Around Australia’s highest mountain lies a rare ecosystem, an alpine area of outstanding beauty and diversity, strikingly different from other alpine ecosystems of the world but with common features. Kosciuszko Alpine Flora describes and illustrates the area’s 212 flowering plants and ferns, of which 21 are endemic. It discusses the geological and human history of the area, the life-forms and habitats of the plants, and explores the various plant communities and their environmental relationships. The book contains identification keys, detailed descriptions, and distribution and habitat notes for each species. Superb colour photographs show details of flowers, fruit, foliage, and ecology. Finalist Scholarly Reference section - The Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing 2001

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During the first half of 1965 an unprecedented drought caused widespread wilting of native trees from southern Queensland to the New South Wales-Victorian border. The reaction of some of the native vegetation in parts of the Australian Capital Territory and Monaro Region has been studied. Rainfall from January 1 to June 30 was less than one-quarter of the normal, and by the end of March signs of water stress were apparent over a wide area. The communities most severely affected were dry sclerophyll forests, especially on shallow, stony soils on northerly and westerly aspects. The ability of Eucalyptus spp. to withstand sustained severe dehydration is shown by the fact that the relative moisture content of living leaves could be reduced to 40-45 %, and maintained at these levels for long periods. The prolonged period of dehydration caused general drying out of the trees, rather than leaf and twig desiccation only. In the most severe cases, shrinkage and fissuring of the bark of E. rossii, with ultimate separation at the cambium, was observed. It is suggested that so-called ineffective summer rain in south-eastern Australia is both effective and essential for the native communities on soils of low water-holding capacity. The role of drought in the distribution of native communities is discussed.

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Measurements of overlapping cover of plant species on permanent transects between 1959 and 1978 in the alpine tract at two sites near Kosciusko and Gungartan generally confirm an earlier hypothesis that the cover at Kosciusko, after 15 years' protection from grazing and burning (i.e, by 1959), had attained a degree of equilibrium. A long-term cycle of first decrease and then increase was measured in the cover of the dominant snowgrasses (Poa) and a few other species. Small colonizing species (notably Neopaxia australasica of the short alpine herbfield) increased and then decreased; temporarily spreading onto the dead snowgrasses. Very little bare soil was exposed at any time at Kosciusko; however, the cover of most species fluctuated in the short term in response to dry summers and late-lying snow. At Gungartan, where grazing continued until 1958, the cover of species underwent similar fluctuations but, whilst not reaching the levels measured at Kosciusko, it showed a strong upward trend. Neopaxia australasica, which had occupied many slopes below snowdrift areas, was largely replaced by snowgrasses and tall hygrophilous sedges. The naturalized sorrel (Rumex acetosella), after spreading onto some of the Neopaxia sites and bare soil, was also largely replaced by taller species. Despite a marked decrease in the amount of bare soil, some of the most severely eroded areas at Gungartan were still unvegetated after 20 years' protection. Observation of nearby ground-water areas confirmed-ds indicated by a limited number of measurements at Gungartan, i.e. that hygrophilous sedges recovering frorn the effects of grazing were blocking small streams and that Sphagnum moss and associated shrubs were beginning to spread. The above-mentioned changes in vegetation were evaluated in terms of catchment protection, water yield and nature conservation and recreation. Near-optimal conditions for these uses were maintained at Kosciusko. At Gungartan recovery to the conditions of the Kosciusko vegetation was restricted to the least-disturbed sites.