Dr James Tsakalos – Kwongan Vegetation – Perth Branch – Changed venue

***Please note – due to repairs at the Subiaco Community Centre, the meeting will be held at The Palms Community Centre, Subiaco – return to normal venue in March***

When people think of wildflowers, carpets of everlasting daisies often spring to mind. But Western Australia’s floral diversity has much more to offer than just fields of everlastings. In fact, the greater southwest of Western Australia, from below Shark Bay through to east of Esperance on the south coast, is a Global Biodiversity Hotspot, with thousands of plant species found nowhere else on Earth.

It is true that some of those produce flowers not quite as showy as our everlastings, but if you go to right places you will be rewarded with a truly spectacular variety of colours and foliage. Some of those places are the sand plains of the northern Swan Coastal Plain and south of Geraldton. Here the shrublands vegetation, also known as kwongan or kwongkan, is some of the most diverse in Australia.

But it can also be difficult to make sense of: why do all those species grow where they do? What are the patterns in the vegetation? James Tsakalos, who recently completed a PhD researching the patterns and drivers of diversity of kwongan, will be giving a talk to the Perth Branch of the Wildflower Society on Tuesday 11th February about this and more.

Our meeting for February will be held at The Palms Community Centre, on the corner of Nicholson and Rokeby Roads, Subiaco. For our regular guests, please note that this is not our usual venue, but we will be returning to the Subiaco Community Centre for our meeting in March. Doors open at 7.45 pm and the meeting begins at 8 pm. Supper is served after the talk and everyone is eligible for the night’s door prize. Entry is open to the general public – all are welcome – for the cost of a $3 door donation.

Title: Patterns and drivers of the Geraldton Sandplain and northern Swan Coastal Plain kwongan vegetation

Bio: James recently completed his PhD, which used species, functional trait, and environmental data to define and explain the formation and distribution of species and trait-based patterns of mediterranean type shrublands and woodlands of Western Australia. James’ research will appeal to those engaging in vegetation classification, or those exploring the application of functional approaches to the restoration of plant communities. James’ new role as an environmental scientist involves monitoring the effect of linear infrastructure and modified hydraulic regimes on the health of groundwater-dependent ecosystems.

For additional information please see James’ research profile at ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Tsakalos)

Meetings of the Perth Branch of the Society are normally held on the second Tuesday of each month in the Subiaco Community Centre across the road from Crossways Shopping centre in Bagot Road BUT FOR THIS MONTH ONLY AT THE PALMS – Corner Nicholson and Rokeby roads, Subiaco. Doors open at 7.45 pm and the meeting begins at 8 pm. Supper is served after the talk and everyone is eligible for the night’s door prize. You do not need to be a member of the Society to attend, entry requiring a $3 door donation.

Photo:  G Zemunik – Photo collage of species representative of Glischrocaryon, Grevillea, Dampiera and Calandrinia, all easily found near major roads in the Northern Sandplains.