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Cypress pine (
Callitrus intratropica
) – the northern Christmas tree. Photo: Mandy Trueman
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THE northern cypress pine, the native Christmas tree of northern
Australia, is being wiped out by bushfires that have swept through
half of Northern Territory’s Top End in the past few months.
The northern cypress pine (
Callitrus intratropica
) is particularly vulnerable to hot fires, according to Mark
Gardener, a researcher with the Tropical Savannas CRC.
“This tree, unlike local Eucalyptus species, will die when
subject to fires that burn 100 per cent of their leaves,” he
said. “The Cypress pines take at least 10 years to mature and
produce seeds, meaning they could easily be wiped out by frequent
fires before they reach maturity.
“This could be changing our landscape forever.”
Mark said that many of the native plants in northern Australia are
likely to be suffering the same fate. For the Arnhem plateau, one
of Australia’s emerging biodiversity ‘hot-spots’,
this is of particular concern. Almost the entire 35,000 km2 Arnhem
plateau was burnt this year by wildfires. The unusual weather
conditions experienced in the Top End in 2004 have meant even more
hot fires during the late dry season, October–November, which
are hotter and harder to control.
