Research Programs around the world 
Projects in Australia

Which Plant Where, Australia
 

The project ‘Which Plant Were’ is probably one of the most ambitious project to date. On account of the broadness of the resources. And for aiming to provide answers not only for a specific region but for a whole country that is actually a continent.  It was developed by scientists at the Universities of Macquarie and West Sydney. It compiles and utilizes data from a broad spectrum of international sources such as climate and ecofloristic classification maps. In addition, data were drawn from many tree inventories worldwide. These inventories were either easily accessible or they have been provided after oral communication. A database was created, the Global Urban Tree Inventory (GUTI) which marks for every species in which city, it is present. This fact can be considered a positive indication of its potential suitability in climate-equivalent areas, even in other countries. However, assuming, other factors are also being considered for tree species, such as pests, the probability of invasion, and soil requirements, etc. (Macquarie University n.d.-a,b & c).

The project “Which Plant Were” attempts to give accurate answers to many climate change scenarios and projections in time. Even for area delimitations such at the postal code level. The proposed group of plant species is accordingly modified for three time periods (2030, 2050, and 2070) and for every postal code.

Another aspect that makes this approach stand out is being a work in progress in interaction with stakeholders and final recipients. They contribute to the enrichment and updating of the database by providing information on the performance of different tree species in their area. (Tabassum et al. 2023).

In August 2025 the Which Plant Where website was updated. With an additional 200 species, more plant traits and plant characteristics: Tree lifespan, Flammability, Water use, Salinity tolerance, Risk to infrastructure (Newton 2025).​​​​​​​​​​​​