Samantha Capon

Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing socio-ecological complexity is a daunting challenge. To tackle this requires synthesis: the integration of disparate information to generate novel insights from heterogeneous, complex situations where there are diverse perspectives. Since 1995, a structured approach to inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary collaboration around big science questions has been supported through synthesis centres around the world. These centres are finding an expanding role due to ever-accumulating data and the need for more and better opportunities to develop transdisciplinary and holistic approaches
to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS
bhttp://www.aceas.org.auN) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and
managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus
for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.
We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to
facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis.We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres,
and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, crosssectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research.

"Severe climatic changes are predicted for Australia before the close of this century. Climate change threatens biodiversity in all ecosystems; a management and conservation priority is to identify areas and habitats — refuges — that could shelter species from the worst impacts. Freshwater ecosystems contain high biodiversity, but are especially vulnerable to climatic changes due to their limited extent and connectivity. In much of Australia, they are highly susceptible to drying resulting from high variability in temperatures and rainfall. Identifying, protecting and managing refuges in freshwater systems must therefore be a key component of future conservation planning and policy. Using a variety of approaches, we explore the history and definitions of refuges in freshwater systems, assess the relatively stability and general refugial value of largescale regions across the Australian continent and provide three case studies demonstrating applications of the continental analysis to inform more local adaptation strategies. A review of existing concepts of refuges for biodiversity highlights a number of issues that contribute to confusion and imprecision surrounding their definition, and we offer a new, simplified concept of refuges with respect to climate change in freshwater systems. Projected climate changes are highly spatially and seasonally variable, and this project has identified freshwater regions which will remain stable in the future, and those which will likely not. Many regions will likely experience climates and events well outside their current range of variability, and we predict significant changes in community structure and ecosystem assemblages. In these areas of instability, we propose that refuges will be of high priority, for example areas where temperature changes are buffered by vegetation or topographic shading. We show that some current protected areas will fail to offer refuge and protection under projected climatic changes. We further highlight significant changes in perenniality of streams and waterholes, particularily in the southwestern region of Australia. Finally, our research identified a number of knowledge gaps which currently hinder climate change adaptation research in freshwater systems. We provide a discussion of these gaps and outline the future research directions required to ultimately benefit species and habitat conservation. "

ABSTRACT Riparian ecosystems in the 21st century are likely to play a critical role in determining the vulnerability of natural and human systems to climate change, and in influencing the capacity of these systems to adapt. Some authors have suggested that riparian ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their high levels of exposure and sensitivity to climatic stimuli, and their history of degradation. Others have highlighted the probable resilience of riparian ecosystems to climate change as a result of their evolution under high levels of climatic and environmental variability. We synthesize current knowledge of the vulnerability of riparian ecosystems to climate change by assessing the potential exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of their key components and processes, as well as ecosystem functions, goods and services, to projected global climatic changes. We review key pathways for ecological and human adaptation for the maintenance, restoration and enhancement of riparian ecosystem functions, goods and services and present emerging principles for planned adaptation. Our synthesis suggests that, in the absence of adaptation, riparian ecosystems are likely to be highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. However, given the critical role of riparian ecosystem functions in landscapes, as well as the strong links between riparian ecosystems and human well-being, considerable means, motives and opportunities for strategically planned adaptation to climate change also exist. The need for planned adaptation of and for riparian ecosystems is likely to be strengthened as the importance of many riparian ecosystem functions, goods and services will grow under a changing climate. Consequently, riparian ecosystems are likely to become adaptation ‘hotspots’ as the century unfolds.