The Australian government recently listed the iconic alpine ash forests of mainland Australia as an endangered ecological community, citing ongoing threats from increasingly severe, frequent bushfires and climate change. While conservationists supported this decision, members of the timber and forestry industry questioned the move.
Alpine ash forests occur on high country slopes in the states of Victoria and New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, at elevations of 900-1,500 meters (about 3,000-5,000 feet). These culturally significant forests sit within the traditional lands of many First Nations peoples.
Alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis), a tall eucalypt with menthol-scented leaves, dominates these forests. Alpine ash forests also support a rich community of other plants and animals, including lyrebirds and spotted-tailed quolls. The hollows of old-growth trees are important habitat for the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri).
A spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) told Mongabay by email that the listing followed a “thorough assessment by the national Threatened Species Scientific Committee,” which “included a public consultation process and substantial input from many forest experts.”
The spokesperson said proponents of activities that may significantly harm alpine ash forests will now need to fully avoid impacts on the forests or demonstrate “a net gain,” meaning environmental benefits outweigh the damage. This will lead to stricter assessments.
The Victorian National Parks Association called the listing “an important step.” Forest and fire scientists writing in The Conversation said alpine ash is “facing an existential threat” and the listing “is a clear warning to Australians.”
However, Forestry Australia, a nonprofit association of forest managers, said: “Listing such an extensive and predominantly intact ecosystem, most of it located on public land already managed for conservation, represents an unprecedented step in Australia.”
The Australian Forest Products Association said the listing went against scientific evidence and highlighted that the geographic extent of alpine ash forest has decreased by only 5% since 1750.
However, the DCCEEW spokesperson told Mongabay that the listing of alpine ash forest as endangered was not due to a loss of geographic extent, but “because of a severe and ongoing decline in condition and function, and difficulty in recovering from bush fires.” They added that more than 80,000 hectares (nearly 200,000 acres) of forest were lost during the massive 2019-2020 summer bushfires and that multiple fires in the same area pose a clear threat.
Alpine ash trees only reach reproductive maturity and produce viable seed at 20 years of age. “More than half of the ecosystem is now structurally immature,” the spokesperson said. Young forests are particularly vulnerable; they lack seed and can’t naturally regenerate if exposed to repeated fires.
While a recovery plan for alpine ash forests was not deemed necessary, the government’s Conservation Advice document provides guidance for actions to manage threats, including protecting old-growth stands and regrowth from future fires.
Banner image: Mt. Donna Buang in Victoria. Image by Bob Tan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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