Why are Australian cycads endangered: pollinators, climate or humans?

该项目旨在确定澳大利亚苏铁是否受到历史进程的威胁，如古代气候变化，巨型动物灭绝，火灾制度增加和传粉者中断，或后欧洲对其环境的变化。在全球范围内，在澳大利亚，大多数苏铁物种目前被列为脆弱或濒危物种。欧洲人定居后的土地清理被认为是主要的威胁，但随着澳大利亚的干旱化或第一批人类的到来引起的景观变化，澳大利亚苏铁可能已经被限制在避难所。项目的调查结果应告知一组脆弱植物的管理，并有助于我们了解一般的生物多样性的维护。

The project aims to determine whether Australian cycads were threatened by historical processes, such as ancient climate change, megafaunal extinction, increased fire regimes and pollinator disruption, or by post-European changes to their environment. Globally, and in Australia, a majority of cycad species are currently listed as vulnerable or endangered. Land-clearing post-European settlement is thought to be the major threat, but Australian cycads might already have been restricted to refugia following the aridification of Australia or landscape changes induced by the arrival of the first humans. Project findings should inform management of a group of vulnerable plants, and contribute to our understanding of the maintenance of biodiversity in general.