once in a lifetime flood’ in Rawlinna on the Nullabor in March), others have been severely rain deficient.
Perth recorded its driest ever six-month stretch between October and March.
The south west of WA was identified as one of the first parts of the world to begin a drying trend, beginning around the 1970s, and experts agree the region is drying out at a globally significant rate.
Dr Fontaine said while the local flora and fauna had traditionally evolved to deal with the region’s Mediterranean-type climate (dry summers and cool, wet winters), some were struggling to adapt to it as it changed.
“Our plants and animals generally are quite tough and resilient,” he said.
“Think of each summer period as a marathon – each year the plants and animals train for the marathon but they don’t know how difficult the racecourse will be, some years they’re in good fitness (wet winter) and it’s flat and easy (cooler, shorter summers).
“And other years they didn’t train so much (dry winter), there’s heaps of hills and a massive headwind (long, dry, heatwaves).”
He has likened it to a coral bleaching event but on land, with the difference being coral bleaching is caused by marine heatwaves (hot water) while the land events seem to follow extremes in heat and dryness, meaning the root systems are simply running out of water.
first forest collapse in 2010/11, with that event believed to be the first of its kind globally.
“Some of the trees died back and re-sprouted but a lot of the trees actually died,” Dr Fontaine said.
“It impacted the microclimate, it increased bushfire risk to some degree, and also, the effects sort of propagated through the system.
“That was the year that (Carnaby’s black) cockatoos had a terrible breeding season and the numbers dropped.”
Fears of massive collapse
And while that first collapse was relatively confined to northern parts of the jarrah forest, Dr Fontaine said this one was not.
“We’ve had reports so far stretching from Denmark and Albany, all the way to Shark Bay and everywhere in between,” he said of the almost 1,000 kilometre stretch of the state’s coast where drying and dying plants and trees are being seen.
“You might see patches, and those patches often are where it’s rocky, thin soiled, and that’s where the plants run out of water first … and then it kind of grows out from these things, around granites or rocky hills.
“So it’s a region-wide event and it’s a big deal.”
Tracking helps prepare
Dr Fontaine helped track and record the previous event’s recovery and is now working with a team from his university as well as staff at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and experts at the University of Western Australia and University of Western Sydney.
“It is an unfortunate thing to be first in this type of event,” Dr Fontaine said.
“But the work that was done when this happened the first time has been of great value globally, it has really led the way in trying to help people understand what’s happening.
“And with it happening again, and then on an even bigger scale, by having people out there to document it, to measure what’s happening and to track the recovery will absolutely contribute to our understanding of what’s happening around the world.
“Particularly places that have a similar climate to us like California or Europe, or South America.”
In a statement, a DBCA spokesperson said significant research into the previous event had resulted in the development of vulnerability maps, “which allows land managers such as DBCA to help predict how the northern jarrah forest might be impacted in the future”.
“DBCA is collaborating with Murdoch University and other university partners to conduct fieldwork and use a range of techniques including using remote sensing and satellite data to determine the location, severity and size of the current die-off patches, the vegetation type and species affected (and those unaffected), and site characteristics including geology and soils,” the spokesperson said of the ongoing work in recording the current die-offs.
“By understanding the common and unique characteristics of die-off sites within a vegetation community, ecologists and land managers can anticipate future events, target research and identify adaptive management strategies that could help reduce the impact of die-off in certain circumstances.”
Citizen scientists unite
Members of the community who may have noticed trees and other flora drying and dying are being urged to become citizen scientists and utilise the Dead Tree Detective, a website where people can upload locations and photos to help track this event.
And Dr Fontaine said while some people may be driven to assist by watering dying flora, that would not be the best move considering WA’s already stretched water resources.
“The idea of using water to try to help our native vegetation along is problematic because that water has to come from somewhere, and in fact, some of the places we see dying back actually are dying back because of groundwater pumping,” he said.
“And of course, it’s understandable people are using that groundwater to try to keep their own vegetation alive or their crops alive, but that has an impact on the native vegetation.
“So watering, whilst it sounds like a great idea, we just have to hope that the rain comes a little sooner.”
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Source: abc.net.au
George Barham, an accomplished journalist and avid gambling enthusiast, serves as the esteemed Editor-in-Chief at fly-to-australia.com, Australia’s leading source for comprehensive gambling news and insights. With an unwavering passion for both the written word and the ever-evolving world of betting and gaming, George brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the helm of our editorial team.
