Covering only 0.15% of Australia, it is easy to overlook the snow-capped mountains and alpine meadows tucked away in the south-eastern part of the country, specifically, in Tasmania, ACT, NSW and Victoria. Despite their small size, alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems deliver billions of dollars to the national economy each year.
On the mainland, our scientists first started paying attention to them from the mid-1800s when degradation impacts due to stock grazing became evident. Over the years, we’ve expanded the research to address concerns about the ever-changing environment caused by disturbance such as fires, invasion of exotic species, arrival of pathogens, well-intentioned restoration programs, extreme events such as long drought, and increasingly – climate change.
In this webinar, 5 extraordinary alpine vegetation researchers succinctly share decades of ecological research to help us understand the likely adaptive capacity of alpine vegetation to tolerate or respond to predicted long-term temperature increases – and other pressures.
(BTW – did you know snow protects alpine plants from winter frost damage?)
Speakers
- Professor Adrienne Nicotra (Australian National University)
- Professor Catherine Pickering (Griffith University)
- Professor Mark Hovendon (University of Tasmania)
- Associate Professor Gwendolyn Peyre (Australian National University)