Regeneration ofEucalyptuswandoo following fire

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Eucalyptus wandoo Blakely (wandoo) has been used for timber production in Western Australia since European settlement. Today, existing wandoo woodlands are managed for a variety of purposes including conservation, landscape and timber. Regenerating wandoo after logging is a primary management objective. This study examined the effectiveness of prescribed fires set under dry soil and fuel conditions in early autumn to regenerate wandoo from seed stored in the capsules of standing trees. Regeneration was restricted to ashbeds (soil heated intensely by burning logs) on the valley floors but was occasionally also found on less intensely burnt ground on the gravelly mid-slopes. Seedlings on ashbeds exhibited superior growth and lower mortality than those growing off ashbed. Ashbed formation was promoted by burning dry logging debris under warm conditions in early autumn. However, these fires (with intensities up to 2000 kWm−1) also caused damage to the crowns and boles of living trees, such damage can be reduced by ensuring that heavy fuels, such as heaps of logs and branches, are more than 10 m from trees and that fire intensity is below 500 kWm−1. A prescription to achieve this fire intensity is presented.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: