bushfireconf2015 - 21. challenges of resuscitating a fuel management program in a complex regulatory...
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NCC Fire & Restoration
The Challenges of resuscitating a fuel management program in a complex regulatory framework
Mick Wilson, Justin Williams, Nick Bush, and Mark Drury
Typical Strategic ObjectivesUp to 1996 Forestry Commission managed about 8 Million ha…… down to 2 Million Hectares by 2003
Mid North Coast Forest Protection Area = 360,000ha
Fuel and Fire Management Objectives Land Management Objectives
Reduce wildfire risk Maintain or enhance biodiversity or cultural heritage
Protect life and property Protect soil and water values
Improve fire-fighter safety Maintain Carbon stores
Protect wildlife from damaging affects of wildfire
Protect Scenic values
Maintain natural or appropriate fire regimes
Provide for Recreation
Keep fire from travelling off estate Protect Timber values
Minimise smoke and health risks Protect stock and infrastructure
Example Problems
1. Mega-fire phenomenon in Southern Australia and west coast continental states.
2. High-intensity, late season fires in northern Australia.
3. Rainforest expansion in northern tropics4. Understorey thickening, dieback and
biodiversity impacts in eastern NSW and Qld.5. Frequent, high-intensity fire regime in coastal
heathlands
Coastal Forests NSW - Example
Area burnt by wildfire increasing, area burnt by prescribed fire decreasing since 80sGrassy forests decliningBell-Miner Associated Dieback affected forests increasingLimited HR burning resources and windowExpectations to do more burning highCurrent constraints on HR limit ability to address problem
Environmental Legislation Fire Management Legislation pertaining to State Forests in NSW
Environmental Planning & Assessment Act
3 Possible Pathways for Forestry
BFEAC
All tenure
IFOA
Native State ForestP & R Code
Plantations
Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (logging)
Advantages Disadvantages
Best Management Practices for Roads and Trails
Harvesting exclusions are also burn exclusions – burning of old growth or corridors and other flammable communities not permitted
Fire regime intervals do not apply May not allow for practical burn boundaries
Do not need to issue a certificate No coverage for burning Endangered Ecological Communities
Surveys not required
Base net area map is basically a burn exclusion map
Practical Solutions
Bushfire CodeAdvantages DisadvantagesLess burn exclusions Certificate process clumsy – for a Land
Management Agency with already sophisticated planning systems and highly skilled practitioners
Not a specified forestry activity and not audited – less compliance risk
Many long fire intervals in conflict with long standing science of fuel accumulation and fire behaviour
Coverage for burning EECs Not all threatened species and communities listed so there are grey areas in terms of coverage for those
Clear intent to encourage planned, prescribed fire
Some prescriptions loose, some quite tough – enforcement riskDoes not have practical conditions for fire trail maintenance workNO COVERAGE FOR ECOLOGICAL BURNING
Mixophyes balbus & M. IteratusBFEAC – 100m on all streamsIFOA – 30m buffer on streams within 200m of the record
Prescriptions
“The science of Fuel Accumulation is KNOWN!”Wilson et al – last Night
Source: McCaw, Forest Ecology and Management 2013; Based on dry fuel conditions and moderate to high FFDI
Intensity that wildfire can be controlled
Nor a habitat management outcome
Source: Hollis et al, Forest Ecology and Management 2011
Using Weather ParametersFire Parameters Target Fire Parameters Target
Wind speed <15km/hr Wind Direction(s) N/A
FDI <10 BKDI <100
FMC Dry 10 - 16% FMC Wet >20%
Head Fire ROS <60m/hrRelative Humidity >40
FMC Elevated >10%Temperature <280 C
Flame height 1-2 m
Rate Of Spread of Test burn (15 minutes) Spot Ignition Spacing
2.5 metres 20 metres
5.0 metres 40 metres
7.5 metres 60 metres
The Challenge of Containment
LiDAR – Heavy Understorey
Bell Miner Dieback
Containment
Understanding the problem
•Have we described the problem by?• Landscape Tenure• Vegetation community Location (risk)• Interaction with scale, tenure and land management
objectives
•Is the problem getting worse? •What are the potential solutions?•How quickly do we need to act?
Eden Burning Study Area Patchiness of burning in Dry Shrub ForestL- Logged; U – UnloggedF – Frequent (2years); R – Routine (4 years)Mean Coupe Size – 32 ha
Plot Level Burning at Eden
Source: Penman et al ; Forest Ecology and Management 2007
BFEAC Tolerable Fire Intervals for Moist Blackbutt Forests
NSW - Minimum Interval 30 years (full stop) !
QueenslandSEASON: Summer to winter. INTENSITY: Plan for low to moderate. Unplanned occasional high intensity wildfire will occur. INTERVAL: 4-8 years maintains a healthy grassy system. 8-20 years for shrubby elements of understorey.
STRATEGY: Aim for 40-60% mosaic burn. Needs disturbance to maintain RE structure (eucalypt overstorey with open understorey of predominantly non-rainforest species).
ISSUES: Frequent fire is needed to maintain understorey integrity, keeping more mesic species low in the profile of the understorey so that other species can compete. However, rainforest invasion is only a problem in moister forest south of the Logan River. North of the Logan River around Venman Reserve this RE occurs at higher elevation and is drier. Burning regimes will need to be adjusted according to location. High fuel loads develop within a short period of time owing to bark drop. High intensity fires occur periodically through time, however frequent low to moderate intensity fires will create the disturbance required to keep the understorey diverse. A follow-up burn soon after a high intensity wildfire can be considered to reduce germinating mesic species. This 'endangered' RE may contain a high number of rare and threatened plant species which require appropriate fire management.
Biodiversity - Mosaics or Functional Response
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20
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120
140
160
sprouters all plants litter dwellers ants
burnt
unburnt
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10
20
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60
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90
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
0
10
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Only in burntplots
Only inunburnt plots
Morefrequent inburnt plots
Morefrequent in
unburnt plots
Obligate seeder
Resprouter
Total
Bulls Ground Study:
Identified differences in vegetation structure and community composition for both plants and invertebrates
Biodiversity in these groups maximised by presence of both fire regimes
Species in Unburnt Sites Common Name FormFrequency from 77 landscape surveys
Cissus hypoglauca Native Grape Vine 86%
Pandorea pandorana Wonga Vine Vine 79%
Schizomeria ovata Crab-apple RF Tree/Shrub 65%
Smilax glyciphylla Sarsaparilla Vine 64%
Gymnostachys anceps Settler's Flax Grass 56%
Notelaea longifolia Mock Olive RF Tree/Shrub 56%
Glochidion ferdinandi Cheese Tree RF Tree/Shrub 55%
Parsonsia straminea Common Silk-pod Vine 44%
Eustrephus latifolius Wombat Berry Vine 43%
Morinda jasminoides Morinda Vine 38%
Acmena smithii Lilly Pilli RF Tree/Shrub 27%
Psychotria loniceroides Hairy Psychotria RF Tree/Shrub 27%
Geitonoplesium cymosum Scrambling Lily Vine 25%
Clerodendrum tomentosum Hairy Clerodendrum RF Tree/Shrub 21%
Oplismenus imbecillis Beard-grass Grass 17%
Bulls Ground Study – Plants more frequent in Unburnt Plots
Cissus hypoglauca – native grape
Pandorea pandorana – Wonga Vine
Schizomeria ovata – Native Cherry
Smilax glyciphylla - Sarsaparilla
Gymnostachys anceps – Settlers Flax
Notelaea longifolia – Mock OliveMorinda jasminoides – Morinda
Species in Frequently Burnt Sites Common Name FormFrequency from 77 landscape surveys
Breynia oblongifolia Coffee Bush Shrub 86%Lomandra longifolia Mat-rush Grass 84%Imperata cylindrica var. major Blady Grass Grass 83%Ozothamnus diosmifolius Rice Flower Herb 74%Entolasia stricta Hairy Panic Grass 73%Dodonaea triquetra Hop Bush Shrub 70%Billardiera scandens Apple Berry/dumplings Shrub/Twiner 66%Podolobium ilicifolium Prickly Bastard Shrub 47%Themeda australis Wallaby Grass Grass 43%Glycine clandestina Twining Glycine Twiner 36%Kennedia rubicunda Dusky Coral Pea Twiner 36%Tetratheca thymifolia Black-eyed Susan Herb 34%Hibbertia aspera (3) Rough Guinea Flower Shrub 32%Gonocarpus teucrioides Common Raspwort Herb 26%Pratia purpurascens Whiteroot Herb 25%Panicum species(1) Common panic Grass 22%Acacia myrtifolia Myrtle Wattle Shrub 17%Lomandra filiformis Wattle Mat-rush Grass 17%Daviesia ulicifolia Gorse Bitter Pea Shrub 10%Pultenaea retusa Blunt Bush Pea Shrub 10%Vernonia cinerea Fleabane/Ironweed Herb 10%Lagenifera gracilis Slender Bottle Daisy Herb 8%Oxalis corniculata (2) Creeping Woodsorrel Herb 4%
Room for less conservative – tolerable interval approach
• Describe the vegetation change process from fire• Describe the at risk species from burning outside
the theoretical intervals• Assess those in areas you intend to burn and use
their presence/absence/growth stage as more useful guides as to whether burning now is appropriate
Threatened Species Assessment
• Look at risks once a fire regime approach to meeting objectives is developed
• Work out strategies to protect those species based on the type of risk they face
• Focus effort on things genuinely at risk from fire under the proposed model
• Minimise the regulatory burden to deliver burning objectives
Bertya sp. (Clouds Creek, M. Fatemi 4) - No fire more than once every 20 years.Rock outcrop specialist – endangered (~500 plants) restricted to a 7 outcropsDry Sclerophyll Forest – Minimum fire interval of 8-10 years
Summary1. Articulate the problems and potential solutions 2. Establish objectives that align with solving the
problems – landscape and vegetation community, scale, tenure,
3. Establish burning guidelines that align with meeting those objectives
4. Ensure that guidelines for are practical and meaningful 5. Prioritise value assessment towards species, sites,
issues of real concern after developing appropriate strategic processes
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