The snowy mountains are the highest mountain range of Australia. It contains the Australian mainland’s mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches to a height of 2.2km (2,238m) above sea level. While there are many geographical issues within the snowy mountains, climate change, fires and weeds are among the major issues effecting the mountain ranges. Climate change is likely to show negative synergies with many existing threats to protected areas. bushfires are deadly to the natural environment, destroying trees and plants native to that environment. The weeds are likely to benefit from reduced snow cover, resulting in an increase in the diversity and abundance of exotics at any given altitude. These issues have been proven to be destructive and harmful to the mountain ranges. …show more content…
A slight temperature rise can turn snowflakes into rain that washes away, rather than adds to snow cover. If deep, long-lasting snow cover disappears, the fragile ecology of snowfields will unravel because the plants and animals that live there have nowhere else to go. Sonya Fiddes says that “Using resort observation we compile a new and robust snow accumulation data set. Both maximum snow depth and total snow accumulation have declined over the last 25 years.” The decrease in snow fall will decrease the snow season duration, decrease snow depth and coverage, and ski season lengths. The climatic changes will impact upon the alpine creating flow on impacts upon eco-tourism numbers as landscapes are degraded and the alpine areas are reduced with the uphill migration of