PROFILE FOR ECOLOGICAL FIRE MANAGEMENT OF DAUAN ISLANDJune 2013

Prepared by 3D Environmental with assistance of Peter Stanton forTorres Strait Regional Authority Land and Sea Management Unit

Cover image: 3D Environmental (2013)

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 3 1.1 The Need for Fire Management .................................................................................... 3 1.2 The Situation on Dauan ................................................................................................ 4 1.3 The Situation Elsewhere ............................................................................................... 5 1.4 The Value of Effective Fire Management ..................................................................... 7 1.5 The Nature of Effective Fire Management .................................................................... 8 2. A PROPOSED APPROACH TO FIRE MANAGEMENT ON DAUAN ISLAND .......... 9 2.1 Principles for Effective Fire Management ................................................................... 11 2.2 Fire Behaviour of Dauan Island Habitats .................................................................... 14

2.1.1 Category 1, 1a ..................................................................................................... 14 2.1.2 Category 2 ........................................................................................................... 16 2.1.3 Category 3 ........................................................................................................... 16 2.1.3 Category 4 ........................................................................................................... 17

3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PROGRESSION TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFECTIVE FIRE MANAGEMENT OF THE ISLAND AS ONE UNIT. ..................... 20

3.1 The Ultimate Goal ....................................................................................................... 20 4. A PROPOSED FIRE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR DAUAN ISLAND ................ 22 4.1 Proposed Program for Year 1 – 2013, 2014 ............................................................... 23 4.2 Proposed Program for Following Years ...................................................................... 26 5. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 29 6. APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................... 30 A1. FIRE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK ........................................................................ 30 A2. FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ............................................................................ 31

A2-1 General introduction to the approach to fire management ........................................ 31 A2-2 Ecological description of the island ............................................................................ 31 A2-3 The history of fire in the island’s landscape ............................................................... 32 A2-4 Specific requirements for asset protection ................................................................ 32 A2-5 Fire management requirements for weeds ................................................................ 36 A2-6 Management requirements for cultural sites. ............................................................ 36 A2-7 Management requirements for vegetation communities. ........................................... 37 A2-8 Management requirements for sensitive species. ..................................................... 41 A2-9 Operational tasks ....................................................................................................... 42 A2-10 Monitoring and reporting .......................................................................................... 43 A2- 11 Dauan Island burn plan ........................................................................................... 43

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1. INTRODUCTION

Dauan is one of several inhabited islands in the Torres Strait on which fire plays an integral

role in maintaining its natural habitats. As such, this document details the requirements for

ecological fire management on the island, as much as they can be ascertained from current

knowledge of the island habitats. It is intended that the practices and programs outlined in this

report will be the responsibility of the rangers and therefore, to guide them as much as

possible, these reports go, in some detail, into the history, theory, and practice of what will be

referred to as prescribed burning. Particular emphasis is placed on its traditional aspects.

Prescribed burning refers to the planned use of fire; it is not synonymous with the term “back-

burning” which is sometimes used, and fuel-reduction burning is but one form of prescribed

burning which is done with the much narrower aim of reducing the intensity and spread of

unplanned fires (bushfires or wildfires).

The report should be read in conjunction with similar reports for Moa and its nearest

neighbour Saibai. The management of fire on these larger islands is considerably more

complex, due largely to the greater diversity of habitats and landscape and as such these

reports present a much more detailed synopsis of the rationale for burning and fire

management in general.

The island of Dauan, as for the majority of islands in the Torres Strait, has a mostly intact

natural environment and sits in what has been identified as one of the most pristine parts of

the world’s oceans. For this the thousands of years of stewardship of the area by the people

of the Torres Strait must take much of the credit.

1.1 The Need for Fire Management

Dauan sits on the geologic divide between continental Australia and lowland Papua New

Guinea which is clearly visible from islands northern coastline. Dauan’s vegetation is the end

product of at least 60 million years of evolution that would have seen gradual but continual

change in its structure and species composition. Vegetation change would have been

imposed by changing climate and changing landscape as mountains formed and were

eroded, and the sea rose and fell. Ever present however, was fire, first ignited by lightning,

and then by the firestick of man. Its influence would always have been dramatic as it sifted

from the landscape those species which could not tolerate its varying regimes of frequency

and intensity, and favoured others more tolerant. The arrival of man would have brought the

most dramatic and rapid changes of all as infrequent but hot and widespread fires were

replaced by frequent numerous and smaller ones. Man effectively took charge of fire to use it

in many different ways to manage and shape the landscape to serve his own requirements of

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safety, ease of access, and food supply. The anthropologist Rhys Jones (Jones, R. 1969)

coined the term “firestick farming” to describe this process. Undoubtedly man shaped fire to

serve his ends, and in the process fire shaped man as it changed the landscape and thus the

way man adapted to live within it.

Much of the islands land management customs have been adopted from the people of the

Trans-Fly region in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) southern lowlands , as have those on

Saibai, Dauan’s nearest neighbour. Stronach (1999) gives some description to traditional

anthropogenic use of fire in the Trans-Fly region of PNG, and to all intents and purposes

mirrors usage by Aboriginal people on the Australian Mainland. As Stronach notes:

“Traditionally, the people of the Trans-Fly combine subsistence hunter and gatherer

and small scale cultivator lifestyles. Fire has been used extensively to manage their

resources. Early burning is used to protect key-fire sensitive resources such as

gardens and coconut and sago palm groves from damaging late fires. Fire is used

opportunistically in hunting. Stands of taller grasses are burnt to concentrate and flush

out bandicoots, wallabies and other species. This activity tends to produce a

progressively burnt landscape beginning each dry season with small scale early burns

and ending in small scale hot burns in relict patches of fuel. No attempt is made to

control hunting fires once lit. This suggests a high degree of confidence that fires lit for

one purpose will be useful in other ways or not be damaging. In discussing the use and

effects of fire, indigenous people of the Trans-Fly express satisfaction at the ‘cleaning’

of land by fires, a sense of purpose also observed among the aboriginal people of

northern Australia (Russell-Smith et al., 1997)”.

Unlike Australian Aboriginals, indigenous people of the Trans-Fly and Dauan have in common

been involved in small scale cropping and gardening. Such an important resource as a food

garden would have warranted protection from hot fires. For whatever purpose and motive,

there remains a critical need to maintain fire in the Dauan Island landscape. The most specific

requirement is to maintain habitat for those plants and animals that are adapted to live and

forage within the islands fire shaped environs. Because of the likely speed of habitat change,

wholesale removal of fire from the island (if it were possible), would not allow the gradual

adaptation of species to their changing environment and the end result would be a significant

loss of habitats and with them likely many species of plants and animals.

1.2 The Situation on Dauan

Dauan is an ecologically and geographically unique island. Although it is formed on

Australia’s continental basement, it lies extremely close to the lowland swamps of

neighbouring PNG, and as such has inherited vegetation and a cultural landscape that is not

found elsewhere in Australia or the Torres Strait. Dauan’s habitats are expressed in two

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dominant formations, rainforest and grassland’. The equilibrium between the two is

maintained by fire. The current fire regime is maintaining the equilibrium between grassland

and rainforest habitats although fire is not penetrating all pockets and in some areas,

rainforest margins are subject to extremely hot fire incursion.

It seems certain that in the last century or so, much that was traditional in the way fire was

used on the island has largely been abandoned, and undoubtedly the island’s vegetation has

changed to some degree, although the nature and extent of this change is uncertain. From on

ground evidence, it is apparent that the current burning regime consists of mostly late season

fires and is less structured than would have been applied under a traditional regime. Where

some areas are burnt annually, other areas are left to the chance occurrence of wildfire. Fires

are also observed to be impacting the margins of vine forest and large areas are burnt in

single fire events rather than smaller more frequent fires.

In spite of the changed emphasis, under the current fire regime the island’s habitats are

largely being maintained, and appear to be in what, by any comparison with similar habitats

elsewhere, could be described as excellent condition. If it were possible to remove the

influence of fire from the island altogether, change, far more dramatic than that brought by the

arrival of man, would be initiated. It is clear that the loss of regular fire from the islands’

vegetation would, in a few decades, initiate change in most of its fire shaped habitats that

would be unpredictable but make it very different in structure and species composition from

that at any stage when man was present.

1.3 The Situation Elsewhere

It is not possible to directly compare Dauan’s habitats to those on Cape York Peninsula as is

possible on the larger continental islands of the Torres Strait (e.g. Moa and Badu). The

vegetation of these larger islands is clearly related to habitats of Australia’s continental

mainland, sharing similarities in both composition and structure. The landscape scale

structural changes in vegetation occurring on Cape York Peninsula are however the result of

shifts in fire regime that are occurring broadly throughout tropical savanna habitats extending

northward from Cape York Peninsula to southern PNG. This section is informed largely by

observations made by Peter Stanton through involvement in extensive field survey in Cape

York Peninsula with other inferences drawn from Stronach (1999) relating in particular to

changing fire regimes in PNG’s Trans-Fly region.

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Photograph 1. Extensive fire scarring on Dauan’s foothills, November, 2007. Scorched rainforest vegetation is visible on the left of the photograph.

Over large areas of north-eastern Cape York Peninsula, fire had disappeared from the

landscape with the removal of aboriginal influence during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Over most of

the remainder of the Peninsula, however, a wildfire regime prevailed, with individual fires

burning for weeks or months during the drier and hotter part of the year. In the former

situation, the wildfires burning on the western side of the Peninsula never penetrated east

because they came against barriers of numerous rainforest lined creeks. As a consequence

fire sensitive species, such as those found in rainforest, and cypress pine, have invaded

former open forests and changed them to closed forests that will no longer carry fire. Where

late season hot fires prevail they are destroying hollow trees, so essential for many species of

wildlife. In addition these fires destroy most of the litter layer which protects soils from the

erosive power of the first storms. Many parts of the Peninsula are also subject to pressure

from grazing animals, both domestic and feral, which has altered or destroyed the ground

cover vegetation in wide areas around streams and wetlands, facilitating erosion and invasion

by weeds.

Similar observations are made by Stronach (1999) in regard to shifting fire regimes in the

Trans-Fly region of Papua New Guinea. Stronach notes:

“The present situation in the Trans Fly is one in which traditional fire management is

being replaced by less structured practices. Recent administrations have encouraged

the concentration of a formerly dispersed population, reducing traditional early burning

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in remote areas. Younger people are less clear about the aims of traditional burning

and with the intrusion of outside influences such as the cash economy, the need to

continue them has declined. The new burning practices have much to do with ease of

access. Hunters who supply towns with deer meet use motor bikes for hunting and

transporting meat, burning extensively wherever they operate. Increase traffic along

roads and tracks ensure the new burning regimes are applied widely. It is my

observation that the new practices, whilst progressive, are less discriminate and

unlikely to protect some habitats”.

Whilst hunting of deer may not be an active pursuit on Dauan, the end result of the cash

economy remains the same and fires are seemingly used in an indiscriminate fashion.

1.4 The Value of Effective Fire Management

It is clearly established that most Australian vegetation (including southern PNG savanna’s)

has evolved with fire and that the particular expression of any habitat (vegetation type) at any

time, is, in the absence of disturbance such as clearing or heavy grazing, or the short term

effects of cyclonic wind, determined by its fire regime. A fire regime is defined by the number

of fires that occur over a given period and their intensity, and these things must be measured

over a time period long enough to be meaningful. If a long established fire regime changes,

then the habitat will begin to change in ways that disadvantage some species of plants and

animals, and advantage others.

It needs to be recognised that there is much antipathy to the use of fire within the Australian

population. It is found at all levels of society from the man in the street to the academic

community. It is largely an urban or near urban phenomenon, but is also common in large

areas of rural Australia where the use of fire is not seen to have any role in land management.

This attitude ignores the now indisputable fact that fire in the hands of pre-European

Aboriginal and Islander Australians played a pre-eminent role in determining the nature of the

vegetation and landscape that European Australians inherited. There would appear to be no

rational basis now for abandoning that ancient order for the hazardous and uncertain future of

land management without fire.

Central to the distaste felt by many for the suggestion that fire should play a major role in the

management of natural lands for the maintenance of biodiversity is the deeply ingrained belief

that fire can only be a destructive force. It is a belief that is continually reinforced by the

recurring catastrophic fires of southern Australia, with loss of homes and lives. That these

fires are fuelled by huge accumulations of litter as the result of long exclusion of fire, generally

escapes attention. Considering its role in shaping the Australian bush, however, fire is as

natural a factor as wind and water.

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In the hands of a skilful land manager, fire can be many different things, each used in different

ways to achieve different results. In the hands of indigenous land managers it was, for tens of

thousands of years, mostly a gentle force that shaped the land to their desire, and in turn, with

time, gradually shaped their society. Indigenous land management gave to modern Australia

the habitats, vegetation, and wildlife of which we are so proud, and see as the iconic features

of our national identity, but have been, for more than two centuries, progressively destroying.

There is, however, for most of Australia, no option of returning to that traditional management.

Most of what are recognised as natural environments now has changed from those that the

indigenous people once tended. They have been subjected to altered fire regimes; to logging

and mining, to widespread invasion by introduced animals and plants, and destructive

pressures from recreational users. In these environments the purposeful use of fire is still

critical to their management, but now must often be used in ways that are remote from

traditional indigenous practice. On Dauan where regular fire has been retained in the

landscape and the island’s environment has not been significantly degraded by the factors

referred to above, there is an opportunity to re-establish traditional practices. It is an

opportunity shared only with the more remote parts of northern Australia, but currently being

seized only in few areas in central Australia and in Arnhem Land.

1.5 The Nature of Effective Fire Management

It is known from the historical record, early studies of traditional land management, and

contemporary studies of surviving practices in Arnhem Land (Russell-Smith et al, 2009) that

traditional fire management could be characterised by certain features. The extensive

historical research of Gammage (2011) also demonstrated that these features were common

to indigenous practice in all parts of Australia (including the island of Tasmania).

These features were:

• Fire was used purposefully to shape the landscape in ways that provided maximum

advantage for ease of access, to facilitate the capture of game, and to protect and

promote plant food resources.

• Large fires were few; numerous small fires were lit progressively during the year.

• Aboriginal people used fire to manage the fuel around them.

The logic of the last feature is clear if one looks at it from the perspective of people who lived

with fire. They camped with fire, and they carried the fire stick with them wherever they went.

They could not safely tolerate conditions in which a stray spark could ignite a large and

uncontrollable fire. Clearly, they could not have survived under the current conditions in the

bush in most of southern Australia. On Dauan, where the necessity for protection may have

been of lesser importance, fire would have been purposefully used to protect gardens,

maintain access and maintain and promote arable land.

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The fine scale of traditional fire management is rarely appreciated today. In essence it

involved the use of thousands of small fires in areas which today are burnt by rare single fire

events – often decades apart. The anthropologist Rhys Jones, for example, estimated that in

the better populated areas of Australia, in an area of thirty square km that would have

supported a band of roughly 40 people “Assuming that on average, three foraging parties of

various types left camp per day, that each lit 10 bushfires and that this happened on only half

of the days of the year, then within that area, no less than 5,000 bush fires would be lit each

year”. He went on to state that he considered that to be a highly conservative estimate.

2. A PROPOSED APPROACH TO FIRE MANAGEMENT ON DAUAN ISLAND

The precise direction of fire management on Dauan will have to depend on some measure of

community consensus, and the resources available to carry out any particular program. It

must be stressed that without majority community support the pursuit of any program could be

difficult. The alternatives for fire management on Dauan Island are threefold:

a) To let things continue as they are;

b) To attempt, in part of the island or all of it, to permanently remove fire from the

landscape;

c) To establish purposeful fire management over part or the entire island.

Dealing with each or all of these in turn:

a) It is acknowledged that the island’s habitats are generally in good condition, and the

question would naturally arise, if that is so, as to what purpose would trying to change things

serve? From ground observation (see Photograph 1), it is apparent that the majority of

flammable habitats are burnt in hot and dry conditions and single hot fires burn extensively

throughout the islands foothills. Other less accessible areas are possibly not burning at all, or

are burning in a sporadic fashion, sometimes with early season fires which are promoting the

invasion of some sprawling weed species.

The current fire regime is not systematic, lacks specific purpose and in some cases is

imposing a fairly uniform burning pattern over a large portion of the island. This is the

antithesis of what would have happened under a traditional burning regime which would have

consisted of numerous relatively small fires, spread evenly across the islands flammable

habitats over a period of several months. The current fire regime is not providing the variety in

the landscape essential for long term maintenance of the island habitats and survival of

associated species of plant and animal. A particular threat to the reproductive cycle of many

species would certainly arise from the confinement of most fires to the same location and

same narrow calendar time each year. Hot fires are also repetitively scorching and

suppressing the margins of rainforest habitats, simplifying species composition

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Photograph 2. Livistona palm savanna on Dauan footslopes typical of Category 2 vegetation in November 2007.

Photograph 3. The same location in April 2013 demonstrating a dramatic thickening of shrub layers. It is perceived that this habitat has not been subject to fire for several years.

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and leaving canopy gaps which present an opportunity for weed and other smothering

species to take hold.

Clearly, the situation on Dauan could be improved, and the maintenance of the various

habitats of the island, for whatever purpose is determined, can only be guaranteed by having

clear goals and acting to attain them. In brief, to let things continue as they are would be to

rely on continuing good luck and thus to gamble with the future.

b) It is a fact that cannot be avoided that in the island situation, dominated by fire derived

and fire prone vegetation, and with a resident population, it would be impossible to

permanently exclude fire from the island or any large portion of it. All it would do would be to

shift the fire regime to one of less frequent and mostly hotter fires that could potentially be

destructive of some values, both cultural and natural, that are precious to the community.

Such attempts would also destabilise the island’s habitats, which, under a new fire regime

would begin to change in numerous ways, largely unpredictable, but varying in degree and

type according to the habitat considered. Of particular concern, as discussed further in

Section 2.1.2, would be the broad-scale displacement of native grassland habitats with

sprawling mats of tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides var. phaseoloides).

c) To take charge of the island’s future by actively managing fire throughout its habitats

would seem to be the most appropriate of the three options to pursue, and it would best be

done by trying to re-establish traditional practices as far as they can be determined or

assumed to have been. It would have the clear benefit on top of those to the island’s habitats,

of necessitating the development of a detailed knowledge of the island, which in turn would

foster much interest in it and a greater sense of ownership among those participating.

2.1 Principles for Effective Fire Management There are two important principles that are central to actions recommended in the plan that

follows. They are the principle of patch or mosaic burning, and the principle of a step by step

approach to full implementation of the plan.

1) Patch or Mosaic Burning

Central to all recommended actions is the concept of patch or mosaic burning. This has been

touched upon in previous sections of this report but is described more fully in the following

paragraphs.

In pre-aboriginal Australia lightning was the main source of ignition and individual fires would

have burnt over large areas. The aborigine tamed the lightning; he had to. By managing the

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fuel around him he deprived lightning of its potency, and guaranteed security for himself and

his food resources. He turned the landscape into a mosaic of numerous cool fires where

previously few fires but large and hot ones would have raged, fed by accumulations of fuel

over large areas, and ignited by the lightning of dry summer storms. The later arrival of people

in the Torres Strait would have initiated the same process there and given Dauan, and some

other islands, the inheritance of habitats, plant species, and wildlife they have today, and

which, unlike in most parts of Australia where massive change to the natural landscape has

occurred, are still recognisable as that pre-European legacy. The long-term protection of that

legacy demands a return to traditional burning as the only way to guarantee its long term

survival, and on Dauan, as it is on Saibai Island, as on so few places on mainland Australia,

such a return, if that is what is wished, is still possible.

The question of fire management is often approached from the point of view of the

requirements of individual species, usually high profile species rare, or representative in their

life history of a large number of species within a particular habitat. This then usually leads to

prescriptions concerning appropriate fire return intervals and assumes a high level of control

of the way in which fire behaves in the landscape in contrast to the element of chance that is

inherent in traditional burning practices. There are several problems that arise from the

application of this approach. The first is that there might be dozens of species in any

particular habitat, and nowhere in Australia is it likely that there have been detailed studies of

the life histories of more than a few of them. In the case of Dauan Island it is unlikely that any

species has been appropriately studied in any depth. Secondly, to apply the knowledge of

individual species requires a large measure of control over the return interval of fire and its

seasonal timing in individual habitats. A third consideration is that for every species that is

advantaged by a particular fire regime, another could be disadvantaged, and this observation

is as equally valid for animals as it is for plants.

A more useful approach to protection of individual species is to manage to maintain in healthy

condition the habitat that supports them. It is far simpler to establish plots to monitor trends in

habitat condition and population numbers of target species than it is to elucidate the life

histories of a number of species.

A mosaic burning system, progressively and appropriately applied during the year, requires

few constructed firebreaks, is relatively inexpensive to apply, and has maximum benefits in

relation to diversity of habitats and species of plants and animals. It also takes into account as

no other system can, the requirements of hundreds, or even thousands of species such as

insects, fungi, and invertebrates in general that are involved in breaking down the litter layer

and assisting nutrient recycling, and that are the main supporters of health in an ecosystem. It

does this by creating across the landscape an intense mosaic of areas representing different

fire return intervals, different seasons of burning, and different intensity of burn that provides

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maximum opportunity for the maintenance of habitats and the survival of all species of plant

and animal. Furthermore, patch burning reduces the area of land exposed to erosion in any

given period, a particular problem on Dauan where large areas of soil on steep footslopes are

exposed to late season storms when protective groundcover has been removed.

2) The need for a gradual progression towards effective fire management across the

whole island.

Starting without long involvement in on-the-ground fire management one cannot become an

effective fire manager overnight. No matter what ideals, enthusiasm, and impatience to begin

with one brings to the task no fire management plan, no matter how prescriptive and detailed,

can achieve its aim without those involved having an understanding of fire behaviour across

the full range of habitats and conditions of the area they are responsible for, and a detailed

knowledge of its geography.

Thus achieving the goal of effective fire management for the whole island must of necessity

involve several steps. First, the development of a broad plan for the whole island, secondly

the development of short term goals on the way towards achieving implementation of effective

management of the whole island, and, before beginning on field implementation, the

development of an understanding of fire behaviour and knowledge of the island among those

taking part if these things are not already there.

Beyond the steps referred to above, there are two pre-eminent requirements. There must be

continual acknowledgement of the need to work within the limits of resources. There is

nothing that will lead to the collapse of any project faster, or breed greater discouragement in

those involved, than having ambitions exceed capacity to deliver. On the other hand success

in achieving progressive small steps develops interest and enthusiasm and a better chance of

achieving the long term goals. It is also essential that those selected for involvement in the

work must be clear in their mind that that is what they want to do, and have an interest in the

work or feel that they can develop such an interest. It is also very important that those

involved in the work have a good chance of long-term tenure in it. There is no point in

developing expertise in ranger staff only to lose it and have to start again with someone else.

In such a scenario the overall project would never be capable of getting beyond the first

steps. It needs hardly to be said, of course, that without stable long-term funding effective fire

management of the island cannot succeed.

Before beginning, majority community support should be sought and obtained but the process

for achieving that, if it is possible, is a subject that the writer of this report is not qualified to

address. Clearly, ranger staff cannot work in an environment where any mistake brings with it

the chance that the project might be shut down, or there is such lack of concern for their

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efforts that firebugs through lack of condemnation by the community feel free to abort the

most sincere efforts of the rangers.

The essence of the advice above is that fire management on the island should begin in a

small way with progressive increase in responsibility as knowledge and confidence is built up

in ranger staff. In this way the limits to function imposed by shortage of resources at any point

should become clear long before they are tested, and the morale and interest of staff should

not be seriously challenged. In line with these suggestions, it would be best to start with

clearly defined but limited objectives. These matters will be further addressed below.

2.2 Fire Behaviour of Dauan Island Habitats

Map 1 illustrates four divisions of the island into categories according to habitat sensitivities

and the way in which fire behaves in various habitats. These are basic divisions and the real

situation in regard to fire behaviour is much more complex than this. It must be emphasized

that any fire management plan not informed by detailed knowledge and on the ground

practice in the parcel of land to which it refers can be only broadly prescriptive. If that

experience and knowledge is not present then opportunity must be provided for its

development by providing a starting point that reflects a broad understanding of fire behaviour

in particular habitats and the general principles that guide its management.

The categories into which the island is divided and which are illustrated on Map 1 are now

described, and the way in which fire should be used in each of them outlined.

2.1.1 Category 1, 1a

This illustrates the areas which with some exception, are unlikely to burn in the majority of

circumstances although may be damaged by fire. It includes rainforest and vine thicket, both

deciduous and semi-deciduous and other closed forests and scrubs. Rock boulder slopes and

vine thicket vegetation associated with coastal dunes is also included within this category.

Category 1 includes rainforest and vine thicket vegetation covers much of the islands interior,

extending from the island peak at Mt Cornwallis to the island footslopes. Elevated portions of

the islands interior are occupied by evergreen vine forest although these is no risk that fire will

damage this vegetation due to the broad buffer of rock and non-flammable vegetation below.

Footslopes often host a dense cover of semi-deciduous vine thicket, which late in the season

would allow fire to trickle through the desiccating leaf litter until fuel was broken by rocky

barriers. There is therefore considerable risk that hot fire events, which would coincide with

maximum leaf-fall, could damage vine forest margins and cause edge retreat. Particular

attention is required to burn the flammable margins of these forests early in the season under

cool conditions to stabilise and facilitate possible expansion of the forest edge.

É

LegendDrainage

Roads

Category 1, Sensitive to fire /will not burn

Category 1a, Sensitive to fire /will not burn

Category 2, Non-flammable vegetation

Category 3, Moderately flammable vegetation

Category 4, Highly flammable vegetation

Category 5, Non-flammable to highly flammable

Category 5a, Will not burn0 200 400 600 800

Metres

Path: C:\Users\Owner\Documents\Clients\3D Environmental\TSRA\tsra_Fire_Behave_Land_23113.mxd

Map 1. Fire behaviour categories on Dauan Island

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In the case of the coastal dune vegetation (Category 1a), this is confined to one severely

degraded patch near the island refuse tip. A large portion of the habitat has been cleared and

the existing remnant is infused with weeds that include exotic grass (giant panic and red-Natal

grass) and sisal hemp. The Dauan Rangers are currently undertaking a program of sisal

eradication on the fore-dune, reclaiming this area for recreational purposes.

2.1.2 Category 2

Category 2 covers natural vegetation that will not burn in any situation and is not sensitive to

fire damage. This category relates particularly to rocky talus and other bare pavements which

carry no fuel as well as mangrove habitats. No particular fire management regime is required

to manage or protect these habitats.

2.1.3 Category 3

Swamp forests representative of Category 3 vegetation have an extremely limited distribution

and extent on Dauan, being confined to a mangrove fringe on the islands north-western side

adjacent to the road edge. The habitat is formed by Melaleuca cajaputi, and has a dense

shrub and understory layer of rainforest vines, ferns and shrubs. Due to the advanced stage

of rainforest invasion, this habitat would ignite with difficulty, even during the hottest periods

late in the year. The conditions in which this habitat would ignite would be extremely

hazardous and pose a threat to adjacent infrastructure. It is therefore suggested that the

habitat not be subject to any targeted attempts to burn. Cutting of vines may however free the

canopy and improve the overall condition of this habitat.

Photograph 4. Tall open forest with Melaleuca cajaputi and dense cover of rainforest shrubs and vines providing an example of Category 3 vegetation.

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2.1.3 Category 4 This accommodates areas which support a heavy medium to tall ground cover of grass which

rapidly re-develops after each fire event and reaches maximum fuel accumulation within 3 to

4 years. It covers grassland and the associated woodland types dominated by livistona or

pandanus.

These are the habitats which need the most attention as, without being broken up by

numerous small fires, starting with whatever will burn as early as possible after the wet

season; they have the potential to support fires which will burn over large areas. On Dauan,

grassland habitats are to a large part derived from the attrition of closed forest types although

due to their long term stability, represent an important component of the islands cultural and

ecological landscape. Where Category 4 vegetation fringes rainforest margins, there is

potential for damage to be inflicted and rainforest margins further degraded. There is an

opportunity to expand the extent of rainforest on the island through prescribed management

of fire on the forest margins, although whether this is a worthwhile objective can be only be

determined by the local community. There is also the problem, particularly in habitats closest

to the community that tropical kudzu is rapidly colonizing and smothering extensive areas of

this habit (see Photograph 6) and exclusion of fire may promote expansion of this invasive

weed. Possible methods for management of this invasive species are discussed in Appendix

A2 – 5.

The livistona dominant woodlands which comprise 0.7 % (1.7 ha) of the islands habitats are

unique to Dauan and not currently known from any other island in the Torres Strait. These

habitats are threatened by rainforest invasion which will suppress regeneration of livistona,

resulting in the eventual senescence and demise of the community. Due to the unique nature

of these habitats, there is a strong argument to maintain the grassy ground cover through

targeted use of fire, aiding the long term persistence of the habitat in the Dauan landscape.

18

Photograph 5. Sharp boundary of rainforest against grassland which was burnt in November 2007. The impact of the fire on the scrub edge is notable with a fringe of dead trees evident.

Photograph 6. Dense infestation of tropical kudzu smothering grassland behind the township.

19

Photograph 7. Recently burnt grassland on the western footslopes of the island in October 2007.

Photograph 8. The same location, unburnt, taken in April 2013 illustrating the relative stability of grassland habitats in this area.

20

2.1.4 Category 5, 5a A final category is reserved for cleared / urban areas which occur most extensively around the

township. This category includes residential areas, associated groves on exotic vegetation

and interspersed groves of grassland and shrubland, both native and exotic as well as mango

groves (Category 5a). Whilst the majority of these areas can be considered to be of low

flammability, rank grassland habitats which intrude and fringe the township area can be

extremely flammable and of considerable risk to assets and infrastructure if ignition occurs

under extreme conditions. A program of fuel reduction burning should be considered in early

season to reduce the risk of ignition during periods of high combustibility.

3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PROGRESSION TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFECTIVE FIRE MANAGEMENT OF THE ISLAND AS ONE UNIT.

The fire management principles applied on Moa, Badu and Saibai Island to a lesser extent

have guided the production of this plan for Dauan. Dauan is however a much smaller, more

accessible and ecologically less complex island than its neighbours and as such, the task at

hand is much more manageable.

3.1 The Ultimate Goal

Drawing together the information provided in previous sections of the report, it is now possible

to provide an outline of what a fire management program that was designed to promote long-

term stability in its natural habitats and maximum biodiversity would look like. It would closely

approach but not achieve traditional management because of the essential difference that it

would never have enough people on the ground to carry it out, and would no longer be guided

by the precise timing and customs handed down from generation to generation. It should,

however, in the present situation be the best that can be achieved. It would have the following

features:

i. It would adopt mosaic burning practices in all habitats that will carry fire with the

timing of ignitions and their intensity varying according to fuel types.

ii. As soon after the wet season as fire will carry (April-May in most years) burning will

begin in those habitats where fuel accumulates most rapidly (Category 4) and there

is the greatest potential for fire scorch in sensitive habitats (Category 1 and 1a).

These areas are the grasslands and woodlands with a tall grass understory. Focus

should extend to burning grasslands on the margins of rainforest habitat to mitigate

potential impact on the forest edge of hot late season fires.

21

The ability to start early burning in these areas depends on having a large

percentage of it with at least two years fuel accumulation. Without that there is a risk

that the initiation of a program to break up fuel across these areas might have to be

delayed so late in the year that fires in them will spread far into parts of those areas

with a sparse ground cover. This would risk the desirable orderly progression of

burning across the landscape and run the risk that fires in the first target area might

cover a wider area than is desirable.

The nature of the ground cover in the tall grass areas is that they reach maximum

fuel accumulation in 3 to 4 years after fire. They are difficult to burn in the cool

season two years running, but are quite capable of supporting undesirably hot fires

late in the season in the second year after burning. After 3 years without fire any late

season fires are bound to be hot. The ideal situation for starting early burning and

establishing a significant mosaic burning pattern, would, therefore, be to have burnt

an average of one third to one half of the target habitat per year. Experience with

burning in these communities has demonstrated that once a mosaic is well

established with progressive patch burning then this sort of average is what is

attained by a combination of chance, and some judgement on the part of the field

operator. That judgement is enhanced with experience.

It should be noted, however, that with all average figures there can be some

extreme variation away from the mean. In some years burning will be difficult

because of constant showers in most months, and consequently a high percentage

of it will burn in the following year if there is not a repetition of the same weather

pattern. Very early season action will be required if the following wet season ends

abruptly. In such a sequence of years the variation in the percentage burnt in any

one year could be as extreme as from 15% to 70%.

iii. Affecting most of the matters referred to above are some issues, practices, and

principles which are important enough to draw together at this point so that their

significance is not lost by being diffused throughout the report.

Storm burning: This is a useful technique to apply in any areas where a thick

understory has developed as a result of long absence of fire, or because heavy

grazing has destroyed the ground cover allowing shrubs and trees to escape

competition from grasses, and has also removed the fuel that would allow fires to

destroy the understory. Storm burning changes the competitive balance between

trees and shrubs, and grass, in favour of the grass. This is because it is carried out

after the first storms of the wet season when there is adequate soil moisture to

promote rapid growth of grass which then suppresses regrowing shrubs and small

22

trees. Although a useful technique on Saibai, it is not currently known if storm burning

will have any direct application for habitats on Dauan.

The presence of significant numbers of grazing animals (horses and cattle):

These could be very destructive of soil and habitat values if they concentrate on small

patches burnt early in the season. In large enough numbers they would diminish the

ability to carry out the fire management programs recommended in this report.

Burning on a declining hazard: Lighting fires before midday should only be

practiced early in the season, or in any other circumstance where fires will carry only

with difficulty. At other times burning should be carried out at times of day when wind

speed is not likely to increase, temperatures are dropping, and humidity is rising, i.e.

a decreasing hazard. This usually means after 2.00pm.

4. A PROPOSED FIRE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR DAUAN ISLAND

There are a number of factors that need to be considered prior to the implementation of any

burning program. In particular these are:

i. A foremost requirement for safety and protection of property and infrastructure.

ii. The need to start with a small area that can be readily managed and results clearly

demonstrated.

iii. The need to considering intervening factors such as invasive weeds and prescriptive

requirements for fire management.

Establishing an island wide fire management regime as recommended in this report will

involve the difficult task of taking an existing system and improving it with some radical shifts

in fire extent and timing. The rangers do not have the power to impose change and will

therefore have to try to obtain community support, and however that is achieved it will be

easier if the community has confidence in their professional abilities. For that reason

therefore, although it would add an extra burden of responsibility that their job descriptions

may not have included, it would be valuable for them, before they devote too much effort to

the island wide tasks, to address the urban area problems in regard to fire hazard control and

reduction referred to above. The main task is to remove the risk posed by heavy fuels in the

rank grasslands that surround the township. This would involve the slashing of fire breaks

around areas at risk and commencement of small patch burns within adjacent grassy habitats

with high fuel loads in early April. To ensure tasks required are manageable, whilst

confidence is being built and appropriate methods are identified, it is appropriate that the

island be subdivided into areas prioritised for management. With this consideration, the island

is subdivided into three management blocks as illustrated in Map 2 which also provides

23

general guidance for fire regimes across all habitats occurring on the island. Specifically

these blocks include:

• Management Block 1: Incorporates the north-east facing footslopes of the island

behind the township extending westward from the islands most easterly point to the

wharf. This block includes the grassy footslopes that fringe the most densely

populated portion of the island and presents grassland habitats both in good condition

as well as those that are subject to smothering by woody vines. It is proposed that

Management Block 1 be the initial focus of fire management activities until the point

that program success can be demonstrated.

• Management Block 2: The north-west facing footslopes of the island extending from

the rubbish tip southwards to the football field. Includes footslopes fringing residential

areas and infrastructure although in much lower density than Management Block 1.

Management Block 2 is proposed as a management extension area with active

management undertaken only when activities in Management Block 1 are

demonstrated to be successful.

• Management Block 3: The remainder of the islands flammable habitats on the west

facing portion of the island encompassing the area from the sports field to the islands

most southerly point. Management Block 3 is identified as an area of passive

management for ongoing monitoring with specific action required only when a need is

identified. Management Block 3 presents habitats in near natural condition and is

largely free from many of the exotic weeds and other processes of degradation that

occur in other management blocks. The area also contains no permanent

infrastructure and as such, no risk is posed by fires that are opportunistically ignited.

For any specific management action, it would be extremely useful to demonstrate its success

or otherwise. Hence it is encouraged that permanent photographic monitoring points be

established in areas where an active management outcome is desired and these plots be

captured on a minimum annual basis.

4.1 Proposed Program for Year 1 – 2013, 2014

It would be beneficial to have at least two years on ground accumulation of fuel to ensure any

patch burning regime could be adequately entrenched. Hence for the remainder of 2013 it

would be beneficial to exclude fire from the islands habitats as much as is possible. This will

increase the likelihood that the program in following years will be successful.

Commencing 2014 and perhaps beyond this depending on resources, confidence and

program success, activities should be focused within Management Block 1. The initial task

should be to secure the township and infrastructure through construction of fire breaks in

those flammable habitats that fringe the community. Fire breaks, 10 – 20 m wide, could be

No Fire Management Required

Management Block 3: Passive Management Area

Management Block 2: Management Extension Area

Management Block 1: Active Management Area

É

LegendManagement Blocks

Fire protection burning (lower slope margins)

Protection burning / fire exclusion

Non-flammable, will not burn

Mosaic burning (April - July)

Mosaic burning (2yr interval) when soil is wet.

Asset protection burning0 200 400 600 800

Metres

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Map 2. Recommended fire regimes and management blocks for Dauan Island

25

prepared by slashing them as soon as the ground is dry enough after the wet season, and

burning the slashed grass soon after. From there on, the direction of the management

program can be guided by what are considered desirable outcomes by both the rangers and

the island community. A number of possible outcomes are thus identified and appropriate

actions discussed in the following sections.

Allow rainforest to re-establish on the grassy footslopes: To facilitate the re-

establishment of rainforest in areas currently occupied by grassland, it will be necessary to

eliminate the risk of incursion of any hot late season fires. This presents a number of inherent

risks, the most likely being that invasive vines will expand dramatically and prevent necessary

recruitment of native rainforest shrubs. As tropical kudzu possesses a robust underground

tuber, it is unlikely that even hot late season fires will kill the plant. It is fairly certain however

that the cool fires required for promotion of rainforest expansion will also promote expansion

of tropical kudzu at a much faster rate. Hence to achieve the required outcome, a number of

methods will need to be employed as described below:

1. Active management of areas currently infested by invasive vines such as tropical

kudzu through application of herbicide to foliage or cutting of stems and swabbing

with concentrated herbicide. Appropriate herbicides for application are described in

Csurhes (2008).

2. Patch burning throughout flammable grassland habitats from as early in the season

as fire will carry. Patch burning can be initiated from the margins of the rainforest

boundary, particularly fringing areas where shrubs are beginning to thicken. The

main purpose of the patch burning will be to break up fuel loads to prevent the risk of

late season fires.

Retain grassland habitats on footslopes: The long term retention of grassland habitats on

the footslopes will require a different approach, namely the use of hotter fires burnt later in the

season. The general process should however not be significantly different being:

1. Placement of firebreaks around infrastructure and residential areas as previously

described.

2. Patch burning should be undertaken from as early in the season as fires will carry

although for this purpose, should focus on areas of grassland which are relatively free

from shrubs and woody vines. It can also be targeted along the margins of rainforest

boundaries to prevent damage to these habitats incurred from hot fires burnt late in

the season.

3. Once fuel loads are broken and conditions dry, hotter fires can be driven into areas of

shrubby thickening. This most appropriate period will typically be from August to

September. Hot fires can also be driven into areas of tropical kudzu invasion as an

experimental measure. It may still be necessary to undertake some chemical control

26

of tropical kudzu infestations although hot fires will most likely limit its potential for

further expansion.

Maintenance of livistona dominant habitats: The unique nature of these habitats and

requirements for maintenance has previously been described in Section 2.1.2. Preservation

of the grassy groundcover is considered paramount for long term survival of this community.

Hence it is recommended that any burning regime adopt a late season fire strategy for the

specific purpose of arresting and reversing the encroachment of shrubby layers that is

observed to be occurring. To do so will require the preparation of an appropriately placed fire

break to prevent hot fires spreading more widely throughout Management Block 1.

4.2 Proposed Program for Following Years

A program for years following 2014 can, at this stage, only be tentative. It will depend very

much on the experience of the preceding years, and how closely its goals can be reached.

There are unpredictable circumstances relating to how successful a start can be made on

changing burning patterns and establishing a mosaic pattern of burning on which to build.

Also to be tested at all stages is the question of whether or not resources available are

adequate for the task. For these reasons, therefore, fine detail has been avoided, and this

report confines itself to outlining the direction of an ideal program to occupy the year 2015,

and repetitively from there on, while emphasizing its essential features. Whatever precise

direction is pursued for 2014, however, should be shaped by the experiences of the

operations in 2013, and all annual programs from there on should evolve from the experience

of preceding years. Appropriate actions in specific management blocks in subsequent years

are described below.

• Management Block 1: Continued placement of fire breaks around infrastructure and

residential areas should commence early in the season prior to any burning being

undertaken; chemical control of tropical kudzu can be considered for any persistent

infestations, and; maintenance of livistona dominant habitats with late season fires

should be ongoing. Dependent on the desired outcome, this process can continue on

an annual basis until:

o Rainforest has established on footslopes to a degree that fire will no longer

carry. At this point, monitoring and control of tropical kudzu infestations may

be the only management action required.

o In the option that it is desired that grasslands be maintained on the

footslopes, long term fire maintenance will be required. This will involve

ongoing placement of firebreaks and commencement of patch burning early

in the season extending through to about September dependent on seasonal

conditions.

27

o Maintenance of the grassy nature of livistona dominant habitats will require

late season fires to the point that shrubby thickening has significantly

retreated. Once a retreat of shrub layers is noticeable (referenced through

photographic monitoring points), patch burning commencing early in the

season will be sufficient to maintain structural integrity of this habitat.

• Management Block 2: Management Block 2 represents a management extension

area and as such, similar management actions should be applied as within

Management Block 1. Works should however commence only when there is some

demonstrated success in methods employed in Management Block 1 and rangers

have confidence that the extension works can be adequately resourced. There should

however be ongoing monitoring undertaken within the management block and

attention given to any problematic areas where neglect might deem impacts

irreversible. This may include a dramatically expanding infestation of tropical kudzu or

other weed species. It should be noted that Management Block 2 contains a

substantial area of livistona forest which should be monitored for shrubby thickening.

• Management Block 3: There is little requirement for active management at present

in Management Block 3. The area is largely free from invasive weeds and in its

current state, even with the removal of fire, would advance to a vine thicket without

any significant ecological consequence. Whilst there is evidence of intense fires

occurring within this area, vine thickets have retreated to the extent that their

boundaries are controlled by physical barriers such as rocks and boulders and further

retreat is unlikely. One significant point of note is that whilst examining habitats in this

area, there was evidence that cool burning was promoting expansion of Indian calopo

(Calopogonum mucunoides) in some grassland habitats. In such circumstance, cool

burning should be discouraged and replaced with more intensive fires burnt later in

the season for the specific purpose of arresting further expansion. Such problematic

areas should be identified during ongoing monitoring of the area on an annual basis

and mitigations applied to arrest further expansion of the problem.

28

Photograph 9. Infestation of Indian calopo in grassland habitats, April 2013. The grassland habitat has been recently burnt with a low intensity fire which may be promoting expansion of the infestation.

29

5. REFERENCES Csurhes S. (2008). Plant Risk Assessment – Kudzu. Biosecurity Queensland, Queensland

Government, Brisbane. Gammage, B. 2011 – the biggest estate on earth. Allen and Unwin Jones, R. 1969. Aust Natural History 16, pages 224-48.

Russell-Smith, J, Whitehead, Cooke, P. (eds) 2009. Culture, Ecology and Economy of Fire Management in North Australian Savannas: Rekindling the Wurk Tradition. Tropical Savannas CRC, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.

Stanton D. J, Fell D. G and Gooding D. O. 2009. Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems of the Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. Unpublished report to the Torres Strait Regional Authority.

Stronach, N (1999). Fire in the Trans-Fly Savanna, Irian Jaya/PNG. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Proceedings, Canberra, 2000.

3d Environmental. 2012. Dauan Island – Profile for the Management of Habitats and Related Cultural Resource Values. Unpublished report to the Torres Strait Regional Authority.

30

6. APPENDIX

A1. FIRE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK The essential feature of the fire management framework is that it is based on the premise that

the diversity and patterns of distribution of the island’s habitats are the result of the purposeful

use of fire by man over perhaps thousands of years, and therefore the maintenance of these

features depends, at the most basic level on the continuing presence of fire. Whilst the

precise nature of traditional management cannot be determined in the absence of its

practitioners, its main features are known, and the island’s fire management should be guided

by them. It should endeavour to create a patchwork of numerous small burnt areas by using

progressive ignition throughout the year whenever conditions are suitable. It should ensure

that most fires are of mild to moderate intensity, and provide the conditions under which

wildfires will tend to self-extinguish before they can cover large areas.

Fire management will take place in three overlapping stages. During, or soon after the wet

season, priority will be given to securing the town area by grading, slashing, mowing and

burning of fire breaks to protect infrastructure. As soon after the wet season as fires will carry,

patch burning will be carried out on the ground in grassland habitats with a tall grass

understory, paying particular attention to littoral scrubs and rainforest margins. This burning

can continue late in the season if for the specific purpose of maintaining grassland habitats.

Spraying of exotic smothering vines should be considered where infestations occur that have

potential to smother extensive areas of native habitat. When it is judged that satisfactory

progress has been made in these operations, attention will then shift to the remaining patch of

swamp forest.

31

A2. FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

A2-1. General introduction to the approach to fire management The fire management program should aim to:

• ensure as the highest priority the protection of life and property;

• establish an approximation of traditional burning practices by burning throughout the

year, when conditions are suitable, to establish a mosaic pattern representing burns

at different times of the year, and at different intensities and return intervals;

• replace any existing fire patterns dominated by relatively few large fires with smaller

more numerous ones;

• provide the conditions under which fires can self-extinguish;

• protect the edges of rainforests and vine thickets from scorch;

• manage specific habitats to provide appropriate conditions for the survival of

sensitive species.

A2-2. Ecological description of the island

Location and Landscape: The granite rock pile that forms Dauan, along with nearby Saibai

and Boigu Islands form the Northern Island Group, located approximately 150 km north of

Thursday Island. Whilst Saibai and Boigu Island are extensions of the alluvial Fly Platform,

geologically part of the Papua New Guinea mainland, Dauan is formed on continental

basement rock which extends northward from Cape York Peninsula to Mabadauan Hill on the

south-west coast of Papua New Guinea. Dauan, with an area of 364 ha, rises dramatically

from the ocean to a height of 295m on Mt Cornwallis, the highest point on the island and the

second highest mountain peak in the Torres Strait Island group after Banks Peak (Mua

Island) at 399m. A broad estuarine flat with associated mangrove vegetation is developed on

the north-western side of the island. The flat terminates with a broad circular fringe of coralline

sand and shell grit that supports a small area of littoral vine thicket.

Climate: Dauan Island, as for other Torres Strait Islands is influenced by the summer

monsoon (wet season) between December and March during which moisture laden north and

north-westerly winds prevail. South-easterly trade winds dominate for much of the remaining

months with transitional periods between April to May, and October to November. April is

typically the wettest month producing on average precipitation of 244 mm out of an annual

average of 1082 mm. This compares with Badu which is the wettest recording station in the

32

Torres Strait at 1983 mm. There is however considerable rainfall variability on both annual

and decadal cycles. Due to its location, and the regulating effect of the ocean, moderate

temperatures are experienced throughout much of the year and the broader Torres Strait

experiences a mean annual temperature of 27° with minimal range from 25° to 28°.

Vegetation: The island rises dramatically from the ocean with a chaotic pile of granite

boulders that is blanketed by vine thicket, broken with numerous bare boulder fields and a

broad fringe of flammable grassland on the islands footslopes. Vine forest in varying form

ranging from evergreen forest to semi-evergreen thicket forms up to 48 % of the islands

vegetation with native grasslands comprising 23 %. The balance of vegetation comprises

boulder field vinelands, shrublands, swamp forest and non-remnant / exotic vegetation.

Vegetation communities mapping is provided within Map A.

A2-3. The history of fire in the island’s landscape

It is not known when traditional burning was abandoned and there is no documentation of fire

history since then. From field evidence, it is apparent that the island is regularly burnt by a

number of people and that burning has appears to be completed largely in the months of

October and November. The condition of the island’s habitats indicates that although they are

largely stable under the prevailing fire regime, there continues to be some attrition of vine

forest boundaries through the impact of extremely hot fire events. There is also evidence that

some habitats are escaping fire and suffering from thickening of shrub layers.

A2-4. Specific requirements for asset protection

Specific factors that require consideration during prescribed burning are detailed in Table A2-

4 overleaf. The table is intended as a guide to information that is required and it is expected

that additional detail will be added as the fire program develops.

2b

24a

17d

17d

17d

1b

Cl

2s

2d

Cl

2b

Cl

Cl

Cl

14g

2d

1a

R

19a

Cl

19a

R

17d

19a

24a

19a

Cl

R

17d

19a

2u

17d

2b

19a

17d

R

11a

R

7a

17d

R

12a

19a

19a

Cl

17d

19a

24a

17d

Cl

17d

19a

Ex

17d

19a

Ex

19a

2b

R

14g

R

2b

1b

2b

17d

Ex

19a

R

Cl

17d

Ex

2b

R

R

Cl

R

R

Ex

19a

Cl

19a

2b

Re

12a17d

7a

Cl

19a

11b

19a

2b

2b

17d

2b

Re

2b

12a19a

R

19a

19a

2b

2b

17d

19a

19a

Re

Re

19a

R

19a

2b

19a

Cl

2b

19a

Re

2b

19a

É

LegendCleared

Communities dominated by exotic species

Evergreen notophyll vine forest + Acmenospermumclaviflorum + Syzigium puberulum + Ganophyllum falcatum+ Arytera divaricata + Ficus microcarpa + *Mangiferaindica.Granite ranges.

Evergreen notophyll vine thicket (windsheared) + Manilkarakauki + Intsia bijuga + Pouteria sericea + Aglaiaeleagnoidea + Garcinia warrenii + Pandanus sp. Granitefootslopes.

Exotic species

Livistona meulleri woodland.

Low Alyxia spicata + Manilkara kauki +/- Buchananiaarborescens +/- Canarium australianum +/- Diospyros spp.+/- Pandanus sp. low closed shrubland/ rock pavementcomplex. Coastal headlands on granite and rhyolite.

Low Melaleuca cajuputi subsp. platyphylla open forest.Alluvial plains and drainage depressions.

Mangrove closed and open forest, woodland and shrublandcomplexes (24d/24c).

Medium to tall Mnesithea rottboellioides + Heteropogontriticeus + Cymbopogon spp. +/- Imperata cylindrica +/-Themeda triandra grassland. Alluvial and residual plains,coastal dunes and granite footslopes.

Medium to tall Mnesithea rottboellioides + Heteropogontriticeus + Cymbopogon spp. +/- Imperata cylindrica +/-Themeda triandra grassland. Alluvial plains, coastal dunesand granite footslopes.

Open vineland/deciduous shrubland/boulder slope complex.Granite talus and boulder slopes.

Pandanus sp. +/- Melaleuca catjaputi subsp. platyphylla +/-Acacia leptocarpa +/- Melaleuca acacioides shrubland andlow woodland. Alluvial plains (Quaternary and Pleistocene).

Pandanus sp. +/- Melaleuca viridiflora open forest,woodland and shrubland. Seepage zones on alluvium, duneswales and granite headlands.

Regrowth

Rock

Semi deciduous vine forest + Tetrameles nudiflora +Canarium australianum + Ficus spp. + Bombax ceiba var.leiocarpum +/- Alstonia spectabilis. Granite slopes.

Semi deciduous vine forest/thicket + Canarium australianum+ Terminalia subacroptera + Bombax ceiba var. leiocarpum+ Cochlospermum gillivreai + Cleistanthus peninsularis +Ficus virens var. sublanceolata. Footslopes on granite andrhyolite.

Semi-deciduous notophyll vine thicket (windsheared) +Pouteria sericea + Ficus virens var. sublanceolata +Schefflera actinophylla + Garcinea warrenii + Syzygiumpuberulum. Granite hillslopes.

Semi-deciduous vine forest + Manilkara kauki + Terminaliaspp. + Sterculia quadrifida + Premna serratifolia + Acaciacrassicarpa + Drypetes deplanchei + Millettia pi¤ata.Coastal dunes.

0 200 400 600 800

Metres

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Vegetation Communities and Broad Vegetation Groups of Dauan Island

34

Table A2-4. Preliminary list of assets, specific issues and requirements and contact information.

Asset Issues Specific Requirements Stakeholders (to be listed) Contact

Dauan township area

Flammable fringing rank grassland habitat occurs as fingers intruding into the community and as a broader swathe on the settlement margins. Flammable vegetation occurs up to boundary fences of dwellings in some locations.

A program of hazard reduction burning is required to manage the risk that hot wildfire poses to dwellings.

Dauan Council

Dauan Community

Island Rangers Tenny Elisala

Rural Fires – Fire warden Powerline and generators

The location of generators and powerlines requires consideration. Other facilities should be identified.

• Hazard requires management around facilities including slashing of grass around generators and power poles.

• Ergon to be given minimum of 2 weeks notice prior to a planned burn.

• Ergon on ground maintenance teams to cut grass 2 m from around poles and look after generators.

Ergon Energy??

Dauan Council

Island Rangers Tenny Elisala

Water supply and other infrastructure

The risk that fires pose to water supply infrastructure and associated facilities needs to be considered in burning plans.

Dauan Council

Island Rangers Tenny Elisala Cultural assets (requiring further documentation)

Cultural assets and the risk fire poses to them requires further consideration and documentation.

Island Rangers Tenny Elisala

PBC

35

Asset Issues Specific Requirements Stakeholders (to be listed) Contact

Other infrastructure – bridges, signage etc.

The susceptibility of other infrastructure to fire damage needs to be established and considered in the fire program.

Mapping the location of fire sensitive infrastructure is required and considered in the burning program.

Dauan Council

Dauan Community

Island Rangers Tenny Elisala

36

A2-5. Fire management requirements for weeds

There are a number of herbaceous environmental weeds that may benefit from targeted

burning if this is followed up by chemical spraying as green shoots re-emerge. Such

infestations are restricted to disturbed lands around settlements and include a number of

herbs and scrambling vine species such as stylo (Stylosanthes spp.), siratro (Macroptilium

atropurpureum), phasey bean (Macroptilium lathryioides), butterfly pea (Clitoria terneata) and

beggar weed (Desmodium tortuosum). Such areas should be identified and an approach to

burning and subsequent herbicide treatment considered on a case by case basis.

Appropriate control of tropical kudzu ((Pueraria phaseoloides var. phaseoloides) requires

further investigation. It may benefit also from burning although any follow up spraying that

may be required will also impact regeneration of grasses (unless a selective herbicide is

identified). Alternatively, attempts could be made to overspray the infestation followed by

burning of the dead matter under moderate condition. Whatever course of action is taken

however, it is likely that several cycles of burning and herbicide usage will be required to

arrest or reverse patch expansion. Appropriate use of herbicide is discussed in Csurhes

(2008).

A2-6. Management requirements for cultural sites.

A list of cultural sites is to be compiled with any specific requirement for fire management

issues to be detailed.

Table A2 – 6. Management requirements for cultural sites (example - to be compiled).

Cultural Site Location (GPS) Specific Fire Issues/ Treatment

37

Cultural Site Location (GPS) Specific Fire Issues/ Treatment

A2-7. Management requirements for vegetation communities. Recommended fire regimes and treatments for vegetation communities on Badu Island are

provided in Table A2 – 7.

Table A2 – 7. Fire behavior and recommended treatment for vegetation communities on Badu Island.

Fire Category

BVG Vegetation Community

Description Fire Behaviour/

Recommendations

Category 1

Evergreen forest and thicket

1a

Evergreen notophyll vine forest + Acmenospermum claviforum + Syzygium puberulum + Ganophyllum falcatum + Arytera divaricata + Ficus microcarpa + Mangifera indica*

Generally will not burn under most conditions although habitat margins may be subject to damage and further attrition.

Burns conducted early in the season (April to May) where these habitats share a boundary with highly flammable vegetation.

Patchwork burning of surrounding flammable vegetation essential for preservation of habitat margins.

1b

Evergreen notophyll vine thicket (wind-sheared) + Manilkara kauki + Intsia bijuga + Pouteria sericea + Aglaia eleagnoidea + Garcinia warrenii + Pandanus sp.

Semi-deciduous vine thicket

2a

Deciduous/Semi-deciduous vine forest + Erythrina variegata + Manilkara kauki + Terminalia subacroptera + Mimusops elengi + Cordia subcordata.

2b

Semi deciduous vine forest/thicket + Canarium australianum + Terminalia subacroptera + Bombax ceiba var. leiocarpum + Cochlospermum gillivraei + Cleistanthus peninsularis + Ficus virens var. sublanceolata.

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Fire Category

BVG Vegetation Community

Description Fire Behaviour/

Recommendations

2d

Semi deciduous vine forest + Tetrameles nudiflora + Canarium australianum + Ficus spp. + Bombax ceiba var. leiocarpum +/- Alstonia spectabilis.

2s

Semi-deciduous notophyll vine thicket (wind sheared) + Pouteria sericea + Ficus virens var. Sub-lanceolata + Schefflera actinophylla + Garcinia warrenii + Syzygium puberulum

Shrublands and shrubland complexes 14g

Low Alyxia spicata + Manilkara kauki +/- Buchanania arborescens +/- Canarium australianum +/- Diospyros spp. +/- Pandanus sp. low closed shrubland/ rock pavement complex.

1a Littoral vine thickets 2u

Semi-deciduous vine forest + Manilkara kauki + Terminalia spp. + Sterculia quadrifida + Premna serratifolia + Acacia crassicarpa + Drypetes deplanchei + Millettia pinnata.

Require careful management due to associated infestation of exotic grass.

Preventative cool burns on the margins of habitat, particularly vine thicket components.

Interspersed cool burns in grassland patches to prevent hot wildfire incursion and promote vine thicket expansion.

2 Boulder slope vineland/ shrubland complexes

19a

Open vineland/deciduous shrubland/boulder slope complex

Will not burn

11a Pandanus dominant woodland associated with boulder fields

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Fire Category

BVG Vegetation Community

Description Fire Behaviour/

Recommendations

Mangrove forest complexes 24a

Mangrove closed and open forest, woodland and shrubland complexes (24d/24c – 80/20).

3 Melaleuca dominant open forest 7a

Low Melaleuca cajaputi subsp. platyphylla open forest

Can burn with considerable intensity under hot, dry conditions (although vine thicket component will limit potential for this). Those conditions under which this habitat will burn will be extremely hazardous. It is thus suggested that fire be excluded from this habitat.

4

Grassland 17c Open to closed tussock grassland with emergent shrubs.

Susceptible to hot, late season fires and will burn with considerable intensity

First communities to be burnt after wet season.

Well-spaced fires lit progressively from as soon after the wet season as they will carry until, in most years, early June

Target cool burns in this vegetation where it forms boundary with Category 1 vine forests and thickets.

Pandanus dominant woodland 11b

Pandanus sp. +/- Melaleuca viridiflora open forest, woodland and shrubland.

Livistona dominant woodland 12a

Melaleuca viridiflora +/- Pandanus sp. shrubland and low woodland.

5/ 5a Exotic Vegetation EX Vegetation dominated by exotic species (mostly mango)

Asset protection burning commencing early in the season.

Fire breaks should be constructed prior to initiation.

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Fire Category

BVG Vegetation Community

Description Fire Behaviour/

Recommendations

Cleared Areas Cl

Includes exotic vegetation, rank grassland and infrastructure areas

Vegetation communities 1 and 1a: Vine thickets and dune complexes on coastal dune

complexes.

Strategy: Protect these communities from fire damage to the margins. When burning in

adjacent communities light the first fires close to the margins. Burning on habitat margins

should only be undertaken under conditions where fires will be cool and not impact the vine

forest margins to any considerable extent.

Vegetation communities 2: Natural vegetation that will not burn.

Strategy: No protection or other management required.

Vegetation communities 3: Seasonally wet forests and woodlands that will support fire.

Strategy: Fires entering these swamp communities when they are dry have the potential to

do severe damage. There exists only a limited area of this vegetation and it may burn with

extreme difficulty or not at all due to a heavy vine thicket understory. It is recommended that

fire be excluded from this habitat as the conditions under which it will burn may prove

extremely hazardous to nearby infrastructure.

Vegetation communities 4: Vegetation communities of moderate to high flammability.

Communities with a medium to tall grassy ground cover, including grasslands and woodland

communities and some previously cleared areas.

Strategy: These communities accumulate fuel more quickly than others and should be the

first burnt after the wet season. Well-spaced fires should be lit progressively from as soon

after the wet season as they will carry until, in most years, early June, with the aim of

reducing the capacity of unplanned late season fires to spread. As a high proportion of the

rainforest areas have margins with these communities it is desirable that a cautious approach

to them be adopted by lighting the first fires of the season near their margins (see Vegetation

Communities 1, above.) The ability to start early burning in these areas depends on having on

average between one third and two thirds of them with at least two years’ fuel accumulation,

and patch burning operations should cease if they seem likely, in any one year, to cover more

than half of the available area.

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If it is considered desirable to maintain grassland habitats, patch burning will need to be

maintained late into the season to arrest shrub development. Similarly for livistona dominant

forests, hotter fires burnt late in the season ( August to September) will be required to prevent

rainforest encroachment.

Vegetation communities 5/5a: Cleared and urban areas.

Strategy: Major concern is for infrastructure that is fringed by flammable grassland

vegetation. Appropriate action requires construction of fire breaks early in the season followed

by burning of slashed grass. Adjacent flammable areas should be managed with patchwork

burning to reduce fuel loads.

A2-8. Management requirements for sensitive species.

Table A2-8 details specific requirements for sensitive flora species known to occur on Dauan

Island that may be influenced by fire regime. Additional baseline survey on sensitive fauna

species populations is required before specific management issues are identified in regard to

fauna. In the case of fauna species, as it is for the majority of flora species, mosaic burning of

the landscape commencing early in the year is considered the most appropriate management

action.

Table A2-8. Management recommendations for sensitive flora species

Species Habitat requirements Fire Management

Requirements

Alectryon repandodentatus (Endangered NC Act, EPBC Act) (Sapindaceae)

Limited population associated with evergreen vine forest on Mt Cornwallis.

Not susceptible to fire damage

Costus poteriae (endangered NC Act) (Costaceae)

Found in wet, non-remnant swamps where it mixes with phragmites grassland as well as margins of springs at the base of footslopes.

Any burns undertaken in swampy grassland vegetation should be timed to ensure soil condition is moist. This will prevent damage to the underground portions of the plant.

Where it occurs on rainforest margins, habitats should be protected with a mosaic of cool patchwork burning in surrounding flammable habitats

Diospyros sp. (Bamaga BP Hyland ) (Vulnerable) (Ebenaceae)

Eucalypt dominant woodland habitats.

Widely spaced mosaic spread evenly across the landscape to promote patchiness. Burning should be completed in June to August with the aid of incendiary devices when additional resources are required.

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Species Habitat requirements Fire Management

Requirements

Dishidia littoralis (Vulnerable NC Act, EPBC Act) (Apocynaceae)

Mostly associated with semi-deciduous vine forest on footslopes of the island.

The species is best preserved with a mosaic of cool patchwork burning in adjacent flammable habitats.

Arenga australasica (Vulnerable EPBC Act, NC Act).

Location unknown although reported from vine forest on Mt Cornwallis

Not susceptible to fire damage

Cissus aristata (Vulnerable NC Act) (Vitaceae)

A slender trailing vine from a single collection record on Mt Cornwallis

Not susceptible to fire damage

Neolebra atra (Near threatened NC Act) (Poaceae):

Abundant on margins of deciduous vine thicket, particularly on footslopes

The species is best preserved with a mosaic of cool patchwork burning in adjacent flammable habitats.

Operculina brownii (Near threatened NC Act) (Poaceae):

Known from deciduous vine thicket, particularly on footslopes

The species is best preserved with a mosaic of cool patchwork burning in adjacent flammable habitats.

Apluda mutica (Near threatened NC Act) (Poaceae)

Non-remnant grassland in moist locations. Also found within livistona dominant habitats.

Ecology and habitat requirements are not known. Best management approach is to patch burn flammable habitats commencing as early in the season as fuel will carry. Preservation of grassy ground cover is considered paramount for survival of this species.

A2-9. Operational tasks

This section provides a checklist of items that are considered essential to delivery of fire

management on purpose of this section is to list those matters that are essential to the

delivery of fire management on the island. Responsibilities for each task should be allotted

each year and recorded in the annual burn plan.

Table A2-9. Operational requirements of the Badu Island burning program.

Requirement Comments

Equipment inventory A detailed list of equipment necessary for

implementation of the burn program and checklist

of items held by the Badu Island Rangers

Training Essential training required for implementation of

the fire program (further advice required; Mick

Blackman).

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GIS mapping training to record burn locations.

Stakeholders A list of all stakeholders including agencies,

names and contact numbers (see Table A2-4).

Safety and emergency procedures A full statement of emergency procedure is to be

compiled. Advice is required from agencies such

as the State Emergency Service / Mick Blackman).

Regulatory requirements Advice from SES/ Mick Blackman is required in

this regard.

A2-10. Monitoring and reporting

Specific requirements for monitoring and reporting on an annual basis are provided in Table

A2-10.

Table A2-10. Recommended monitoring and reporting requirements Requirement Comments/ Responsibility

Establishment of photographic monitoring points Specific photographic monitoring points need to be established at appropriate locations to detail the success of specific management actions.

Guided by senior ranger/ ranger supervisor with external expertise sought where required.

Fire mapping The locations and extent of areas burnt during each fire season should be mapped for ongoing reference.

Guided by senior ranger/ ranger supervisor with external expertise sought where required.

Satellite mapping of fire scars Satellite mapping of annual burns requires investigation.

Currently under investigation.

Annual reporting An annual report on the Dauan Island fire program should be prepared at the completion of each burn season. This should provide a summary of areas burnt, timing, conditions as well as mapping of burn scars.

Senior ranger guided by ranger supervisor

Preparation of annual burn plan To be completed prior to commencement of the annual burn program with consideration given to previous years activities.

A2- 11. Dauan Island burn plan

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Burn Plan: Year 2013 - 2014: This year will be devoted to building community support for

future fire management programs by becoming involved in dealing with fire problems in the

urban area, in particular with managing fire risk around the township and surrounding area.

This will require full involvement with any brigade set-up under the Rural Fires Act and

training in relevant legislation. Initial operations should focus on the construction of fire-breaks

by encouraging slashing as well as encouraging land-owners and council to clear long grass

from near houses and fence lines. It would be beneficial to have at least two years on ground

accumulation of fuel to ensure any patch burning regime could be adequately entrenched.

Hence for the remainder of 2013 it would be beneficial to exclude fire from the islands

habitats as much as is possible. This will increase the likelihood that the program in following

years will be successful.

Commencing 2014 and perhaps beyond this depending on resources, confidence and

program success, activities should be focused within Management Block 1. The initial task

should be to secure the township and infrastructure through construction of fire breaks in

those flammable habitats that fringe the community. Fire breaks, 10 – 20 m wide, could be

prepared by slashing them as soon as the ground is dry enough after the wet season, and

burning the slashed grass soon after. From there on, the direction of the management

program can be guided by what are considered desirable outcomes by both the rangers and

the island community. A number of possible outcomes are thus identified and appropriate

actions discussed in the following sections.

Allow rainforest to re-establish on the grassy footslopes: To facilitate the re-

establishment of rainforest in areas currently occupied by grassland, it will be necessary to

eliminate the risk of incursion of any hot late season fires. This presents a number of inherent

risks, the most likely being that invasive vines will expand dramatically and prevent necessary

recruitment of native rainforest shrubs. As tropical kudzu possesses a robust underground

tuber, it is unlikely that even hot late season fires will kill the plant. It is fairly certain however

that the cool fires required for promotion of rainforest expansion will also promote expansion

of tropical kudzu at a much faster rate. Hence to achieve the required outcome, a number of

methods will need to be employed as described below:

3. Active management of areas currently infested by invasive vines such as tropical

kudzu through application of herbicide to foliage or cutting of stems and swabbing

with concentrated herbicide. Appropriate herbicides for application are described in

Csurhes (2008).

4. Patch burning throughout flammable grassland habitats from as early in the season

as fire will carry. Patch burning can be initiated from the margins of the rainforest

boundary, particularly fringing areas where shrubs are beginning to thicken. The

main purpose of the patch burning will be to break up fuel loads to prevent the risk of

late season fires.

45

Retain grassland habitats on footslopes: The long term retention of grassland habitats on

the footslopes will require a different approach, namely the use of hotter fires burnt later in the

season. The general process should however not be significantly different being:

4. Placement of firebreaks around infrastructure and residential areas as previously

described.

5. Patch burning should be undertaken from as early in the season as fires will carry

although for this purpose, should focus on areas of grassland which are relatively free

from shrubs and woody vines. It can also be targeted along the margins of rainforest

boundaries to prevent damage to these habitats incurred from hot fires burnt late in

the season.

6. Once fuel loads are broken and conditions dry, hotter fires can be driven into areas of

shrubby thickening. This most appropriate period will typically be from August to

September. Hot fires can also be driven into areas of tropical kudzu invasion as an

experimental measure. It may still be necessary to undertake some chemical control

of tropical kudzu infestations although hot fires will most likely limit its potential for

further expansion.

Maintenance of livistona dominant habitats: The unique nature of these habitats and

requirements for maintenance has previously been described in Section 2.1.2. Preservation of

the grassy groundcover is considered paramount for long term survival of this community.

Hence it is recommended that any burning regime adopt a late season fire strategy for the

specific purpose of arresting and reversing the encroachment of shrubby layers that is

observed to be occurring. To do so will require the preparation of an appropriately placed fire

break to prevent hot fires spreading more widely throughout Management Block 1.

A program for years following 2014 can, at this stage, only be tentative. It will depend very

much on the experience of the preceding years, and how closely its goals can be reached.

There are unpredictable circumstances relating to how successful a start can be made on

changing burning patterns and establishing a mosaic pattern of burning on which to build.

Also to be tested at all stages is the question of whether or not resources available are

adequate for the task. For these reasons, therefore, fine detail has been avoided, and this

report confines itself to outlining the direction of an ideal program to occupy the year 2015,

and repetitively from there on, while emphasizing its essential features. Whatever precise

direction is pursued for 2014, however, should be shaped by the experiences of the

operations in 2013, and all annual programs from there on should evolve from the experience

of preceding years. Appropriate actions in specific management blocks in subsequent years

are described below.

46

• Management Block 1: Continued placement of fire breaks around infrastructure and

residential areas should commence early in the season prior to any burning being

undertaken; chemical control of tropical kudzu can be considered for any persistent

infestations, and; maintenance of livistona dominant habitats with late season fires

should be ongoing. Dependent on the desired outcome, this process can continue on

an annual basis until:

o Rainforest has established on footslopes to a degree that fire will no longer

carry. At this point, monitoring and control of tropical kudzu infestations may

be the only management action required.

o In the option that it is desired that grasslands be maintained on the

footslopes, long term fire maintenance will be required. This will involve

ongoing placement of firebreaks and commencement of patch burning early

in the season extending through to about September dependent on seasonal

conditions.

o Maintenance of the grassy nature of livistona dominant habitats will require

late season fires to the point that shrubby thickening has significantly

retreated. Once a retreat of shrub layers is noticeable (referenced through

photographic monitoring points), patch burning commencing early in the

season will be sufficient to maintain structural integrity of this habitat.

• Management Block 2: Management Block 2 represents a management extension

area and as such, similar management actions should be applied as within

Management Block 1. Works should however commence only when there is some

demonstrated success in methods employed in Management Block 1 and rangers

have confidence that the extension works can be adequately resourced. There should

however be ongoing monitoring undertaken within the management block and

attention given to any problematic areas where neglect might deem impacts

irreversible. This may include a dramatically expanding infestation of tropical kudzu or

other weed species. It should be noted that Management Block 2 contains a

substantial area of livistona forest which should be monitored for shrubby thickening.

• Management Block 3: There is little requirement for active management at present

in Management Block 3. The area is largely free from invasive weeds and in its

current state, even with the removal of fire, would advance to a vine thicket without

any significant ecological consequence. Whilst there is evidence of intense fires

occurring within this area, vine thickets have retreated to the extent that their

boundaries are controlled by physical barriers such as rocks and boulders and further

retreat is unlikely. One significant point of note is that whilst examining habitats in this

area, there was evidence that cool burning was promoting expansion of Indian calopo

(Calopogonum mucunoides) in some grassland habitats. In such circumstance, cool

burning should be discouraged and replaced with more intensive fires burnt later in

47

the season for the specific purpose of arresting further expansion. Such problematic

areas should be identified during ongoing monitoring of the area on an annual basis

and mitigations applied to arrest further expansion of the problem.

Burn Plan – Following Years: A program for years following 2014 can, at this stage, only be

tentative. It will depend very much on the experience of the preceding years, and how closely

its goals can be reached. There are unpredictable circumstances relating to how successful a

start can be made on changing burning patterns and establishing a mosaic pattern of burning

on which to build. Also to be tested at all stages is the question of whether or not resources

available are adequate for the task. For these reasons, therefore, fine detail has been

avoided, and this report confines itself to outlining the direction of an ideal program to occupy

the year 2015, and repetitively from there on, while emphasizing its essential features.

Whatever precise direction is pursued for 2014, however, should be shaped by the

experiences of the operations in 2013, and all annual programs from there on should evolve

from the experience of preceding years. Appropriate actions in specific management blocks in

subsequent years are described below.

• Management Block 1: Continued placement of fire breaks around infrastructure and

residential areas should commence early in the season prior to any burning being

undertaken; chemical control of tropical kudzu can be considered for any persistent

infestations, and; maintenance of livistona dominant habitats with late season fires

should be ongoing. Dependent on the desired outcome, this process can continue on

an annual basis until:

o Rainforest has established on footslopes to a degree that fire will no longer

carry. At this point, monitoring and control of tropical kudzu infestations may

be the only management action required.

o In the option that it is desired that grasslands be maintained on the

footslopes, long term fire maintenance will be required. This will involve

ongoing placement of firebreaks and commencement of patch burning early

in the season extending through to about September dependent on seasonal

conditions.

o Maintenance of the grassy nature of livistona dominant habitats will require

late season fires to the point that shrubby thickening has significantly

retreated. Once a retreat of shrub layers is noticeable (referenced through

photographic monitoring points), patch burning commencing early in the

season will be sufficient to maintain structural integrity of this habitat.

• Management Block 2: Management Block 2 represents a management extension

area and as such, similar management actions should be applied as within

Management Block 1. Works should however commence only when there is some

demonstrated success in methods employed in Management Block 1 and rangers

have confidence that the extension works can be adequately resourced. There should

48

however be ongoing monitoring undertaken within the management block and

attention given to any problematic areas where neglect might deem impacts

irreversible. This may include a dramatically expanding infestation of tropical kudzu or

other weed species. It should be noted that Management Block 2 contains a

substantial area of livistona forest which should be monitored for shrubby thickening.

• Management Block 3: There is little requirement for active management at present

in Management Block 3. The area is largely free from invasive weeds and in its

current state, even with the removal of fire, would advance to a vine thicket without

any significant ecological consequence. Whilst there is evidence of intense fires

occurring within this area, vine thickets have retreated to the extent that their

boundaries are controlled by physical barriers such as rocks and boulders and further

retreat is unlikely. One significant point of note is that whilst examining habitats in this

area, there was evidence that cool burning was promoting expansion of Indian calopo

(Calopogonum mucunoides) in some grassland habitats. In such circumstance, cool

burning should be discouraged and replaced with more intensive fires burnt later in

the season for the specific purpose of arresting further expansion. Such problematic

areas should be identified during ongoing monitoring of the area on an annual basis

and mitigations applied to arrest further expansion of the problem.

Table A2-11. Considerations for protection of life and property.

Area Strategy

Dauan Township.

• During late wet season complete a system of fire breaks around the town as required by slashing and then burning slashed grass.

Fuel is cleared from around houses by slashing or mowing, and raking.

• Identify potential fire hazards around other island settlements and essential infrastructure, and liaise with owners to ensure appropriate action is taken to protect them, including early burning around them if necessary.

Table A2-12. Considerations for biodiversity conservation

Habitat Strategy

Vine forest and thicket habitats

Early burn adjacent grassland areas to protect sensitive species and communities from late season fires. If resources for this work are limited, concentrate on these areas where there has been attrition of vine thickets from the influence of past fires.

Table A2-13. Considerations for weed management.

Identify areas that will not be covered by the island-wide burning program, mostly in the

49

vicinity of settled areas, where it could be useful to burn patches of heavy weed

infestation, with follow-up spraying when new plants begin to germinate.

Management of tropical kudzu will require experimentation to determine the most

appropriate course of action. Foliar overspray followed by burning of dead matter in

moderate conditions may be the best course of action although further investigation of the

most appropriate techniques is required.

Table A2-14. Fire management program checklist (example)

Action Responsibility Date Achieved

• Has equipment been checked and serviced, and will it be adequate for the planned program?

• Have all necessary approvals and permits been obtained, and relevant people advised?

Is there a fire warden? Is Council approval needed?

• Has communication gear been tested and a communications protocol put in place?

Does communication gear have to be purchased? Might need to identify a consultant to advise on this.

• Are adequate maps available?

Consult with 3D Environmental / TSRA GIS section on this.

• Are safety and emergency plans in place?

• Have those involved been briefed on the requirements of the burn plan, on safety and emergency plans, and trained in the use of equipment?

• Has responsibility for post burning season reporting been allocated?