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Jon Marsden-Smedley collecting a litter sample from an unlogged forest. |
Image: Alen Slijepcevik. |
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Project summary:
Eucalyptus obliqua wet forest fuel characteristics and burning were studied at the Warra Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Site in Tasmania’s Southern Forests. The study examined pre-logging, post-logging and post-burning variation in fuel characteristics in wet sclerophyll and mixed forest.
The utility of low intensity burning in coupes with 10% dispersed retention was also studied. The mean, near-surface, fine-fuel loads (i.e. fuel diameters less than or equal to 25 mm) in unlogged E.obliqua wet forest varied from about 13 t/ha in mixed forest to about 20 t/ha in wet sclerophyll forest.
These fuel loads increased to between about 40 and 85 t/ha following logging. High intensity regeneration burns removed the majority of the fine fuel. In low intensity burns, the amount of fuel removal was dependent on the fuel moisture. Two low intensity burns removed 50-90% of the fuel less than 25 mm in diameter and required significantly higher numbers of personnel than high intensity burns. Low intensity burns were lit in mid to late autumn when fuel moistures are higher than in late summer/early autumn when high intensity burns are normally performed.
Although it was possible to perform low intensity burns in E.obliqua wet forest, their effectiveness needs to be assessed by forest managers. Factors influencing the planning of low intensity burns include the amount of ash bed required for eucalypt regeneration, the desired reduction in fire risk, the resources needed to perform the burn and the number of burns needed.
Methodology: Pre-logging, post-logging and post-burning variation in fuel characteristics were examined in wet sclerophyll and mixed forest. The mean, near-surface, fine-fuel loads (i.e. fuel diameters less than or equal to 25 mm) were measured in unlogged E.obliqua mixed forest, wet sclerophyll forest and in coupes following logging.
Datasets: None available.
Publications: Grove, S.J. (2009). A decade of deadwoodology at Warra. The Tasmanian Naturalist 131: 25-35.
Hollis, J. (2011). Predicting woody fuel consumption: can existing models be used?. Fire Note Issue 76 March 2011.
Hollis, J.J., Matthews, S., Ottmar, R.D., Prichard, S.J., Slijepcevic, A., Burrows, N.D., Ward. B., Tolhurst, K.G., Anderson, W.R. & Gould, J.S. (2010). Testing woody fuel consumption models for application in Australian southern eucalypt forest fires. Forest Ecology and Management 260: 948-964.
Marsden-Smedley, J. & Slijepcevic, A. (2001). Fuel characteristics and low intensity burning in Eucalyptus obliqua wet forest at the Warra LTER site. Tasforests 13: 261-280.
Slijepcevic, A. (2001). Loss of carbon during controlled regeneration burns in Eucalyptus obliqua forest. Tasforests 13: 281-290.
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