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Project summary:
The quantity and characteristics of the decaying-log resource (fallen, dead wood) was sampled in two 5-7 year old cable logged coupes, two 15-24 year old conventionally clearfelled coupes, and adjacent unlogged control stands of mature wet Eucalyptus obliqua forest in south-eastern Tasmania [including Warra coupes WR007B, 7C, 5E, 1D and 9A]. Accumulations of decaying wood in unlogged stands ranged between a mean of 174 m3/ha and 455 m3/ha, among the highest reported for forested ecosystems. Neither logging method significantly impacted on the quantity or quality of decaying wood. Volumes after logging at least matched, and at conventionally logged coupes exceeded, those found in adjacent unlogged stands, a legacy from the pre-logging stand. Large diameter logs, with diameters >50 cm, were found to be an important component of this resource in all stands examined. Logging did not significantly affect the amount of internal wood decay or the frequency of occurrence of different types of wood-rot.
A high level of variability for many of the parameters measured in this study was encountered both within and between stands. More intensive sampling within stands and a greater number of replicate sites is required for a more rigorous investigation of the impact of logging on this resource. The results of this study suggest that logging of mature wet eucalypt forest has a negligible impact on the decaying-log resource, at least in the short-term! Further research is required to determine the likely impact of second rotation logging of native forest and intensive forest management practices such as plantation forestry. These activities have the greatest potential to negatively affect the long-term quantity and quality of decaying wood in the forest, particularly through their impact on the continued supply of large-diameter logs at varying stages of decay, as has been shown overseas. Knowledge of Tasmania’s log-dwelling invertebrate fauna is poor.
Studies such as this which emphasise habitat conservation rather than single-species research need to be encouraged. The sustainable management of this much-neglected habitat will be greatly assisted by understanding the dynamics of decaying wood in forests of various types and under different management regimes. The methods used in overseas studies of the input and output (decay) of decaying wood are reviewed in this study to provide a resource for future work.
Methodology: Not available
Datasets: None available.
Publications: Grove, S.J. & Meggs, J. (2003). Coarse woody debris biodiversity and management: a review with particular reference to Tasmanian wet eucalypt forests. Australian Forestry 66: 258-272.
Grove, S.J. (2009). A decade of deadwoodology at Warra. The Tasmanian Naturalist 131: 25-35.
Meggs, J.M. (1996). Pilot study of the effects of modern logging practices on the decaying-log habitat in wet eucalypt forest in South-East Tasmania: report to the Tasmanian RFA Environment and Heritage Technical Committee Forestry Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
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