The Great Sandy Region (incorporating Fraser Island and the Cooloola sand-mass), south-east Queensland, contains a significant area of Ramsar-listed coastal wetlands, including the globally important patterned fen complexes. These mires form an elaborate network of pools surrounded by vegetated peat ridges and are the only known subtropical, Southern Hemisphere examples, with wetlands of this type typically located in high northern latitudes. Sedimentological, palynological and charcoal analysis from the Wathumba and Moon Point complexes on Fraser Island indicate two periods of swamp formation (that may contain patterned fens), one commencing at 12 000 years ago (Moon Point) and the other ~4300 years ago (Wathumba). Wetland formation and development is thought to be related to a combination of biological and hydrological processes with the dominant peat-forming rush, Empodisma minus, being an important component of both patterned and non-patterned mires within the region. In contrast to Northern Hemisphere paludifying systems, the patterning appears to initiate at the start of wetland development or as part of an infilling process. The wetlands dominated by E. minus are highly resilient to disturbance, particularly burning and sea level alterations, and appear to form important refuge areas for amphibians, fish and birds (both non-migratory and migratory) over thousands of years.

The consequences of climate change are profound for the residential building industry and, unless appropriate adaptation strategies are implemented, will increase exponentially. The consequences of climate change, such as increased repair costs, can be reduced if buildings are designed and built to be adaptive to climate change risks. This research investigates the preparedness of the Australian residential building sector to adapt to such risks, with a view to informing the next review of the National Construction Code ( 2022 ), which at present does not include provisions for climate change adaptation. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with construction managers from residential building companies in Brisbane, Queensland to understand their level of preparedness to adapt with climate change risks. Three aspects of preparedness were investigated: participant’s awareness of climate change risks, their company’s capacity to include climate change information in planning, and actions taken to address climate change risks. Participants were also asked about climate change adaptation policies and what they thought the path towards increased preparedness in the residential construction industry to climate change risks might involve. Qualitative analysis of interview data was undertaken using NVivo software, and illustrative examples and direct quotes from this data are included in the results. The results indicate a low level of preparedness of the residential building industry to adapt with climate risks. Levels of awareness of managing the consequences of climate change risks, analytical capacity, and the actions taken to address climate change were all found to be low. Legislating climate adaptation practices and increasing the adaptation awareness of the residential constructors are some of the recommendations to enhance the preparedness of the residential construction industry in Australia to adapt with climate change risks.

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Our examination of pollen, microcharcoal, and sediment material in Nee Soon Freshwater Swamp Forest in Singapore revealed the following regarding its more than 20 000‐year history: (1) the pollen record supports the presence of a savanna corridor in this part of South‐East Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM); (2) a high abundance of charcoal at depths greater than 1.5 m supports the existence of a dryer climate and/or more frequent fires until about 18 000 cal  bp; (3) missing sedimentary material in the upper 30–40 cm, ranging in age from 64 to 7500 cal  bp, was likely removed during recent construction work in the 1950s; (4) there is evidence of sea‐level influences on the site from the presence of mangroves from 9000 cal  bp to present but it is difficult to determine whether this impacted the site because of the missing sediments; and (5) the low organic carbon content throughout the stratigraphy indicates that the swamp is not a peatland. The results indicate that the forest in this protected area of Singapore developed from a grassland‐dominated landscape after the LGM as the climate warmed and became wetter, and therefore, may not be as resilient to long‐term drought conditions as previously believed. Further, the stratigraphy contains evidence that the swamp and stream system have been highly dynamic, both naturally and in response to anthropogenic disturbance.