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Planet Ark
SYDNEY
- In an early warning to the rest of the world, Australia's
snowy alpine regions are shrinking and could disappear in
70 years because of global warming, Australian scientists
say.
"In
Australia we could have the complete loss of the alpine
ecosystems within the next 70 years," said botanist
John Morgan in La Trobe University's latest campus magazine.
A La Trobe study found that sub-alpine trees in the Snowy
Mountains have started growing 40 metres (130 feet) higher
than they had in the past 25 years as a result of global
warming.
"Australia's
mountains are just at the limit of alpine, so changes could
happen very dramatically here. We may be any early warning
system for the rest of the world," said Morgan.
Australia's
mountains are low by world standards, with only 100 to 200
metres (328-656 feet) separating the tree-line from the
top of some mountains. Yet there are more than 250 species
of alpine plants growing in the restricted habitat.
Morgan
said the amount and duration of snow was crucial for the
survival of alpine vegetation, with some plants dependent
on banks of snow not melting until late in the spring.
La Trobe
scientists say Australia's Snowy Mountains sub-alpine forest
are 300 to 500 years old, suggesting the forest had been
stable for centuries.
"We
are now starting to see movement in the trees. They are
now establishing and growing 30 and 40 metres from the existing
tree-line. Every year since 1975 new snow gums have established
where they were previously absent," Morgan said.
Morgan
said the movement of sub-alpine trees higher up the mountains
supported evidence that global warming was changing the
pattern of vegetation in the world's alpine regions.
The
demise of Australia's alpine ecosystem would mean the end
of a small but thriving ski industry worth hundreds of millions
of dollars a year.
Australia's
highest peak is the 2,228-metre (7,310 feet) Mount Kosciuszko.
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