Plants closer to the equator are more likely to have larger seeds, a fact that could help predict the risk that climate change poses to native plants, says an Australian researcher.

Evolutionary biologist Dr Angela Moles of the University of New South Wales will this week receive an Australian Institute of Policy and Science Tall Poppy award for her research, which looks at how climate and other factors influence plant traits across the world.

Moles says a better understanding of the impact of climate on plant traits will help pinpoint which plants have traits that will be an advantage or disadvantage under future climate changes.

"A lot of the time we just protect them in national parks and hope for the best but with all of these changes happening it's not clear that is going to work," she says.