Adams, M

Adams, M. A. and P. M. Attiwill (1984). "Role of Acacia Spp. in nutrient

balance and cycling in regenerating Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell. Forests.

I: Temporal changes in biomass and nutrient content." Aust. J. Bot. 32(2):

205-215.

Following severe fire in high-rainfall Eucalyptus regnas F. Muell.

forests, Several Acacia species may germinate in large numbers. Large

amounts of nitrogen as well as calcium, magnesium and potassium are

immobilized in the Acacia biomass, much of which is retunrned to the soil

after canopy closure. Within 3 years of a "regeneration burn", 280 kg N ha

super(-1) was in the above-ground Acacia biomass and litter layer. The

relative abundance of nitrogen in Acacia spp. is a result of N fixation.

The probable rate of N fixation appears significant in relation to losses

of nitrogen associated with slash-burning. It is concluded that the Acacia

spp. may be important in the secondary succession through nutrient

conservation, replacement and redistribution.

Adams, M. and P. Attiwill (1991). "Nutrient balance in forests of northern

Tasmania. 2. Alteration of nutrient availability and soil-water chemistry

as a result of logging, slash-burning and fertilizer application." Forest

Ecology and Management 44(2-4): 115-131.

A 100-ha plot in dry sclerophyll forest in NE Tasmania (dominant species

Eucalyptus obliqua) was logged during summer 1983-84, slash burnt in March

1985, and fertilized (N, P or N+P) eight months later. In situ measurements

of N mineralization and nutrient mobility were compared with those from an

adjacent, undisturbed forest. Nitrification was absent in all soils.

Nitrate concentrations in soil water were low and probably not responsible

for cation movement. Cation concentrations in soil water were immediately

increased by fire and by fertilizer additions and decreased continuously

after these events. Addition of strong-acid anions in fertilizer increased

cation movement. Soil water sampled at 10 cm depth was often coloured and

contained high concentrations of oxidizable organic carbon; lower

concentrations were found in samples collected from 30 cm depth. Uptake and

mineralization of N were increased by logging and slash-burning.

N-mineralization was promoted further by the addition of fertilizer-N and

was reduced by the addition of P, or N+P. Nutrient losses were exacerbated

by fertilizer additions and restricted by lack of nitrification, by

nutrient uptake by soil microorganisms and vegetation, and probably by

formation of complexes between organic anions and cations in the soil

profile.

Attiwill, P. M. (1994). "Ecological disturbance and the conservative

management of eucalypt forests in Australia." For. Ecol. Manage. 63: 2-3.

There is increasing recognition that natural disturbance is a dominant

force in forest development. This paper sets out to review natural

disturbances and their effects in forests in Australia, and to determine

whether or not the effects of management of forests for all of their

benefits can be contained within the known effects of natural disturbance.

The history and evolutionary significance of fire in Australia is reviewed,

and the differing fire ecologies of two representative species, Eucalyptus

regnans in the south-east (which is killed by fire and regenerates

prolifically from seed after fire) and Eucalyptus marginata in the

south-west (which survives all but the most severe fires and regenerates

from both shoots and seeds) are outlined. The development of E. regnans

following stand-replacing fire can be defined as highly resilient

(returning quickly to the pre-disturbance state) and that of E. marginata

as resistant (difficult to move from the pre-disturbance state). There has

been speculation that harvesting mountain ash forests by clearfelling and

regenerating them following slash-burning will lead to a loss of nutrients

and a consequent loss of productivity. Nutrient cycling in mountain ash is

shown to be resilient to disturbance. Rapid uptake of nutrients by the

regenerating forest, immobilization of nutrients by microorganisms, and

increased rates of nitrogen fixation are processes which lead to the

conservation of nutrients following stand-replacing fires. There is no

evidence of productivity decline following bushfire or timber harvesting.

Another concern about forest harvesting is that there will be a reduction

in carbon storage. The break-even point for E. regnans plantations yielding

short-lived products (e.g. paper) is 37 years and for E. regnans forests

grown for sawn timber, 60 years. Harvesting forests on rotations of 80-120

years will therefore result in an increase in carbon storage; however, it

would take several rotations to restore carbon storage equivalent to that

of old-age forest. This paper presents the view that timber harvesting in

Australian forests is ecologically sustainable and that the effects of

management can be contained within the framework of those caused by natural

disturbance. Given that each plot in the forest differs from all other

plots and that none is at steady state, a solution for the management of

diversity is to use the whole of the forest estate (parks, stream reserves,

catchment reserves, old-age forest, forests of different ages resulting

from past fires and logging) so that diversity of the estate, rather than

diversity of each plot, is maximized.

Attiwill, P. M. (1994). "The disturbance of forest ecosystems: The

ecological basis for conservative management." For. Ecol. Manage. 63: 2-3.

The extensive literature on natural disturbance in forests is reviewed in

terms of the hypotheses: (1) that disturbance is a major force moulding the

development, structure and function of forests; and (b) that management of

forests for all their benefits can be controlled so that the effects can be

contained within those which result from natural disturbance. The causal

factors of natural disturbance are both endogenous and exogenous; there are

major difficulties in the formal characterization of disturbance and of

recovery after disturbance. As to the latter, the acceptance of classical

generalizations of the nature of succession had led to particular

difficulties in the assessment and interpretation of recovery. Tree fall,

which creates gaps, is fundamental to the development of many forests, and

has been most intensively studied in tropical forests of Central America

and the Amazon and in temperate forests of North America. Tree fall is part

of autogenic change; mechanisms of gap-filling and subsequent growth and

species composition vary widely with forest type and geography. Disturbance

by wind is particularly difficult to characterize. Wind varies along a

continuum; the blow-down of an individual tree may be mostly due to

autogenic processes of ageing and decay, whereas catastrophic hurricanes

and cyclones may be defined as wholly exogenous. Nevertheless, the

resilience in terms of species diversity of tropical forests following

catastrophic disturbance by hurricane is remarkable. A number of studies

support the view that the tropical forest in hurricane-prone areas is not a

stable steady-state ecosystem but rather that heterogeneity is maintained

by catastrophe. The ability to regenerate by suckers and the coincidence of

regenerative space and gregarious flowering are important components of the

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.

Barker, P. C. J. (1991). "Podocarpus lawrencei (Hook.f.): Population

structure and fire history at Goonmirk Rocks, Victoria." Aust. J. Ecol no.

2: pp.

Podocarpus lawrencei is a native conifer which normally occurs as a shrub

in alpine, and less often in sub-alpine, communities in New South Wales,

Victoria and Tasmania. A disjunct and unusual distribution occurs at

Goonmirk Rocks, in north-east Victoria, in a montane, wet forest

environment in which P. lawrencei grows as a procumbent and sometimes

vertical tree up to 13 m tall. The communities in which P. lawrencei occurs

at Goonmirk Rocks are described, and the population structure of P.

lawrencei is determined using an age class model. Measurement of light

regimes and of the nutrient status of these communities indicate

differences between areas of active regeneration and those with none, and

between forest types that do support P. lawrencei and those that do not.

Bowman, D. M. J. S., A. R. Maclean, et al. (1986). "Vegetation-soil

relations in the lowlands of south-west Tasmania." Aust. J. Ecol. 11(2):

141-153.

A geographic survey of 14 south-west Tasmanian sedgeland-heaths revealed

that soil organic matter is related to: water content; total nitrogen (N);

total and exchangeable sodium (Na), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg);

exchangeable potassium (K) cation exchange capacity: and total exchangeable

bases. However, total and available phosphorus (P), total K and iron (Fe),

pH level and percentage base saturation were found to be independent of

organic content. Most of the soil nutrient capital is contained in the A

sub(0) horizon, the depth of which was found to be positively related to

the time elapsed since the last fire. There is no clear relationship

between rock type and soil fertility, but there is evidence of

soil-vegetation interaction. The sedgeland-heath species have lower

concentrations of P, Ca and Mg in their foliage and are more efficient in

the withdrawal of P and K upon tissue senescence than the surrounding scrub

and forest species. Over a vegetation transition from sedgeland-heath to

forest on uniform geology there was a change in soil type.

Brasell, H. M. and J. P. Mattay (1984). "Colonization by bryophytes of

burned Eucalyptus forest in Tasmania, Australia: Changes in biomass and

element content." Bryologist no. 4: pp.

Bryophytes became established about three months after a high intensity

slash burn after logging a high quality eucalypt/rainforest site in the

Picton River region of southeastern Tasmania. Some successional change

among species occurred, but the biomass of the bryophytes remained fairly

constant at 140-180 g m super(-2) from 14 to 38 months after burning. The

mineral element contents were considerably different among species, with

high concentrations of nitrogen in Polytrichum juniperinum , and of

potassium in Marchantia berteroana , and low concentrations of all elements

in Campylopus introflexus . For each species, there were consistent

decreases in the contents of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium,

but not magnesium, with increasing time since the fire.

Brown, M. J. and F. D. Podger (1982). "Floristics and fire regimes of a

vegetation sequence from sedgeland-heath to rainforest at Bathurst Harbour,

Tasmania." Aust. J. Bot. 30(6): 659-676.

The floristic differences found in vegetation ranging from sedgeland-heath

to rainforest were sampled by the placement of 80 quadrats in an area 2 km

super(2) near Bathurst Harbour, Tasmania. A direct gradient analysis using

the time since last fire as the major axis of variation suggests that the

changing species composition of sites is both gradational and fire-related.

Previous descriptive models based on correlations between fire frequency

and structural formations are confirmed by this study. A broad correlation

between fire frequency and floristic associations within non-forested

vegetation is also demonstrated. However, explanation of detailed patterns

requires consideration of the total fire regime (including duration and

intensity of fire) and its interaction with edaphic factors. For example,

fires which burn in peat lead to hysteresis in the successional pathways.

Brown, M. J. and F. Podger (1982). "On the apparent anomaly between

observed and predicted percentages of vegetation types in south-west

Tasmania." Aust. J. Ecol no. 2: pp.

There is an anomaly apparent between the estimated percentage of area of

rainforest in south-west Tasmania and the amount predicted by a Markovian

model based on fire frequency. The anomaly results from a misinterpretation

of the original reference. The predicted percentages of vegetation types

are in broad accord with present day distributions, and variations can be

explained by relatively minor shifts of fire frequency estimates.

Brown, M. J., J. B. Kirkpatrick, et al. (1983). "Conservation status of

endemic vascular plants in alpine Tasmania." MOUNTAIN ECOLOGY IN THE

AUSTRALIAN REGION. Purdie, R.W. 12(12): 168-169.

Tasmania's endemic vascular flora comprises some 300 taxa; about 50% of

these occur in alpine habitats, and all but 8 of the alpine taxa have

adequate populations in State Reserves. Increasing usage of State Reserves

creates problems for management, but the chief threat to endemic alpine

species comes from fire. Fires in the period 1960-80 have burnt about 16%

of the total area of alpine vegetation in Tasmania. Management for the

continued protection of adequate populations of endemic species thus

involves the management of fire, both in alpine and in adjacent areas.

Chambers, D. and P. Attiwill (1994). "The ash-bed effect in Eucalyptus

regnans forest: chemical, physical and microbiological changes in soil

after heating or partial sterilisation." Australian Journal of Botany

42(6): 739-749.

The ash-bed effect (the enhanced growth of plants on soil which has been

heated) following fire in Eucalyptus regnans forest is dramatic. The

results are presented of studies of the effects of a range of heating and

partial sterilization treatments on chemical, microbiological and physical

properties in soil from a 250-year-old E. regnans forest in Victoria. Soil

treatments not involving heat (chemical sterilization, gamma-irradiation

and air-drying) and the lower temperature heat treatments (100 and 200ƒC)

had no marked effects on physical characteristics. All treatments produced

more or less similar effects on microbial populations. On the other hand,

heating the soil to 400-600ƒC produced large, significant and sustained

increases in the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus and these

increases were enhanced by a decrease in clay colloid. The results support

the hypothesis that the ash-bed effect following fire in E. regnans forest

is due to an increase in the availability of nutrients, and in the

availability of nitrogen and phosphorus in particular. A transitory

increase in the concentration of manganese caused by heating the soil may

account for initial toxicity in plants grown in soils which have been

heated. Since species within the subgenus Monocalyptus are characterized by

lower tissue concentrations of manganese than those within Symphyomyrtus,

it could be hypothesized that the potential for toxicity following bushfire

varies between the two subgenera. The literature on the effects of

soil-sterilising treatments is highly variable; the causes of variability

include soil type and moisture content, treatment (sterilizing by steam,

chemicals or heat) and the method of treatment (time, how the soil was

contained, and how the treatment was applied).

Colhoun, E. a. (1992). "Late glacial and Holocene vegetation history at

Poets Hill Lake, western Tasmania." Australia Geographer 23(1): 11-23.

Two cores (down to 3.9 m) were taken from the edge of a peaty flat by

Poets Hill Lake (600 m altitude), Tasmania, for pollen analysis to give a

record of vegetation history since the last glaciation (Margaret

Glaciation). Alpine herbfield, coniferous heath and Nothofagus gunnii scrub

developed on the moraine until 11 400 BP. Wet montane forest and heath then

developed with Phyllocladus aspleniifolius, N. cunninghamii and Eucalyptus

until about 10 000 BP. After 10 000 BP, there was a mosaic of N.

cunninghamii rain forest, Myrtaceae and Proteaceae scrub and Sprengelia

incarnata heath. The development of the vegetation from alpine communities

to temperate rain forest, which is near its limit at 600 m altitude,

occurred under the influence of improving climatic conditions with rapid

upslope migration or local expansion of taxa during the late glacial.

Temperatures were warm enough for the development of rain forest at 600 m

altitude by 10 000 BP, if not earlier. The development of a mosaic of rain

forest, scrub and heath vegetation rather than extensive rain forest after

10 000 BP reflects the influence of poor soils, poor drainage and fire.

Comparison with similar pollen diagrams from W. Tasmania suggests that the

development of pollen/vegetation associations was time transgressive with

altitude during the late glacial when climatic influences and migration

rates were important, and that the mosaic of vegetation communities became

more complex during the Holocene because of adjustment to or control by

local ecological factors.

Ellis, R. C. and A. M. Graley (1987). "Soil chemical properties as related

to forest succession in a highland area in north-east Tasmania." Aust. J.

Ecol. 12(3): 307-317.

The relationship between vegetational type and a number of soil chemical

factors was examined in secondary successions from fire-maintained

eucalypt/grass to climax rainforest communities growing on uniform granitic

soil parent material. Canonical variates analysis, which utilized the

following variables: pH; loss on ignition; total N, P, Ca, and Mg; cation

exchange capacity and exchangeable Ca, K, and Mg; and potentially

mineralizable N, revealed close overall similarity between surface soils of

adjacent types, and significant differences among those of types distant

from each other in the successional sequences. Differences among soils in

chemical composition and rates of mineralization of N were due to

differences in species composition of the vegetational types that they

carried for the time being.

Ellis, R. C. and P. I. Pennington (1992). "Factors affecting the growth of

Eucalyptus delegatensis seedlings in inhibitory forest and grassland

soils." Plant Soil no. 1: pp.

In many highland forests of Eucalyptus delegatensis in Tasmania the

establishment and healthy growth of eucalypts is promoted and maintained by

fire. In the absence of fire, secondary succession from eucalypt forest to

rainforest occurs, during which the eucalypts decline and die prematurely.

On sites that are prone to radiation frost severe reduction or removal of a

tree canopy allows a sward of tussock grasses to develop, in competition

with which seedlings of eucalypts decline in growth and a high proportion

dies. Factors of the soil that could contribute to these phenomena were

investigated by means of pot experiments that used soils from: a secondary

succession of vegetative types from recently burned healthy eucalypt forest

to unburned mature rainforest: this encompassed a sequenceof decline and

death of the eucalypt trees; soil from old grassland in which eucalypt

seedlings were exhibiting severe growth check and mortality; from beneath

individual trees of several species growing on old grassland.

Fensham, R. and J. Kirkpatrick (1992). "The eucalypt

forest-grassland/grassy woodland boundary in central Tasmania." Australian

Journal of Botany 40(2): 123-138.

Downslope boundaries of forest with grassland and grassy woodland occur

over a wide altitudinal range in central Tasmania. Observations were made

and a series of experiments were carried out at 3 sites to study the causes

of these boundaries at low, medium and high altitudes (500, 800 and 1000 m,

respectively). Open vegetation was generally associated with moister and

less rocky soils and more subdued topography than the adjacent forest.

Frost incidence and intensity, soil moisture and waterlogging varied

markedly among the 3 open areas. Direct sowing trials were attempted at

different times using various ground treatments and species mixtures of

woodland eucalypts (Eucalyptus ovata, E. rodwayi and E. gunnii) and forest

eucalypts (E. tenuiramis, E. pauciflora and E. coccifera ). Seedlings

survived 4 years in the open at all sites, and seedlings established in the

open both naturally, and after sowing, where grass competition was reduced

by herbicide application, scarification or root competition from adult

eucalypts. Grazing had no detectable effect on seedling establishment. A

pot experiment demonstrated a suppressive effect of native grass (Poa

labillardieri) swards on establishment and growth of E. rodwayi seedlings;

this effect was largely independent of available moisture and nutrients.

While frost, waterlogging, fire and drought may play a role in inhibiting

eucalypt establishment and increasing eucalypt mortality at some or all of

the sites, the dense grass swards found in all the open areas are

considered to be the most likely primary agent of tree exclusion.

Fensham, R. (1992). "The management implications of fine fuel dynamics in

bushlands surrounding Hobart, Tasmania." Journal of Environmental

Management 36(4): 301-320.

Hobart's bushlands comprise 8 distinct vegetation types ranging from open

woodland to wet forest. Fine fuel accumulation characteristics are

distinctive across this range of vegetation types, and mainly conform to a

function of the amount of fuel under steady-state conditions, the

proportion of litter that decomposes and time since the last fire.

Applicability, appropriate frequency, and ecological consequences of

controlled burning as a means of reducing fuels to protect life and

property from wildfire is discussed for the various vegetation types.

Gibson, N., Davies J, et al. (1991). "The ecology of Lagarostrobos

franklinii (Hook. f.) Quinn (Podocarpaceae) in Tasmania. 1. Distribution,

floristics and environmental correlates." Australian Journal of Ecology

16(2): 215-222.

A survey of Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) in Tasmania was carried

out during 3 summers from 1982 to 1985. Four major community types, largely

restricted to the river systems of W. and S. Tasmania, were identified,

viz. (1) Huon pine rain forest (poorly formed canopy trees and an

intermixed tall tangled understorey); (2) thamnic Huon pine rain forest

(moderately well formed canopy trees and a medium to low tangled

understorey); (3) gallery Huon pine rain forest; and (4) Huon pine scrub.

Continuous variation was found between most of these communities. The

floristic variability was correlated with temperature, rainfall and

geological gradients. It is suggested that the restricted nature of Huon

pine distribution in Tasmania is associated with a slow terrestrial

dispersal rate rather than a narrow fundamental niche. There is some

evidence to suggest that the species has been further restricted by fire.

Hickey, J. and M. Savva (1992). "The extent, regeneration and growth of

Tasmanian lowland mixed forest." 106(66).

A discussion is presented of the extent, regeneration, growth and

management of Tasmanian lowland mixed forest. Up to 195 000 ha (20%) of

Tasmania's wet eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.) forest is mature mixed forest

>110-yr-old. At least 33% is reserved in the Tasmanian Wilderness World

Heritage Area or in other State and Forest Reserves. Almost half the area

of mixed forest with a mature myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii) understorey

has a eucalypt density of only 5-20% which implies that it is in the last

successional stage prior to becoming rain forest. In the absence of

disturbance, large areas of the mixed forest can be expected to become rain

forest in <100 yr. An analysis of data from randomly located plots in

eucalypt regeneration established on mixed forest and rain forest sites

showed that 57% of sites contained 20- to 30-yr-old myrtle regeneration. A

comparison of the floristics of 20- to 30-yr-old regeneration (occurring

after wildfire and felling) with old-growth mixed forest showed that the

mean frequency of most rain forest species was greatest in old growth

forest and lowest after felling. The major 'special timbers' harvested from

the mixed forest are blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), celery-top pine

(Phyllocladus aspleniifolius), leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida), myrtle,

sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum) and silver wattle (Acacia dealbata).

Hickey, J. E. (1994). "A floristic comparison of vascular species in

Tasmanian oldgrowth mixed forest with regeneration resulting from logging

and wildfire." Aust. J. Bot no. 4: pp.

About 20% of Tasmania's wet eucalypt forest is mixed forest, i.e. having a

rainforest understorey and a eucalypt overstorey. While one-third of the

mixed forest is formally reserved, much of the remainder is subject to

logging on an 80-100 year rotation which is insufficient for the

redevelopment of mature mixed forest. The routine silvicultural

regeneration treatment for wet eucalypt forests is to clearfell, burn and

sow with eucalypt seed. A comparison of the vascular floristics of

20-30-year-old silvicultural and wildfire regeneration with oldgrowth mixed

forest showed that most species common in oldgrowth mixed forest were

represented in approximately similar frequencies in silvicultural

regeneration and wildfire regeneration. The major floristic difference

between the two regeneration types was the much lower frequency of

oldgrowth epiphytic fern species in silvicultural regeneration and a higher

frequency of a sedge species often associated with disturbed areas.

However, after a single logging treatment, the vascular plant floristics of

silvicultural regeneration were sufficiently similar to wildfire

regeneration to assume that, in the absence of further logging or fires,

the silvicultural regeneration could become mature mixed forest and

eventually rainforest. Further work is required to determine whether

regrowth mixed forest can be logged at 80-100 years and still retain

sufficient rainforest elements to eventually return to mixed forest within

the life span of the dominant eucalypts. The critical factor in the

silvicultural perpetuation of mixed forest may be rotation length rather

than regeneration treatment.

Hill, R. S. (1982). "Rainforest fire in western Tasmania." Aust. J. Bot no.

6: pp.

Humus/surface litter fires in cool temperate rainforest have received

little attention in Tasmania. Past studies suggest that these fires are the

result of drought, which dries the humus and surface litter to a flammable

level. Such fires are probably extremely variable in effect and extent

because of their reliance on weather conditions. A humus/surface litter

fire at Zeehan was species-specific, affecting Nothofagus cunninghamii and

Eucryphia lucida in particular. The trees which survived were growing on

humus that was too shallow to sustain the fire, and they escaped being

burnt. Three months after the fire, seedlings from the fire-stimulated

germination of humus-stored Acacia melanoxylon seeds were abundant but the

majority died within the following 6 months.

Hill, R. S. and J. Read (1984). "Post-fire regeneration of rainforest and

mixed forest in western Tasmania." Aust. J. Bot. 32(5): 481-493.

Regeneration of two forests in Tasmania burnt early in 1981 and 1982

respectively indicates that fire behaviour is an important factor in

determining species composition. An area of rainforest burnt in the Zeehan

fire of 1981 is regenerating toward pure rainforest. This fire was small

and patchy, and therefore many trees survived to provide a seed source for

a major germination of rainforest species after the fire. However, several

seral stages are expected to precede the climax vegetation. In contrast, an

area of mixed forest burnt in the Savage River fire of 1982 has undergone a

major change in species composition because of the proximity of a

sclerophyll seed source. The Eucalyptus nitida overstorey is likely to be

maintained but sclerophyllous species will probably increase in dominance

in the understorey at the expense of the pre-fire rainforest dominance.

Given a long fire-free interval, this forest may undergo succession to the

climax rainforest but this is unlikely due to large amounts of fuel, the

drying effect of the forest edge and the nearby road which allows access

for human-caused fires.

Horne, R. and J. Hickey (1991). "Review. Ecological sensitivity of

Australian rainforests to selective logging." Australian Journal of Ecology

16(1): 119-129.

A review of past studies of the ecological consequences of selective

logging in the major rain forest areas of Australia. The main aspects

covered are recovery of stand structure, regeneration capacity, individual

tree growth and species composition of stands, hydrological effects,

floristics, wildlife, soil nutrient levels, fire susceptibility, and

incursion of weeds and diseases. Following a single selective logging, the

changes indicated by individual studies often appeared to be relatively

minor. It is suggested that many of these effects are not extensive or

irreversible and might not persist beyond structural recovery of the rain

forest. However, two changes were identified as likely to persist beyond

structural recovery. These are (i) a post-logging difference in the

proportional representation of major overstorey tree species and (ii) a

reduction in the numbers of large-diameter trees. More extensive and

longer-lasting changes may result from multiple selective loggings,

especially if the interval between loggings is short. Even for light

logging intensities, a conservative interval of at least 60 years between

loggings is indicated, to allow canopy and below-canopy conditions to be

restored. The slower growth of the rain forests in Tasmania, compounded by

a geographical susceptibility to drought, increases the possibility of fire

damage following selective logging relative to the more northerly mainland

rain forests.

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.

Kirkpatrick, J. B. (1983). "Treeless plant communities of the Tasmanian

High Country." MOUNTAIN ECOLOGY IN THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. Purdie, R.W. 12:

61-77.

Analyses of the associations of 65 dominant species from 430 quadrats

located in Tasmanian treeless high altitude vegetation are used to provide

a framework and guidelines for the construction of a typology of plant

communities. These communities are listed and discussed within the context

of the following vegetation types: bolster heath, deciduous heath,

coniferous heath, heath, fjaeldmark, bog, fen, short alpine herbfield, tall

alpine herfield and tussock grassland. The distribution of communities is

best related to a climatically and geologically-controlled edaphic

gradient, a soil drainage gradient and to the vagaries of fire history. The

successional status of most of the plant communities is deduced from their

patterns of distribution. Several of the alpine dominants usually fail to

regenerate after fire. There is insufficient evidence to support a widely

suggested cyclic succession process involving bolster plants.

Kirkpatrick, J. B. and M. J. Brown (1984). "A numerical analysis of

Tasmanian higher plant endemism." Bot. J. Linn. Soc no. 3: pp.

Tasmanian endemic plant taxa at the species level or below were placed in

geographic elements according to the distribution of their genera. These

elements are associated with different environments, the endemic and

Antarctic elements being most prominent in rainforest and alpine

communities; the cosmopolitan element in alpine communities, and the

Australian element in the fire-prone lowland communities. The proportions

of endemic species in local Tasmanian floras were almost totally explained

by altitude and precipitation in a stepwise multiple regression analysis.

However, it is possible that many of the endemic species have not been able

to occupy their potential range in Tasmania as a result of insufficient

time having elapsed for them to fully expand from glacial refugia.

Kirkpatrick, J. B. and K. J. M. Dickinson (1984). "The impact of fire on

Tasmanian alpine vegetation and soils." Aust. J. Bot no. 6: pp.

Observations were made across 11-40-year-old fire boundaries in Tasmanian

alpine areas of varying macroenvironment and flora. Surface soil organic

matter and total nitrogen were significantly less where the vegetation had

been recently burned. There were no significant differences between

recently burned and recently unburned plots for phosphorus, potassium,

calcium, sodium and pH. The burned plots contained few or no gymnosperms or

deciduous shrubs, the most frequent dominants of the unburned vegetation.

Most other shrubs were markedly less important in the burned than in the

unburned plots, although most species of bolster form were little affected

by fire, and some composite shrubs were most abundant on the burned plots.

Most herbaceous species had equal or higher cover on the burned plots than

on the unburned plots. The burned vegetation of the eastern mountains

appeared to regenerate more quickly than that of the more oligotrophic

western mountains.

Kirkpatrick, J. B. (1986). "Conservation of plant species, alliances and

associations of the treeless high country of Tasmania, Australia." Biol.

Conserv. 37(1): 43-58.

The treeless high country of Tasmania has considerable conservation and

catchment value. Much of its area lies within National Parks and other

reserves of similar tenure, but many species and communities are confined

to land of less secure status. Much high mountain land is subject to

stockgrazing and burning, both of which activities have led to

deterioration in vegetation and soils. The reservation status of species

and communities can be made near perfect with relatively small additions to

the State Reserve system. However, the impacts of trampling and deliberate

fires do not respect reserve boundaries, and their mitigation or

elimination requires some intensive management.

Kirkpatrick, J. (1990). "A synusia-based mapping system for the

conservation management of natural vegetation, with an example from

Tasmania, Australia." Biological Conservation 53(2): 93-104.

Much forest and woodland vegetation in national parks worldwide consists

of functionally and ecologically different assemblages of species: these

synusiae may require different management regimes for their conservation

and perpetuation. Vegetation mapping based on height, cover, dominance or

floristics may not recognize synusiae with different management

requirements. A method for mapping synusiae using colour aerial photographs

to discriminate attributes of vegetation cover most relevant to maintaining

biotic diversity is presented. The Western Tasmanian World Heritage Area

(which varies from high altitude mosaic cushion heath and fjaeldmark

communities to sedgeland, scrub, eucalypt and rain forest at lower

altitudes) was mapped, and synusiae rated according to criteria of fire

response, susceptibility to trampling, community and species rarity, and

percentage cover already within secure nature reserves.

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.

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

Tasmanian buttongrass moorlands. I. Fuel characteristics." International

Journal of Wildland Fire 5(4): 203-214.

As part of a programme to develop fire management strategies for Tasmanian

buttongrass (Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus) moorlands, fuel characteristics

were sampled from sites at Melaleuca (far southwest), near the Gordon River

Road (central southwest), near the Franklin and Collingwood Rivers (west)

and on the Navarre Plains (west), Tasmania, Australia. Equations were

developed to predict the total fuel loading and the dead fuel loading. The

best predictors of fuel loading were found to be geology, vegetation age

(i.e. time since the last fire) and vegetation cover. Vegetation cover was

difficult to assess consistently and it was shown that reasonable

predictions can be made using only vegetation age and geology. The dead

fuel loading of a given age was found to be strongly correlated with total

fuel loading, independent of geology. The statistical techniques used to

develop fuel models are discussed. Other fuel characteristics that could be

used as inputs for the Rothermel fire behaviour model are also presented.

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.

Neyland, M. and M. Brown (1994). "Disturbance of cool temperate rainforest

patches in eastern Tasmania." Australian Forestry 57(1): 1-10.

The effects of artificial disturbance (clear felling, selective logging,

road construction, fire break construction or craftwood removal) on the

structureand floristics of cool temperate rain forest patches in E.

Tasmania were investigated over a two-year period. The effectiveness of

buffer zones of varying widths in protecting the rain forests from nearby

logging disturbance was also assessed. The width and nature of the eucalypt

[Eucalyptus] forest-rain forest boundary was also examined. Where the

boundary of the rain forest was coincident with a sharp topographic feature

the boundary was also sharp and was often <40m wide. Where the boundary was

not coincident with a sharp topographic feature the boundary may be diffuse

and >40m wide. Where there had been a recent fire, the boundary may be very

sharp. In all cases, a buffer zone at least 40m wide is considered

sufficient to protect the rain forest from adjacent disturbance.

Neyland, M. G. and M. J. Brown (1994). "Disturbance of cool temperate

rainforest patches in eastern Tasmania." Australian Forestry 57(1): 1-10.

The effects of artificial disturbance (clear felling, selective logging,

road construction, fire break construction or craftwood removal) on the

structure and floristics of cool temperate rain forest patches in E.