Australia's primeval forests died en masse due to drought and climate change

After the mass bleaching of coral reefs earlier this year, Australia continues to record a series of primary forests dying due to prolonged drought, record heat and erratic climate change ; raise alarm bells about the increasingly serious impact of climate change on the ecological environment.

At the end of April, a series of states in Australia such as Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia. all reported mass deaths of primary forests for many reasons, but the core cause is still due to prolonged drought, record heat this past summer and then a sudden deep cold in April.

Tens of thousands of hectares of forest in Australia suddenly dried up after a prolonged drought and heatwave. (Source: ABC).

In the southern state of New South Wales, authorities have recorded thousands of hectares of primary forest , mainly eucalyptus trees and shrubs, simultaneously dying , creating the image of new dry deserts suddenly appearing. on lands that were vast green forests a few months earlier. This event forced New South Wales state authorities to establish committees to investigate and specifically evaluate the causes and solutions to the situation of dead forest trees. Right in the first quarter of 2024, this state has implemented a series of incentive programs and budget investments for reforestation in all localities experiencing dry forest trees.

In the state of Tasmania, which is the area with the largest and oldest primeval forests in Australia, there are many ancient plant ecosystems preserved from the age of dinosaurs, with patches of forest trees belonging to the tallest and oldest in the world, is also gradually disappearing. Tasmania's Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has issued an emergency warning as huge patches of forest are rapidly turning brown in recent months. From February to the end of April, Tasmania recorded a record low rainfall in nearly 100 years.

A series of forests in Tasmania and southern New South Wales are changing color from green to dry yellow. (Source: ABC).

Many states such as New South Wales and Tasmania are making efforts to implement afforestation plans to compensate for areas lost due to climate change. (Source: ABC).

Ecosystems in southern and Western Australia are also facing a similar situation, when a series of Jarrrah and Bunya pine forests begin to dry out, leading to an increasing risk of forest fires. .

According to Dr. Jen Sanger, Environmental Researcher of Australia's Forest Protection Program (The Tree Projects), the mass death of primary forests in Australia in general and Tasmania in particular is at a red alert level. Most trees die due to heat stress, fungus or other diseases, related to drought and erratic climate changes.

Yellow-grey patches of dead forest are increasingly spreading across primary forests in Tasmania. (Source: ABC).

From the beginning of 2024 until now, Australian scientists have continuously warned about the clear negative impacts of climate change, which are seriously destroying the Australian ecosystem as well as many regions around the world. .

Not only on land, last March, scientists from the University of Queensland called on the government to make efforts to deploy urgent solutions to save the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest and most beautiful coral reef. , due to facing widespread bleaching, mass coral death and difficulty recovering due to rising sea temperatures.