Australia's forests key to global warming fight

CANBERRA: Ancient Australian forests are key to fighting climate change and contain the world's most dense carbon store, eclipsing tropical rainforests as efficient greenhouse gas absorbers, scientists said yesterday.

Towering Mountain Ash forests covering Victoria state's cool highlands hold four times more carbon, or around 1,900 tons of carbon per hectare, than tropical forests, scientists at the Australian National University said.

"The trees in these forests can grow to a very old age, at least 350 years, and they can grow very large, very tall, and they grow very dense, heavy wood," said Brendan Mackey, a professor of environment science.