<
https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-driving-a-silent-sinister-change-in-australias-mountain-ash-forests-255737>
"Something silent and sinister is happening in Australia’s mountain ash
forests. As temperatures rise, these ecosystems are slowly, steadily losing
their trees – and with them, their ability to store carbon.
Mountain ash (
Eucalyptus regnans) forests in southeastern Australia can store
from 415 to 819 tonnes of carbon per hectare. That’s more per hectare than the
Amazon rainforest. So the decline of these special trees, the tallest flowering
plants on Earth, is a major concern – for the forests and the climate system as
a whole.
Our new research shows how mountain ash forests are changing. Half a century of
forest measurements show warming is reducing the number of trees these forests
can support.
For every degree of warming, a forest loses 9% of its trees. By 2080, when
temperatures are expected to be 3°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, these
forests could lose a quarter of their trees – and the carbon they store. This
has global significance as the trend is likely to be widespread."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
