Grass attack

commended the value of the scale of the project, but cautioned that there are 'lots of unknowns', such as how plants might migrate along it. " We are going to be looking at this for a long time, " he said. The first landowner to buy into the scheme is the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, a non-profit organisation that buys land for conservation with both government funding and private donations. It has acquired a 13 square kilometre property, south of Canberra, as a key part of the new corridor. This Scottsdale reserve lies in the Murrumbidgee valley and comprises eucalyptus woods and grassy plateaus and will help protect a range of endangered plants and animals including grasses, fish, platypus and quolls. The eventual corridor will approach the length of the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor in North America, which runs for 3,200 km. A major problem facing Australian conservationists is the widespread invasion of many foreign species, which threaten the continent's unique species. One of the first tasks at Scottsdale will be the control of weed species such as the African lovegrass and serrated tussock, which have invaded native woodland and threaten key native grass species. " If we can get these native grasses to return we'll see birds and insects coming in, and seeds being moved around, and the habitat will begin to recover, " says Owen Whitaker of Bush Heritage. " What we are essentially trying to do is go backwards. We are taking good, fertile farming land and turning it back into a functioning ecosystem. " " Not all farmers can do this, of course, because they have to make money, but all properties can be improved and reduce the impact that they have on species at risk. " Bush Heritage chief executive officer, Doug Humann said: " With less rainfall and more frequent intense fires predicted for the south of Australia, and an increased risk of cyclones and extreme rainfall over the north, extinction rates are set to soar unless action is taken. " Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased from around 280 parts per million (ppm) in preindustrial times to around 380 ppm today and are expected to exceed 600 ppm by the end of the century. Current levels are probably higher today than they have been for at least 650,000 years. Over the past half million years, evidence suggests levels have more often been closer …