Risk Status of Australia's Alpine and Subalpine Ecosystems
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Alpine and subalpine ecosystems are threatened by changing climate and disturbance regimes because they exist under extreme geographical and climatic conditions. Understanding the threats to and risk status of alpine and subalpine ecosystems is vital to guide their conservation, inform monitoring programs and identify the relative impact of activities currently degrading these ecosystems. We applied the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems criteria to 15 alpine and subalpine ecosystem types across Australian mountains. We found that seven ecosystem types were classified as threatened and three as Near Threatened, together accounting for 83% of the alpine and subalpine region. The primary threats were climate change and associated changes in fire regimes. There were insufficient data to quantify the environmental or biotic integrity of six ecosystem types, and one ecosystem type was listed as Data Deficient overall. Our study highlighted key knowledge gaps in the integrity of alpine and subalpine systems that limited our capacity to reliably assess risk to these ecosystems. We recommend expanding on‐ground monitoring of ecosystem integrity to improve understanding of risks, key threats and actions to mitigate them. To reduce risks to these ecosystems, climate change must be aggressively mitigated, collateral pressures from invasive plants and animals must be reduced, and critical knowledge gaps that will allow conservation action prioritisation must be quickly filled. These strategies should be co‐ordinated, resourced and enacted urgently in cross‐jurisdictional Alps‐wide work plans.
Source: Austral Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/aec.70214
Authors: Jessica A. Rowland, Chloe Sato, Tracey Regan, David A. Keith, José R. Ferrer‐Paris, Jayne Balmer, James Camac, Ken Green, Jamie Kirkpatrick, Calvin K. F. Lee, Rebecca Lester, John W. Morgan, Keith McDougall, Annette Muir, Nicholas Murray, Ella Plumanns‐Pouton, Emma Sumner, Courtney Taylor, Arn Tolsma, Anikó Toth, Michael Traurig, Kate D. L. Umbers, Susanna Venn, Clare Vernon, Brodie Verrall, Matt White, Jennie Whinam, Genevieve Wright, Dick Williams, Emily Nicholson
Institutions: Deakin University, International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, Monash University, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, The University of Melbourne, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, UNSW Sydney, Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis, Australian National University, University of Tasmania, University of Hong Kong, La Trobe University, James Cook University, Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications, Western Sydney University, Queensland Government, Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,310
Award: Ecosystem risk assessment
OpenAlex ID: W7160025369