Almost a quarter of Australia’s iconic eucalyptus trees are under threat from extinction, a study has found.
Of the country’s 822 species of eucalyptus, which have grown on this continent for at least 45 million years, more than 190 meet the international criteria for being listed as threatened, Australia’s Threatened Species Recovery Hub (TSRH) has found.
The study revealed the trees have come under threat from land clearing, particularly for agricultural and urban use.
Many of these eucalypts, which are renowned for their strong smell and for shedding bark, are unique to the Australian landscape.
The University of Queensland’s Associate Professor Rod Fensham said the results were “concerning”.
“Our assessment found that 193 species, which is almost one-quarter (23 per cent) of all Australian eucalyptus species, meet criteria for a threatened status of vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered,” Professor Fensham said.
“This is very concerning as eucalypts are arguably Australia’s most important plant group, and provide vital habitat to thousands of other species.
“Less than one-third (62) of the species that we identified are currently listed as threatened under Australian environmental law, and less than half (87) are listed under state and territory laws.”
He said although Western Australia lost the most amount of trees, most state and territories had seen a worrying decline.
“For example, the grey box, found on the inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, has had most of its habitat cleared,” Professor Fensham said.
“It is now mainly found in road reserves and as paddock trees with little regeneration. This species met criteria for listing as endangered.
“Australia’s hot spot for threatened eucalypts is Western Australia. About half of the species assessed as threatened occurred there, mainly around the wheat-growing districts of the south-west.
“The Wimmera region of Victoria and nearby South Australia also had high numbers of species assessed as threatened.”
WWF-Australia senior manager Land Clearing and Restoration Dr Stuart Blanch said that a combo of deforestation and global heating were threatening the survival of eucalypts across Australia.
“It’s not just individual eucalyptus species at risk,” Dr Blanch said.
“Entire forest ecosystems dominated by eucalypts are endangered. Some have been cleared down to less than 10 per cent – or even 5 per cent – of their original extent.”
He said the fact that Australia only lists 76 eucalyptus tress as threatened, while the reports shows the actual number is closer to 198, means the federal government needs to urgently re-assess the population levels.
“The bushfires have scorched large areas of eucalypts and we hope those forests are still alive and can sprout new leaves,” Dr Blanch said.
“There’s hope for eucalypts and other tree species if we take the right action now. That’s why WWF has launched our bold new strategy – Towards Two Billion Trees – which shows how Australia can save and grow two billion trees by 2030.”
