The subalpine treeless valleys and flats (parks) of the Australian Alps have some analogues elsewhere in the world (eg. western United States), but attain their best development within the Australian Alps (Costin 1989). The crux of the argument for World Heritage listing of the Australian Alps lies in the vegetation, particularly the eucalypt-dominated forests and woodlands and the alpine communities, but also, generally, for its high level of diversity and representativeness. In particular, there seems little or no doubt that the alpine and eucalypt-dominated ecosystems would qualify under World Heritage criteria (ii) and (iv). The facts noted by Kirkpatrick (1989) should not affect listing. The Australian Alps alpine vegetation is largely distinct from that of Tasmania and is generally more locally diverse. Thus, under the conditions of integrity the Australian Alps would be preferentially listed if the Tasmanian alpine and mainland alpine vegetation were considered to be in the same biogeographic province, which would be unlikely. The two sets of alpine vegetation are certainly more different in their dominance and structure than the two sets of rainforest vegetation covered by the Queensland and Central Eastern listings. The herb and grass dominance exhibited over much of the Australian mainland alpine zone is certainly more similar to other alpine areas outside Australia than the shrub and cushion-dominated Tasmanian alpine vegetation. However, there are no great floristic similarities at the species level between the mainland alpine vegetation and that anywhere else in the world, and the structural expression of herb dominance is relatively unusual. Barlow (1989) concludes that the flora of the Australian Alps, by which he means effectively the Kosciusko alpine zone, is a differentiate of a diverse southern hemisphere flora, its uniqueness lying in its presentation of colonisers of a young and ephemeral habitat, rather than in any concentration of primitive species and genera. He regards the flora of the Australian Alps as unique on a world scale, with its autochthonous Australian component setting it apart from all others, and with striking differences in the nature of the treeline, botanical
The subalpine treeless valleys and flats (parks) of the Australian Alps have some analogues elsewhere in the world (eg. western United States), but attain their best development within the Australian Alps (Costin 1989). The crux of the argument for World Heritage listing of the Australian Alps lies in the vegetation, particularly the eucalypt-dominated forests and woodlands and the alpine communities, but also, generally, for its high level of diversity and representativeness. In particular, there seems little or no doubt that the alpine and eucalypt-dominated ecosystems would qualify under World Heritage criteria (ii) and (iv). The facts noted by Kirkpatrick (1989) should not affect listing. The Australian Alps alpine vegetation is largely distinct from that of Tasmania and is generally more locally diverse. Thus, under the conditions of integrity the Australian Alps would be preferentially listed if the Tasmanian alpine and mainland alpine vegetation were considered to be in the same biogeographic province, which would be unlikely. The two sets of alpine vegetation are certainly more different in their dominance and structure than the two sets of rainforest vegetation covered by the Queensland and Central Eastern listings. The herb and grass dominance exhibited over much of the Australian mainland alpine zone is certainly more similar to other alpine areas outside Australia than the shrub and cushion-dominated Tasmanian alpine vegetation. However, there are no great floristic similarities at the species level between the mainland alpine vegetation and that anywhere else in the world, and the structural expression of herb dominance is relatively unusual. Barlow (1989) concludes that the flora of the Australian Alps, by which he means effectively the Kosciusko alpine zone, is a differentiate of a diverse southern hemisphere flora, its uniqueness lying in its presentation of colonisers of a young and ephemeral habitat, rather than in any concentration of primitive species and genera. He regards the flora of the Australian Alps as unique on a world scale, with its autochthonous Australian component setting it apart from all others, and with striking differences in the nature of the treeline, botanical