Fire Regimes and Tree Growth in Low Rainfall Jarrah Forest of South-west Australia |
| |
Authors: | Neil Burrows Bruce Ward Alex Robinson |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Environment and Conservation, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Kensington, WA, 6983, Australia;(2) Department of Environment and Conservation, Brain Street, Manjimup, WA, 6258, Australia |
| |
Abstract: | Regular fuel reduction burning is an important management strategy for reducing the scale and intensity of wildfires in south-west
Australian native forests, but the long term effects of this on tree and stand growth are not well understood. Five fire treatments,
including application of frequent and infrequent low intensity burns, and 25 years of fire exclusion, were applied to small
(4 ha) experimental plots in a low rainfall mixed jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) forest to investigate the effects of these treatments on tree stem diameter growth, stand basal area increment and tree
mortality. Mean tree stem growth measured over 20 years was lowest in the long unburnt treatment compared with the burn treatments,
although surface soil nutrient levels were generally higher in the unburnt treatment, suggesting these sites may be moisture
limited. There was no clear pattern of the effects of the burn treatments, including the number of fires and the interval
between fires, on tree stem growth, stand basal area increment, crown health or mortality. These factors were strongly influenced
by dominance condition, with dominant and co-dominant trees growing most and suppressed trees growing least and experiencing
the highest mortality levels. There was no evidence of deteriorating tree or stand health that could be attributed to either
regular low intensity burning or to a long period (25 years) of fire exclusion. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|