response of rainforest following disturbance. For much of the world, 'fire
is the dominant fact of forest history'. As examples, fire and its effects
are reviewed for the northern boreal forests, oak-pine forests and
north-western sub-alpine forests of North America. The effect of fire on
species composition varies with intensity and frequency. That, together with the popular view of fire as unnatural and therefore unacceptable,
places great demands on management of forests for all of their benefits, including national parks and reserves. These difficulties also affect
management of other ecosystems, such as Mediterranean-type shrublands and
heathlands where species diversity, productivity and cycles of regeneration and degradation are governed by fire as a natural disturbance. An extensive
literature supports the hypothesis that natural disturbance is fundamental to the development of structure and function of forest ecosystems. It

follows that our management of natural forest should be based on an
ecological understanding of the processes of natural disturbance. Whether
or not we want to do this, and the extent to which we want to derive all of
the benefits from the forest, including timber, depends on social attitudes. Whereas humanism may treat conservation as the wise husbanding
of forests in the interests of social traditions and harmony, animism may
give nature unalienable rights. The conclusion from this review is that the

ecological framework of natural disturbance and the knowledge of its

component processes and effects provides the basis on which we can manage

our forests as a renewable resource which can be utilized so that the

forests 'retain their diversity and richness for mankind's continuing

benefit'. Nowhere is this management more desperately needed than for the

protection of the world's tropical forests, its peoples and their cultures.

Marsden Smedley, J. and Catchpole Wr (1995). "Fire behaviour modelling in

Tasmanian buttongrass moorlands. II. Fire behaviour." International Journal

of Wildland Fire 5(4): 215-228.

An experimental burning programme was carried out in Tasmanian buttongrass

(Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus) moorlands to develop fire behaviour

prediction models for improving fire management techniques. A range of

previously developed prediction models were examined, but none was found to

provide adequate fire behaviour predictions. Empirical models were

subsequently developed to predict the rate of fire spread and flame height

in flat terrain, using site age, dead fuel moisture content and surface

wind speed variables. It is suggested that the models may provide good

predictions for low to moderate intensity fires and adequate predictions

for high intensity wildfires.

Nunez, M., Kirkpatrick Jb, et al. (1996). "Rainfall estimation in

south-west Tasmania using satellite images and phytosociological

calibration." International Journal of Remote Sensing 17(8): 1583-1600.

Jordan, G., R. Carpenter, et al. (1991). "Late Pleistocene vegetation and

climate near Melaleuca Inlet, south-western Tasmania." Australian Journal

of Botany 39(4): 315-333.

Macrofossils of 27 taxa and microfossils of 47 taxa were identified from a

Late Pleistocene deposit at Melaleuca Inlet. Wood from this deposit was

radiocarbon dated at 38 800 ±1300 BP. This was treated as a minimum age.

Interpretation of the fossil assemblage suggested that at the time of

deposition the climate was cooler than at present and at least as wet. The

local vegetation was dominated by wet scrub and sedgeland-heath communities

with rain forest and wet sclerophyll forest also present. Species

composition was similar to extant vegetation in the region but now-extinct

species and possibly communities were present. Charcoal occurs in the

sediments and the taxonomic make-up of the assemblage is consistent with

the presence of a well-established high fire frequency, despite the deposit

pre-dating the earliest known human occupation of Tasmania.

West, P. w. and K. f. Wells (1992). "Method of application of a model to

predict the light environment of individual tree crowns and its use in a

eucalypt forest." Ecological Modelling 60(3-4): 199-231.

A model is described, with particular application to forests in Australia,

in which the passage of beams of light from the sun is followed through the

vegetation canopy moment by moment throughout individual days, requiring

detailed descriptions of the crown of each plant. Simulations show that

predictions by the model are consistent with theoretical expectations, and

indicate what length of time steps during a day and how frequently during a

year the model must be applied to yield useful estimates of light

absorption by a forest canopy. Results are discussed from an application to

a 12-yr-old regrowth stand of Eucalyptus regnans in southern Tasmania in

which each individual tree crown was represented either in a complex

fashion as a set of spherical shapes or much more simply as a single

ellipsoid. Predictions were made for amount of light absorbed by the crown

of each tree in this stand, average light intensity to which each crown was

exposed, and light intensity at single points within the crown of each

tree, over periods of a single hour, a single day or a whole year, and with

stand unthinned or thinned to varying degrees.

Macphail, M., G. Jordan, et al. (1993). "Key periods in the evolution of

the flora and vegetation in western Tasmania I. the early-middle

Pleistocene." Australian Journal of Botany 41(6): 673-707.

The relatively simple flora and structure of Nothofagus cunninghamii cool

temperate rain forest in Tasmania is widely accepted to be the result of

repeated glaciation during the Pleistocene. Plant macrofossils, spores and

pollen preserved at Regatta Point, western Tasmania, indicate that several

gymnosperms and subcanopy angiosperms with warm temperate affinities had

survived one to several episodes of cold, possibly glacial climates, before

becoming extinct in the early to middle Pleistocene:

Callitris/Actinostrobus, Dacrycarpus, Austromyrtus, Eucalyptus

spathulata-type, Haloragodendron-type, Loranthaceae, Quintinia and

Symplocos. These co-existed in Nothofagus-Lagarostrobos franklinii rain

forest with a number of taxa that are now restricted to upper

subalpine-alpine habitats in Tasmania, such as Astelia, Gunnera and

Microcachrys. The community is difficult to interpret in terms of modern

species and it is proposed that either extinct taxa are being concealed by

essentially modern pollen morphologies, that ecological preferences have

altered since the early-middle Pleistocene, or both. Patterns of

extinctions in Tasmania (and New Zealand) suggest that Pleistocene climatic

change at middle-high latitudes presented an environmental stress not

previously experienced during the Cenozoic, perhaps through widespread

periglacial conditions, but also provided ecological and evolutionary

opportunities for rain forest species tolerant of a wide range of

conditions experienced during the late Pleistocene.

Ladd, P., D. Orchiston, et al. (1992). "Holocene vegetation history of

Flinders Island." New Phytologist 122(4): 757-767.

Two swamp sites on Flinders Island in Bass Strait, Tasmania, provide

evidence of vegetation cover for the period 10 000 BP to present. Steppe

vegetation in which Compositae Liguliflorae taxa and chenopods were

important was present on the Flinders Island part of the Bassian Isthmus

during the earliest part of the record. However, it was replaced by

eucalypt forest or woodland with a grassy understorey and some shrubs as

sea level rose to form the present island by 6000 BP. Eucalypt dominated

vegetation became less important about 940 BP when Callitris became

prominent until very recently. This change may be related to a drier

climate. From pollen evidence in this study and that from other SE mainland

and Tasmanian sites it is suggested that apparent prominence of Casuarina

in SW Victoria and SE South Australia during the early Holocene was due to

local soil factors and drier climate. Later changes in soil and climate led

to a decrease in Casuarina and increase in Eucalyptus.

Olesen, T. (1994). "Light climate as a factor in the morphological

variation of Atherosperma moschatum in a Tasmanian forest." Australian

Journal of Ecology 19(1): 40-45.

The growth of saplings of Atherosperma moschatum within a Tasmanian forest

during 1987-88 was negatively correlated with canopy closure. The dry

weights and specific leaf weights of new leaves were also negatively

correlated with canopy closure, but leaf areas showed a maximum at an

intermediate canopy closure. Leaf chlorophyll concentration was positively

correlated with canopy closure. Internode length was not correlated with

canopy closure, but the ratio of leaf dry weight to internode length was

negatively correlated with canopy closure. These results indicate that the

load of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) may be a major

determinant of variation in plant development.

Hill, R. and Scriven Lj (1995). "The angiosperm-dominated woody vegetation

of Antarctica: a review." Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 86(3-4):

175-198.

Antarctic vegetation is today mostly restricted to non-vascular plants,

with a few small angiosperms clinging to the Antarctic Peninsula. However,

probably as recently as the mid-Late Pliocene, woody angiosperms were

present in inland Antarctica, suggesting an overall presence of complex and

diverse vegetation. Angiosperms were introduced into Antarctica during the

Cretaceous from South America and possibly also Southeast Asia via

Australia. These angiosperms speciated rapidly at the prevailing high

latitudes and were an important source for the developing

angiosperm-dominated vegetation of the Southern Hemisphere. The migration

and evolution of early angiosperms in Gondwana was probably facilitated by

a high level of disturbance caused primarily by the rifting of the

supercontinent. This high-latitude region was an important source of

evolutionary novelty during the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene. As the climate

deteriorated during the Cenozoic, the angiosperm flora was reduced in

biomass and diversity, finally being restricted to the current remnants.

The timing and nature of this major regionalextinction is still poorly

understood.

West, P. and G. Osler (1995). "Growth response to thinning and its relation

to site resources in Eucalyptus regnans." Canadian Journal of Forest

Research 25(1): 69-80.

The factors determining individual tree growth response are examined

during the 4 years following thinning in experiments in even-aged, 8- or

12-year-old regrowth Eucalyptus regnans forest at one site in Tasmania and

one site in Victoria. At the Tasmanian site, a vigorous understorey

dominated by a sedge developed after the thinning. At that site, light-use

efficiency by the trees was unaffected by thinning and the aboveground

biomass production by the trees in the thinned stand was substantially less

than that in the unthinned stand. At the site in Victoria, little

understorey developed, light-use efficiency by trees in the thinned stand

was greater than that in the unthinned stand, and aboveground biomass

production was unaffected by thinning even though the leaf weight of the

thinned stand was far less than that of the unthinned stand. Where the

understorey developed, it was concluded that it competed successfully with

the trees for water, thereby reducing production in the thinned stand when

compared with the unthinned stand. The individual tree growth response that

occurred in the thinned stand at that site appeared to be due solely to the

extra light available to individual trees following the canopy opening.

Where the understorey did not develop, it was concluded that individual

tree growth response was due not only to the extra light available to

individual trees but also to the increased availability of belowground

resources, most probably soil water. Application of a pre-existing stand

growth model suggested that at that site the tendency for increased growth

resulting from extra water availability in the thinned stand was just

balanced by decreased growth due to lower radiation absorption by the

reduced canopy, so that net production was unaffected by thinning.

Campbell, E. O. (1983). "Mires of Australasia." MIRES: SWAMP, BOG, FEN AND

MOOR. REGIONAL STUDIES. Gore, A.J.P. ed.

The author reviews the wetlands of Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand;

and the effects of climate on their development and geographical

distribution. Wetland vegetation are covered and used to classify types of

wetlands as well as soil composition. The main land masses of the

Australasian region are Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Australia is

an island continent with an area over three-quarters that of Europe.

Politically it is divided into the Australian Capital Territory, the

Northern Territory and the states of Western Australia, Queensland, New

South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Tasmania is an island lying some

200 km to the south of Victoria. It is politically part of Australia and

has an area slightly less than that of Scotland. New Zealand lies some 1600

km to the southeast of Australia. It consists of three main islands, known

as North Island, South Island and the smaller Stewart Island, with a total

area about seven-sixths of that of Great Britain.

Gibson, N. and J. B. Kirkpatrick (1985). "Vegetation and flora associated

with localized snow accumulation at Mount Field West, Tasmania." Aust. J.

Ecol. 10(2): 91-99.

The vegetation associated with a snow patch at Mt Field in Tasmania is

described and mapped. Seven distinct vegetation types were found to be

related directly to topography and hence to the patterns of snow

accumulation, snow melt and soil drainage. The fjaeldmark found where snow

lies longest in unusual for Tasmania and may be the product of past

climatic events and a peculiar parent material. At the generic level there

exists a high similarity with the snow patch flora of the Australian Alps.

Macphail, M. K. and E. A. Colhoun (1985). "Late last glacial vegetation,

climates and fire activity in southwest Tasmania." Search 16: 1-2.

Kiernan et al. (1983) attribute the presence of glacidal-age man in the

Franklin Valley, Southwest Tasmania to reduced temperatures and

precipitation favouring shrub-,grass- and sedgelands (Macphail, 1975,

1979); colhoun, 1979) and abundant marsupial game. This area has been

covered in dense wet forest for most of the Holocene (Macphail, 1979). They

envisage a tundra environment bordered (Figure 4 in Kiernan et al., 1983)

by a 60-80km wide zone of temperate rain-forest (closed forest) and wet

sclerophyll forest (tall open forest) along the southwest coast during the

glacial maximum at ca 18kyr bp. Pollen data from Ooze Lake show that the

vegetation in southern southwest Tasmania before ca 16kyr bp was in fact

dominated by rainforest tree species (particularly Huon Pine) but was

probably scrub-heath, not forest. A herbaceous regional vegetation

developed later, due to drier climates and, probably, Aboriginal fires.

Harle, K. J., A. P. Kershaw, et al. (1993). "Palaeoecological analysis of

an isolated stand of Nothofagus cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst. in eastern

Tasmania." Aust. J. Ecol. 18(2): 161-170.

Pollen analysis of the sediments of an small bog, supporting a stand of

cool temperate rainforest in southeastern Tasmania, was undertaken in order

to examine the history of the stand dominant, Nothofagus cunninghamii ,

presently growing outside its predicted climatic range. The pollen record

covers at least the last 9000 years and reveals changes in the bog and in

the surrounding vegetation, although pollen percentages of N. cunninghamii

are sufficiently high to indicate that the species could have had a local

presence throughout the recorded period. It is likely that this N.

cunninghamii stand is relictual, surviving not only Holocene climates, but

also the cool dry conditions of the last glacial period. This ability to

survive changing and sometimes very unfavourable climates leads to the

conclusion that great caution must be exercised in using present climates

alone to predict the potential distribution of N. cunninghamii .

Lynch, A. J. J. and J. B. Kirkpatrick (1995). "Pattern and process in

alpine vegetation and landforms at Hill One, Southern Range, Tasmania."

Aust. J. Bot no. 6: pp.

Hill One is a wind-exposed, alpine environment in southern Tasmania. The

prevailing wind-stream is westerly. However, high intensity south-westerly

winds associated with frost events appear to control the patterning of

fjaeldmark. These winds cause necrosis of prostrate Richea scoparia and

cushion plants on their south-western side and induce migration of

individual plants in a north-easterly direction. Fjaeldmark is confined to

the exposed mountain summit and terrace and step treads. Mosaic cushion

heath occurs in more exposed and poorly drained areas than other heath

communities. The horizontally bedded sediments of Hill One have been worked

by erosional and depositional agents into a complex morphology. Large

terraces and non-sorted steps are likely to have formed from altiplanation

processes, that is, differential erosion of interbedded sediments, with

accumulation of erosional debris at the foot of the risers. Depositional

lobes and erosional washout features are actively forming in localised

areas of concentrated drainage. The distribution of plant communities is

closely associated with rockiness, wind exposure and drainage.

Gibson, N. (1990). "The environments and primary production of cushion

species at Mt Field and Mt Wellington, Tasmania." Aust. J. Bot no. 3: pp.

Primary production of four species of alpine cushion plants were studied

over a 2-year period. The climate of these areas was found to be severe but

with a high degree of variability on a seasonal and yearly basis. The

growing season at the higher altitude sites generally exceeded 6 months.

Net above ground primary production of the four cushion species ranged from

282 to 709 g m super(-2) year super(-1). Reproductive effort fluctuated

between species and years, ranging from 0 to 30% of net above ground

production. Patterns in dry matter accumulation suggest no individual

species would show consistently superior growth rates under present

climatic conditions. Soil moisture and soil nutrient status was found to be

similar betweenall sites. Altitude of the sites (830-1400 m) was found to

be strongly correlated with the timing of flowering and/or seed set but

appeared to have little effect on net primary production.

Davidson, N. J. and J. B. Reid (1985). "Frost as a factor influencing the

growth and distribution of subalpine eucalypts." Aust. J. Bot no. 6: pp.

An examination was made of the effect of natural frosts on pole stands of

eucalypts growing within and surrounding a shallow depression at Snug

Plains (alt. approx. 600 m) in south-eastern Tasmania. Marked differences

in microclimate occurred between the slopes surrounding the depression and

the base of the depression. The most severe frosts were experienced by the

site at the base of the depression, and during a cold spell in June 1983 a

record minimum temperature of -22 degree C was recorded just above the

radiating surface at this site. Pronounced vertical stratification of the

air occurred (up to 9 degree C per m) and a difference in minimum

temperature of 7 multiplied by 3 degree C was recorded over a distance of

200 m between a ridge-top site and the site at the base of the depression.

Cooling rates of up to 6 multiplied by 5 degree C per h were recorded

during these severe frosts. The order of frost sensitivity for fully

hardened pole stands from the most resistant to the most susceptible was E.

gunnii > E. coccifera > E. johnstonii greater than or equal to E.

delegatensis > E. pulchella .

Hickey, J. E., A. J. Blakesley, et al. (1983). "Seedfall and germination of

Nothofagus cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst., Eucryphia lucida (Labill.) Baill

and Atherosperma moschatum Labill.: Implications for regeneration

practice." Aust. For. Res no. 1: pp.

Seedfalls of N. cuninghamii , E. lucida and A. moschatum were monitored at

two rainforest sites in north-west Tasmania from 1975 to 1981. N.

cunninghamii seedfall varied greatly from year to year, while annual

seedfalls of E. lucida and A. moschatum were more consistent. The pattern

of N. cunninghamii seedfall was common to both sites. A summary of

information on N. cunninghamii seed crops in Tasmania since 1963 is

included. Distances of seed dispersal by wind were observed by seed

trapping in logged areas. The germinative capacity of N. cunninghamii seed

peaked at the time of peak seedfall. It was greatest in heavy seedfall

years and low in light seedfall years. E. lucida seed germinative capacity

was consistent each year while A. moschatum appeared to have low

germinative capacity. Stored N. cunninghamii and E. lucida seed retained

their viability better at 3-5 degree C than at room temperature.

Read, J. and J. R. Busby (1990). "Comparative responses to temperature of

the major canopy species of Tasmanian cool temperate rainforest and their

ecological significance. II. Net photosynthesis and climate analysis."

Aust. J. Bot no. 2: pp.

Net photosynthesis was measured in foliage of Tasmanian rainforest canopy

species grown at 20 degree C and acclimated sequentially to a range of

temperatures. Some trends in photosynthetic response (both instantaneous

and acclimatory) correlated with aspects of species' distributions with

respect to altitude, latitude and climate, and with their frost resistance.

This was particularly evident in Athrotaxis selaginoides D. Don and

Nothofagus cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst. which are common at high altitudes.

High-altitude provenances of these species showed a low optimum acclimation

temperature (16-17 degree C) and maintained a high rate of photosynthesis

(as a proportion of their maximum rate) at 8 degree C (84% and 76%

respectively). However, the co-occurring winter-deciduous Nothofagus gunnii

(Hook. f.) Oerst. showed a higher optimum acclimation temperature for

photosynthesis (23 degree C) and a lower rate of photosynthesis at 8 degree

C (60% of its maximum rate) and is apparently adapted photosynthetically to

summer temperature conditions.

Read, J. and J. R. Busby (1990). "Comparative response to temperature of

the major canopy species of Tasmanian cool temperate rainforest and their

ecological significance. II. Net photosynthesis and climate analysis."

Australian Journal of Botany 38(2): 185-205.

Net photosynthesis was measured in foliage of seedlings of Nothofagus

cunninghamii, N. gunnii, Atherosperma moschatum, Eucryphia lucida,

Athrotaxis selaginoides, Phyllocladus aspleniifolius and Lagarostrobus

franklinii grown at 20°C and acclimatized to temp. between 8° and 35°C.

Some trends in photosynthetic response (both instantaneous and after

acclimatization) correlated with aspects of the species' distributions with

respect to alt., lat. and climate, and with their frost resistance. This

was particularly evident in A. selaginoides and N. cunninghamii, which are

common at high alt. High-alt. provenances of these species showed a low

opt. acclimatization temp. (16-17°C) and maintained a high rate of

photosynthesis (as a proportion of their max. rate) at 8°C (84% and 76%

respectively). However, the co-occurring winter-deciduous N. gunnii showed

a higher opt. acclimatization temp. for photosynthesis (23°C) and a lower

rate of photosynthesis at 8°C (60% of its max. rate) and is apparently

adapted photosynthetically to summer temp. Provenances of N. cunninghamii

showed trends in photosynthetic responses (maxima and responses to

extremes) and specific leaf area which correlated with the climate of the

collection site and with frost resistance. This population variation may

permit the very wide geographic and climatic range of this species,

allowing tolerance of extreme temp. as well as a relatively high

competitive ability under more equable climates. A. moschatum showed a low

photosynthetic tolerance of high and low temp. compared with the other

species. This is consistent with the general restriction of this species to

microhabitats with an ameliorated climate and indicates that its wide

latitudinal range is not due to a broader photosynthetic tolerance of temp.

than co-occurring species. The determinants of the narrow latitudinal range

of the Tasmanian endemic species, particularly those which are common at

low alt. (P. aspleniifolius, E. lucida and L. franklinii) are less clear.

Limited acclimatization to high temp. in E. lucida (and P. aspleniifolius

under some conditions), and in the high alt. species N. gunnii and A.

selaginoides, suggests that the sensitivity of these species to high summer

temp. may directly limit their distribution. However, interpretation of the

sensitivity of these species to high summer temp. and low precipitation

shown by the climate analysis is complicated by the interactions of these

climatic features with the incidence of fire.

Tyler, P. A. (1992). "A lakeland from the Dreamtime. The Second Founders'

Lecture." Br. Phycol. J no. 4: pp.

The mountainous wilderness of Tasmania's World Heritage Area and

contiguous land is a district of lakes and rivers of immense beauty and

interest. A congruence of change in climate, relief, geology, soils and

vegetation divides the island into western and eastern provinces. A jagged,

western land of ancient rocks is mantled by peat-forming rainforest and

sedgeland, where creeks run, unenriched with minerals, to topaz, red-window

lakes. Eastwards lies a younger, flatter land, covered by sclerophyll

forests of Eucalyptus . Minerals from the soluble rocks give the lakes

distinctive chemistry compared with the brown dilute sea-water which drains

the western quartz. No peat extracts stain these eastern lakes and they lie

crystal clear with deep green windows. In this wilderness is a rich

diversity of rare microscopic organisms. Some, long forgotten, have been

rediscovered there. Others, new and novel, turn up with every cast of the

net. Among the richest sites are the coastal, fresh-water lagoons which the

Aboriginal inhabitants would have known intimately. Beside the Gordon River

are small lakes of very special interest. Periodically, they are topped up

with salt water from the estuary, keeping them meromictic, with brackish

water below and fresh water above. Such lakes and their unusual features

are uncommon in the world. They have social relevance. Because of their

meromictic condition, their sediments hold an especially fine-resolution

chronology of prehistoric climates and vegetational changes which shaped

Aboriginal fortunes to the times of European contact. Tasmania must stand

as one of the finest lake districts of the world. Perhaps nowhere else is

there such limnological richness and diversity in so small an encompass as

this island. Add to this its predominantly pristine nature, its uniqueness

and its beauty, and we have in all respects a World Heritage wetland

unsurpassed in this degraded world.