Australia is home to several biodiversity hotspots that are rich in unique flora, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. This plant diversity is impacted by a growing number and magnitude of threats, including more frequent and severe natural disasters driven by climate change. A key problem in modern plant conservation is how to approach research and recovery given the face of these ever-mounting threats and expanding threatened plant lists. Prioritising recovery actions to help sustain this critical genetic, species and community-level plant diversity is essential to the human and broader natural world. This theme will explore current knowledge and approaches for prioritising and managing threats to sustain diversity, while also considering the role of diversity of practice and perspective that is needed for long term plant conservation success.

The Australasian region stands at a critical crossroads in the 21st century including the impacts of extreme weather events, a growing ensemble of invasive plant species, pathogens and pests, and addressing the complex intersection of socio-economic pressures like land-use conflicts and managing dynamic environments, requiring adaptive strategies for success. As we reach the midpoint of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the call to revive the natural systems that sustain us has never been more urgent. Around the world and here at home, communities, organisations and leaders are rising to the challenge—forming powerful partnerships, driving innovation with cutting-edge technologies, and weaving cultural knowledge and respect for Country into the fabric of their efforts. This theme dives into the pressing ecological restoration challenges of our time, spotlighting the daring, practical and inspiring actions of those shaping a brighter future for our planet. Together, we can grow and thrive as #GenerationRestoration.

Collaboration plays a crucial role in plant conservation, especially in Australasia, where the rich living heritage of Indigenous cultures, community organisations, practitioners and world-class botanic gardens and research institutions offer opportunities for integrating diverse skills, approaches and perspectives. In plant conservation, these collaborations manifest in many ways, including scientific research, ex-situ conservation activities, joint management frameworks for in-situ conservation, on-ground restoration activities and policy development/advocacy. Central to the success of any of these activities is the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have stewarded the land and sea for many thousands of years, cultivating Country and creating profound systems of knowledge about plants and the ecosystems they are part of. This theme will explore how collaborations and partnerships, including those between Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge holders, systems and cultures, have helped create more resilient and biodiverse ecosystems, strengthened cultural ties, improved social equity, and delivered more effective and inclusive environmental stewardship and plant conservation outcomes.

Australia talks a big game about biosecurity, but the pressures of invasive species on our natural environment are steadily increasing. Much of our thinking about environmentally invasive species and their exclusion ‒ or their ‘management’ when exclusion fails ‒ is still based on historical strategies for weeds and some vertebrate animals. These remain important actual and potential threats and need more resources. But we face accelerating threats from pathogens and invertebrate pests, some of them very fast-moving and with broad effects on native biodiversity. This theme will explore how we need to rethink our readiness for invasive species, how we bridge the silos of knowledge and experience between different jurisdictions, departments and disciplines, and how we respond when biosecurity and containment strategies fail.