Ski pistes causing “severe damage" to slopes

Preparation of ski pistes is causing severe environmental damage – and the problem will worsen as global warning takes hold, researchers have warned. According to the BBC News website, Swiss scientists looked at 12 resorts and found that there was nine per cent less plant cover – and 11 per cent fewer plant species – on pistes. The differences were more pronounced at higher altitudes, the BBC reports suggesting that the problem will get worse as ski runs are created at ever-higher altitudes. The research reportedly shows that woody plants and species that flower early are the most likely to be affected – and that, even on slopes that had been re-sown, pistes that had been mechanically “graded” had not recovered some 30 years afterwards. Christian Rixen, of the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, reportedly told the BBC: “At higher altitudes, especially above the timberline, it is really difficult to re-vegetate areas that have been graded. The higher you are, the more difficult it is. The effects we found will be a lot more dramatic in coming years.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd www.newsfromabroad.com