Our tallest trees are world champions when it comes to capturing and storing carbon, but they don’t like the heat. Climate change will trigger mass tree deaths in Tasmania. Here’s what can be done.
It’s spring, but many street trees look stressed and sick. Heat and insect attack are arriving early. But our cities are also steadily losing canopy cover.
When a plant is stressed, it mobilises its resources and often converts its starch reserves back to sugar. As soon as this happens, the stressed plant becomes sweeter than its healthier neighbours.
These trees are too important to be destroyed in the name of the forestry industry. This is why my husband Steve Pearce and I climb, explore and photograph them.
The koala genome, published today, gives us new and valuable information to aid conservation of this marsupial. It identifies special genes that evolved to adapt the koala to its unique lifestyle.
The ecological value of old trees is irreplaceable for native Australian fauna. Identifying and preserving these trees in cities through smarter planning strategies is important for local wildlife.