A team of 38 leading scientists has issued a stat finding. Australia's ecosystem is in danger of collapse. Their groundbreaking report honed in on 19 ecosystems, they say, are under threat.
Traditionally, many Australian ecosystems have been declining due to threats such as invasive species, land clearing, over allocation of freshwater, etc. But on top of all of that, now we have global climate change, which is acting to exacerbate all of those previous threats.
The report looked at Australia's tropical savannas in his way across the North, Rom, the Kimberly and WA to Kakadu and up to Cape York Peninsula. These biodiverse lands are home to many species of native plants and animals, but they're being run down by livestock, overgrazing fires, weeds, and feral animals.
Victoria's Mountain Alpine forest ecosystem is at record low levels for old growth. Once home to the tallest flowering plants in the world, scientists say these forests are now at extreme risk of Reburning. These precious trees help keep Melbourne's water catchment healthy. The slow growing on one and Conifers native to Tasmania can live for up to a thousand years, but large fires across their habitat have destroyed hundreds of these ancient tree communities like the King Billy in Mountain and the Pan Dani Shelf. They are quite large tracts of King Billy forest in that area, some of the tallest King Billy forests that are left in the state. So there are the types of values that we're interested in protecting. The stands of conifers left are struggling to survive in a climate that's growing warmer and dryer.
Western Australia's, Nigel Reef and shark by a tourist playground, but also a World Heritage site. A catastrophic risk. According to the scientists, its valuable marine ecosystem is underpinned by sea grass that could die off in extreme heat events, but solutions can be found on a local, National, and global level.
The report authors of outlined of framework they call the three A's awareness is needed to highlight the issues. Anticipation is required to identify future threats and work hard to avoid them and then action to help reverse the declines in each ecosystem.
Written by ADEEL ABDULLAH