school that students applied just as much dedication and rigour as they would to a thesis!
Overall, the summer school was an unparalleled opportunity to broaden perspectives on alpine ecology that complemented Lisa and Luke’s research in the Australian alps, learn from world-renowned researchers and meet a global network of peers.
The 2026 course comes highly recommended for AIAS students and early career researchers with an interest in alpine environments and ecological fieldwork. - Lisa Danzey and Lukiel dos Santos Oliveira.
September 2025
The following researchers shared alpine insights at the International Mountain Conference 2025 (IMC) in Innsbruck, Austria, 14th - 18th of September.
Lisa Danzey ‘The role of abundance in community modelling: Predicting plant communities in the Andean super-páramo’
James King ‘Carbon dynamics of warming and drought field manipulative experiments in grasslands globally: a meta-analysis’
Lukiel dos Santos Oliveira ‘Understanding the resilience of Australian alpine plants to climate change: Insights from population genomics and germination trials’
Adrienne Nicotra ‘Understanding and responding to climate change mediated forest decline: a case study in Australian snow gums’
Mohan Pandey ‘Australian alpine plant responses to the experimental drought in-situ’
Susanna Venn ‘An update on the condition, threats and future of Australian alpine snowpatch plant communities’
Iris Hickman ‘Can interglacial refugia explain the persistence of Australian endemic alpine plants?’
Thomas Hanley ‘Heat and drought in the Australian subalpine: testing for plasticity and co-ordination among above and below ground traits’
The Australian contingent of researchers at the top of Innsbruck during the IMC 2025. Pictured left to right: Lukiel dos Santos Oliveira, Mohan Pandey, Susanna Venn, Adrienne Nicotra, Lisa Danzey, Thomas Hanley, James King and Iris Hickman.
The Australasian Seed Science Conference 2025 (ASSC) in Horsham, Victoria between 22nd - 25th September, saw research updates from:
Gemma Hoyle and Lydia Guja 'Fire-affected Subalpine Herb and Shrub Species Raise Concerns Regarding Their Ex Situ Conservation'
Sally Neeser and Susanna Venn, 'The Role of Snowmelt Timing in Alpine Seed Germination Strategies'
James Wood and Gemma Hoyle, 'Germination of Subalpine Rutaceae'
October 2025
Hobart Symposia to celebrate Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick
A symposium was recently held at the University of Tasmania to honour Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick. The event drew around 150 registrations and featured a diverse range of speakers sharing alpine research and reflecting on Jamie’s many contributions to projects and the field of alpine science. Though not a typical symposium, many talks were filled with humour and warmth, celebrating both the life and lasting legacy of Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick.
Image: Vica Bayley MP
See event page for the list of presenters and their talks.
Research Opportunities
PhD position in alpine plant regeneration and snow ecology
Associate Professor Susanna Venn & Dr Megan Hirst
Deakin University School of Life and Environmental Sciences
The eXtreme Plant Ecology Research Team (Deakin University), in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and the Victorian Conservation Seed Bank, invites applications for a fully-funded 3-year PhD. The project, supported by the Australian Research Council, focuses on understanding and enhancing plant regeneration in Australia’s alpine ecosystems.
Honours or Masters Project
Professor Saul Cunningham
ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society
We are looking for an Honours or Master’s student to conduct research on “Pollination ecology of Snow Gums”. Given that flowering is in November, this project would require a mid-year start. We have preliminary evidence that native bees and Bogong Moths play a role - this project will help sort out how much the different pollinators contribute. There could also be the possibility of doing a short version of this project as an undergraduate “independent research” project.
Contact Saul: saul.cunningham@anu.edu.au
Dieback and Climate Succession Network (DCSN)
The Dieback and Climate Succession Network (DCSN) is a national, interdisciplinary network established in 2024 to coordinate research and management responses to vegetation dieback and climate-driven change across Australia. Bringing together over 120 participants from six states and two territories, the DCSN connects researchers, land managers, restoration practitioners, and policy-makers to share knowledge, develop adaptive strategies, and support on-ground action.
The network meets monthly for virtual seminars featuring research updates, case studies, and collaborative discussions on forest health, restoration, and climate adaptation. Anyone interested in joining can sign up below to receive updates, event invitations, and opportunities to present their work at future meetings.
New Paper Alerts
Vázquez-Ramírez J, White DJ, Harding J, Wevill T, Hirst M and Venn SE (2025) 'A drier maternal environment increases water stress tolerance of alpine seeds and seedlings', Ecology and Evolution.
Vázquez-Ramírez J and Venn SE (2025) 'Climate Change May Alter Seed and Seedling Traits and Shift Germination and Mortality Patterns in Alpine Environments. Annals of Botany.
Hirst MJ*, Vázquez-Ramírez J*, Rendall AR and Venn SE (2025) 'Thermal germination niche: Implications for seed-based restoration in climate sensitive alpine environments', Restoration Ecology. *Co-first Authorship
