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The Australian Alpine region is highly vulnerable to extreme climate events such as heavy rainfall and snow falls, these events subsequently impact rainfall erosivity and hillslope erosion in the region. In this study, the relationship between extreme rainfall indices (ERIs) and rainfall erosivity was examined across the Alpine region in New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the surrounding areas including Murray and Murrumbidgee and South East and Tablelands (SET). Rainfall erosivity, hillslope erosion, and their changes were estimated in the future periods using the revised universal soil loss equation and the NSW/ACT Regional Climate Modeling (NARCliM) projections. Results from the study demonstrate a good relationship between ERIs (especially Rx5Day) and rainfall erosivity. The rainfall erosivity and hillslope erosion are projected to increase about 2 and 8% for the near future (2020–2039), further increase to 8 and 18% for the far future (2060–2079) in the Alpine region assuming the groundcover is maintained at the current condition. The change in rainfall erosivity and erosion risk is highly uneven in space and in season with the highest erosion risk in summer with an increase about 33% in the next 50 years. The highest erosion risk area is predicted within SET (maximum rate 19.95 Mg ha−1 year−1), but on average, the ACT has the highest erosion rate, which is above 1.36 Mg ha−1 year−1 in all periods. The snowmelt in spring in the Alpine region is estimated to increase the rainfall erosivity by 13% in the baseline period, up to 24% in the near future, but far less (about 1%) in the far future due to predicted temperature rise and less snow available in the Alpine region in the next 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most reptiles exhibit no parental care and aggressive behaviour towards heterospecific predators has rarely been recorded in the natural environment. Several species of the subfamily Egerniinae are amongst the most highly social of all squamate reptiles, exhibiting stable social aggregations and high levels of long-term social and genetic monogamy. We have examined Cunningham's skinks, Egernia cunninghami , over a three-year period during late January and early February (total 32 days) in the alpine region of New South Wales using video and thermal imaging. Four birthing sessions were witnessed during our field studies of social aggregations of skinks. Our observations monitored skink encounters, in the presence of offspring, with an eastern brown snake, Pseudonaja textilis (two separate encounters, one recorded by video/imaging) and 12 encounters with the Australian magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen. All events were associated with aggressive chasing and/or attack by adult skinks. The first snake encounter involved the active targeting of a recently born juvenile with the mother of the juvenile attacking the snake (running towards the snake, biting and remaining attached for several seconds). The second encounter (the following year) comprised two adult skinks attacking and biting a snake, Pseudonaja textilis. All magpie encounters resulted in chases by adult skinks. Non-avian reptiles show only basic forms of sociality and parental care in relation to other animals such as mammals and birds. Aggressive behaviour towards predators by such reptiles is rarely observed. Our study has observed adult Cunningham's skinks attacking large eastern brown snakes, demonstrating that parental care can possibly be more sophisticated than previously thought for lizards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) is a critically endangered marsupial, endemic to alpine regions of southern Australia. We investigated the diet of a recently discovered population of the possum in northern Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, Australia. This new population occurs at elevations well below the once-presumed lower elevation limit of 1,600 m. Goals and Methods. Faecal material was analysed to determine if dietary composition differed between individuals in the newly discovered northern population and those in the higher elevation southern population, and to examine how diet was influenced by rainfall in the southern population and seasonal changes in resource availability in the northern population. Results and Discussion. The diet of B. parvus in the northern population comprised of arthropods, fruits and seeds. Results indicate the diet of both populations shares most of the same invertebrate orders and plant species. However, in the absence of preferred food types available to the southern population, individuals of the northern population opportunistically consumed different species that were similar to those preferred by individuals in higher altitude populations. Differing rainfall amounts had a significant effect on diet, with years of below average rainfall having a greater percentage composition and diversity of invertebrates. Seasonal variation was also recorded, with the northern population increasing the diversity of invertebrates in their diet during the Autumn months when Bogong Moths (Agrotis infusa) were absent from those sites, raising questions about the possum's dependence on the species. Conclusions. Measurable effects of rainfall amount and seasonal variation on the dietary composition suggest that predicted climatic variability will have a significant impact on its diet, potentially impacting its future survival. Findings suggest that it is likely that B. parvus is not restricted by dietary requirements to its current pattern of distribution. This new understanding needs to be considered when formulating future conservation strategies for this critically endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MLR and RF were used to estimate current SOC stocks in south-eastern Australia. • Rainfall and minimum temperature were major drivers in determining SOC stocks. • The multi-GCM ensemble means suggested an overall decrease in SOC stocks. • The largest mean decrease of SOC stocks occurs in the high-rainfall alpine regions. Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a key role in the sequestration of carbon that could otherwise be warming the atmosphere. Climate change including increased temperature and changed rainfall will greatly impact the global SOC cycle. There are still significant gaps in our knowledge of the size of the global SOC pool and how future climate will affect SOC stocks and flows in many parts of the world, including Australia. In this study, we used SOC data in a Digital Soil Mapping framework to predict current and future SOC stocks across the state of New South Wales (NSW) in south-eastern Australia. In the first phase of the study we estimated the current SOC stock using multiple linear regression (MLR) and random forest (RF) modelling, and in the second phase we projected the change of SOC stocks in the near future (2050s) and far future (2090s) under two Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) scenarios based on 25 global climate models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Our spatial modelling showed that estimated current SOC stocks in NSW decreased from east to west. Multi-GCM ensemble means suggested SOC stocks would decrease by 7.6–12.9% under SSP2-4.5 and 9.1–20.9% under SSP5-8.5 across NSW under future climate. The extent of change in SOC stocks varied spatially with the largest mean decrease of SOC stocks occurring in the North Coast and South East (alpine) regions of NSW. Our findings can support decision-making in land management and climate change mitigation strategies in NSW at the regional level. Furthermore, the modelling methods can be applied to other areas where edaphic and landscape properties, land use, and climate data are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite the recognized importance of seasonality for tourism businesses, there has been a distinct lack of studies undertaken in the past that discuss the impact of seasonality on alpine accommodation resorts, and more specifically that focus on an Australian location. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the Australian alpine accommodation providers and ski operations have been significantly impacted by the issue of seasonality and to determine more specifically, had there been industry pressure placed on them to become all season operations? For this study, a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers of hospitality businesses located in the sub-alpine region of Jindabyne, and nearby alpine areas of Perisher and Thredbo in New South Wales, Australia. Study results indicated that the majority of managers acknowledged the fact that there has been an increase in the number of summer visitors each year which has pressured them to make changes to their operations. They conceded that such activity has served to reinforce a ‘stand alone’ mindset which was still prevalent amongst the majority of the managers in the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Oxycanus oreades sp.n. and Oxycanus oressigenes sp.n. (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) are described from the subalpine and alpine zones above 1600 m in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales. The females of O. oreades are sub-brachypterous and flightless. These species are compared to similar species of Oxycanus and to other Oxycanus found in the Mt Kosciuszko area. Sub-brachypterous Hepialidae in New Zealand and Europe are discussed. Aspects of the biology of the new species are described and the suitability of O. oreades for assessing climatic change is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]