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.

Costin, A. B. (1983). "Mountain lands in the Australian region: Some

principles of use and management." MOUNTAIN ECOLOGY IN THE AUSTRALIAN

REGION. Purdie, R.W. 12(12): 1-13.

The main group of mountain lands in the Australian Region are the

NewGuinea Highlands, the Great Dividing Range, the east coast ranges, the

great Western Plateau, Tasmania, and various islands. Some aspects of

research on palaeo-ecology and plant/animal/environment interactions are

reviewed briefly. Problems of land use and management present special

challenges to ecologists. These include the improvement of procedures for

determining land use, and the application of principles of management

appropriate to natural vegetation for the purposes of nature conservation,

recreation and tourism, water catchment, grazing and forestry. Examples are

given of the use of data on vegetation successions to assist management.

Ellis, R. C. and P. I. Pennington (1989). "Nitrification in soils of

secondary vegetational successions from Eucalyptus forest and grassland to

cool temperate rainforest in Tasmania." Plant Soil 115(1): 59-73.

Rates of nitrification in well drained granitic soils from forest stands

and grassland of differing successional status and from beneath isolated

individuals of several tree species were compared in a series of laboratory

experiments. Nitrification was absent or occurred at only a low rate in

many soils; it generally increased as succession proceeded from mature

grassland or eucalypt forest towards climax temperate rainforest, but

decreased in mature climax forests. However, the influence of individual

tree species was often paramount. Nitrification was stimulated by

disturbance of a stand by disease. A possible inhibitor of nitrification in

a rainforest soil could not be removed by leaching with water, nor

transferred via the leachate to a nitrifying soil. Addition of P was

without effect on either total amount of nitrate produced or on net

mineralisation of soil N, but sometimes increased the rate of nitrification

of added ammonium.

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.

Frey, W. and P. Dalton (1996). "Hypnodendron comosum-community in

Tasmania." Nova Hedwigia 62(1-2): 215-220.

Hypnodendron comosum var. comosum var. sieberi and H. vitiense subsp.

australe (endemic in SE Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand and thought to

be archaic taxa) form a typical dendroid community. The dendroid taxa reach

high cover values and characterize the feature of the community ("miniature

forest"), which is described for the first time from Tasmania. Surveys were

made in western Tasmania, in rain forests characterized by Nothofagus

cunninghamii, Atherosperma moschatum and Eucryphia lucida and the conifers

Phyllocladus, Lagarostrobus [Lagarostrobos] and Athrotaxis. On loamy and

humic soil the number of species of the community is low, increasing on

decaying wood. The community is a complementary one to those described from

New Zealand. It is assumed that such dendroid bryophyte communities from

forests which today are temperate rain forests of the southern hemisphere

represent a relict vegetation of the forest floor of former Gondwanaland

forests.

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.

Gibson, N., Brown Mj, et al. (1992). "Flora and vegetation of ultramafic

areas in Tasmania." Australian Journal of Ecology 17(3): 297-303.

The flora and plant communities were surveyed of 15 areas of ultramafic

(serpentine) rock in Tasmania. Dry sclerophyll communities on ultramafic

rock were restricted to 2 areas in the north of Tasmania. In the wetter

western and southern areas the ultramafic land supported heathlands, wet

scrubs, and a wet sclerophyll/mixed forest community dominated by

Eucalyptus obliqua, E. nitida or E. delegatensis. One of the most striking

features of the ultramafic areas in Tasmania is the variable degree of

physiognomic differentiation between adjacent ultramafic and non-ultramafic

substrates at the different sites. Physiognomic differentiation is less on

non-lateritic soil types or where accumulation of colluvial material has

occurred. Only 3 ultramafic endemic taxa were recorded.

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 eucalyptdensity 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).

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.

Jarman, S. and G. Kantvilas (1995). "Epiphytes on an old Huon pine tree

(Lagarostrobos franklinii) in Tasmanian rainforest." New Zealand Journal of

Botany 33(1): 65-78.

The epiphytic flora of an old Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) in

western Tasmania is composed of 76 lichens, 55 bryophytes and 16 vascular

plant species. There is a vertical zonation of the cryptogams on the tree,

with little overlap between basal and canopy floras. Bryophytes are the

dominant life form at the base of the tree but there is a marked increase

in the diversity of lichens and in the ratio of lichens to bryophytes, with

increasing height. The longevity of the tree is manifest in the development

of a wide range of microhabitats but it seems unlikely that any of the

cryptogams require such longevity per se to become established as rain

forest epiphytes. However, several of the vascular species on the tree are

normally terrestrial and their occurrence as epiphytes is dependent on the

development of sufficient peat to support their root systems. Such a

process is likely to be very slow, requiring a long-lived host species. The

study illustrates the richness of lichens and bryophytes in the forest

ecosystem and the extent to which even a single tree can contribute to the

biodiversity of a forest site.

Jarman, S. and G. Kantvilas (1995). "A floristic study of rainforest

bryophytes and lichens in Tasmania's myrtle-beech [Nothofagus cunninghamii]

alliance." Tasmanian NRCP Report No. 14, v + 55 pp.; 47 ref. PUBLISHER

INFORMATION(Forestry Commission): Tasmamia.

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.

Kile, G., J. Packham, et al. (1989). "Myrtle wilt and its possible

management in association with human disturbance of rainforest in

Tasmania." Special issue: Workshop on forest health in the South Pacific,

Rotorua, 30 31 May and 1 June 1989 19(2-3): 256-264.

Chalara australis is a lethal primary pathogen of Nothofagus cunninghamii

(myrtle) in Tasmanian rain forests. It is a major cause of gaps in

myrtle-dominated stands but mortality is often most severe in rain forest

subject to human disturbance. Potential strategies for minimizing the

disease in areas of disturbed rain forest are discussed.

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.

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.

McCormick, N. (1991). "Lowland dry eucalypt forests." Technical Bulletin

Native Forest Silviculture, Forestry Commission, Tasmania(3).

In part A, silvicultural prescriptions are given for the management of

lowland dry eucalypt forests in Tasmania; detailed guidelines for selection

of the appropriate silvicultural system are presented. In part B,

descriptions are given of these forests, which are the dominant forest type

below 600 m altitude in the drier regions of N. and E. Tasmania.

Twenty-five of the 29 Eucalyptus spp. in Tasmania are found in these

forests.

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

structure and 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.

Podger, F., T. Bird, et al. (1988). "Human activity, fire and change in the

forest at Hogsback Plain, Southern Tasmania." Proceedings of the First

national conference on Australian forest history, Canberra.

The frequency, extent and severity of fires in Australia's natural

ecosystems has almost certainly been influenced by the activities of its

Aboriginal and European inhabitants. The effects are evaluated of repeated

fire on the plant communities in an area of native vegetation around

Hogsback. Floristic lists were made for 221 plots. Analysis indicated that

there were 14 recognizable plant communities along a continuum from

sedgeland to rain forest. Five histories since 1881 were constructed for

the plots using growth ring counts on fire-sprouts and fire-callus of

wounded stems. In sedgeland, as many as seven fire wounds of different ages

were recorded from 1914 to 1978 in relic Acacia melanoxylon, while in tall

eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.) forest, cross sections from eucalypt stumps left

after selection felling in 1911 gave ring counts of up to 410 years. Aerial

photographs, newspaper reports and Tasmanian Forestry Commission records

were also used to piece together the fire history of the area. After 1881,

extensive fires associated with timber exploitation became more frequent;

this resulted in the displacement of forest by sedgeland.

Podger, F. and M. Brown (1989). "Vegetation damage caused by Phytophthora

cinnamomi on disturbed sites in temperate rainforest in western Tasmania."

Australian Journal of Botany 37(6): 443-480.

P. cinnamomi was isolated directly from 558 diseased plants of 39 species,

including 1 fern, 4 graminoids and 34 woody dicotyledons, all indigenous to

the cool temperate rain forest of Tasmania. Pathogenicity was proved by

greenhouse tests (20 spp.) and by field inoculation at two sites (19 spp.).

Of the 142 species in the rain forest flora, 69 were rated for the

susceptibility of field populations: 30% were highly susceptible and less

than 5% highly resistant. High proportions of susceptible species occurred

in Epacridaceae, Eucryphiaceae and Proteaceae. All 93 isolates tested were

the common A2 mating type. The fungus was consistently associated with

disease at 47 survey sites. Diseased plants were widely but patchily

distributed along exposed road and track edges within unburned rain forest

and in recently burned rain forest. The fungus was not recovered from soil

samples taken beneath healthy roadside regeneration, beneath undisturbed

rain forest or above 900 m alt. The disease has the characteristics of

attack by a recent invader and appears to be dependent upon disturbance

which increases soil temp. above 15ƒC, the lower threshold for infection by

P. cinnamomi. Post-fire recovery of forest canopy is expected to allow

re-establishment from external sources of seed of those susceptible species

which are both efficiently dispersed and tolerant of shade. Species lacking

such characteristics are at risk of local elimination but no single rain

forest species appears to be under threat of extinction from this pathogen.

Podger, F., C. Palzer, et al. (1990). "A guide to the Tasmanian

distribution of Phytophthora cinnamomi and its effects on native

vegetation." Tasforests 2(1): 13-20.

A map of the distribution of Phytophthora cinnamomi in Tasmania and a list

of 136 Tasmanian native plants which have been recorded as hosts are

presented. Guidelines for recognition of infested areas are given.

Wilkinson, G., M. Battaglia, et al. (1993). "Silvicultural use and effects

of fire." Technical Bulletin Native Forest Silviculture, Forestry

Commission, Tasmania No. 11, 60 pp.; 11 pp. of ref. PUBLISHER

INFORMATION(Forestry Commission): Tasmamia.

A discussion is presented in 3 parts on the effects of fire on the

silvicultural management of Tasmania's native forests which are mostly

eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.) forests. Part A provides guidelines for the

silvicultural use of fire for site preparation and fuel reduction and for

the management of forests damaged by fire. Part B contains a summary of the

ecological effects of fire in Tasmania's forests. Part C is a comprehensive

literature review (on which parts A and B are based) and includes sections

on (i) prehistory of fire in Tasmania, (ii) eucalypt fire ecology, (iii)

ecological models of vegetation, fire and time, and (iv) effects of fire on

soils, water, air, vegetation and fauna.

Wilkinson, G. and W. Neilsen (1995). "Implications of early browsing damage

on the long term productivity of eucalypt forests." Forest Ecology and

Management 74(1-3): 117-124.

Seedlings of Eucalyptus nitens (Deane et Maiden) and Eucalyptus regnans F.

Muell. were artificially defoliated at various times during their first

growing season in order to simulate the effects of animal browsing. Results

after 7 years indicated that there was no long term effect on the survival

and growth of seedlings that were subjected to the removal of growing tips

in the first spring and autumn following planting. The loss of half of the

crown in autumn resulted in lower survival than for unbrowsed seedlings but

the better growth rate of the surviving seedlings resulted in no loss of

total volume production. However, seedlings subjected to the loss of half

of the crown in spring produced 25% less total volume growth than unbrowsed

seedlings. The complete removal of the crown resulted in long term volume

losses of 71-97% as a result of very low survival and poor growth rates.

The poor growth of heavily browsed seedlings was attributed to their

failure to achieve dominance over the competing vegetation. Overall, the

severity of defoliation had a greater effect on survival and growth than

the timing of treatment, although browsing in autumn resulted in higher

mortality than in spring. The results confirmed the need for eucalypt

seedlings to be protected against severe browsing damage in order to

achieve site occupancy and full growth potential.Keywords: Browsing damage;

Productivity; Eucalypt forest; Eucalyptus spp.