Responses of foraging ant populations to high-intensity wildfire, salvage logging and natural regeneration processes in Eucalyptus regnans regrowth forest of the Victorian Central Highlands

1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. G. Neumann
2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. van der Ree ◽  
R. H. Loyn

The impact of time since fire after two consecutive wildfires 44 years apart (1939 and 1983) within the same area, and the distance from the fire boundary (<100 m or 500-2000 m), were investigated in relation to the distribution and abundance of arboreal marsupials in 1994. Arboreal marsupials were censused by stagwatching and spotlighting in two relatively young age classes of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) dominated forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria. Five species of arboreal marsupial were detected, but only three were detected in sufficient numbers to determine habitat preferences. Petauroides volans (greater glider) was statistically more abundant in 1939 regrowth forests, while Trichosurus caninus (mountain brushtail possum) showed no significant preference for either age class of forest. All but one record of Gymnobelideus leadbeateri (Leadbeater's possum) came from young forest, though the effect of age-class was not statistically significant. Distance from fire boundary explained little or no variation in mammal distribution or abundance. While the actual number of hollow-bearing trees was similar in both age classes of forest, the long-term lifespan of hollow-bearing trees in more recently burnt forest is predicted to be lower than in unburnt or not recently burnt forest. Post-fire salvage logging following the 1983 wildfires appears to have reduced the number of hollow-bearing trees at sites burnt in 1983.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1081-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun K. Bose ◽  
Andrew S. Nelson ◽  
Matthew G. Olson

Does species’ shade tolerance regulate natural regeneration abundance and composition when partial harvestings (≤80% of basal area removal) are operated on a landscape scale? We examined this question using 835 permanent plots located across forested landscapes of Maine, USA. These plots were surveyed for regeneration growth, mortality, and recruitment before and after treatment application (i.e., partially harvested and unharvested). Our results showed that relative to unharvested stands, high-intensity partial harvesting (41%–80% of basal area removal) increased the number of seedlings (diameter at breast height (DBH) < 2.5 cm) recruited to saplings (DBH of 2.5–12.69 cm) and sapling diameter growth irrespective of species’ shade tolerance over a 15-year period after treatment. However, high-intensity partial harvesting increased sapling mortality during the initial 5 years since harvesting, whereas low-intensity partial harvesting (5%–40% of basal area removal) maintained the natural regeneration dynamics (growth, recruitment, and mortality) of unharvested stands. We found that harvesting intensity, basal area, and seedling density by shade-tolerance group before harvesting are more important attributes than species’ shade tolerance for determining the responses of natural regeneration to partial harvesting. The greater importance of preharvest stand attributes on postharvest regeneration may suggest an integrated overstory and understory manipulation approach for attaining the desired regeneration composition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence E. Berry ◽  
Don A. Driscoll ◽  
Samuel C. Banks ◽  
David B. Lindenmayer

We examined the abundance of arboreal marsupials in topographic fire refuges after a major fire in a stand-replacing crown-fire forest ecosystem. We surveyed the abundance of arboreal marsupials across 48 sites in rainforest gullies burnt to differing extents by the 2009 fires in the mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of the Victorian Central Highlands, Australia. The greater glider (Petauroides volans) was less abundant within the extent of the 2009 fire. The mountain brushtail possum (Trichosurus cunninghami) was more abundant within the extent of the 2009 fire, particularly within unburnt peninsulas protruding into burnt areas from unburnt edges. Our results indicate that fire refuges may facilitate the persistence of some species within extensively burnt landscapes. Additional work should seek to clarify this finding and identify the demographic mechanisms underlying this response.


2007 ◽  
Vol 240 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. O’Brien ◽  
Kevin L. O’Hara ◽  
Nadir Erbilgin ◽  
David L. Wood

1997 ◽  
Vol 99 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Hardwick ◽  
John Healey ◽  
Stephen Elliott ◽  
Nancy Garwood ◽  
Vilaiwan Anusarnsunthorn

2015 ◽  
Vol 91 (04) ◽  
pp. 360-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.B. Splawinski ◽  
D.F. Greene ◽  
S. Gauthier ◽  
Y. Bergeron

A tool was developed to allow managers and foresters to quickly assess reforestation needs following forest fire and salvage logging at the stand level in both pure and mixed black spruce and jack pine stands. This on-site operational assessment tool was created using a forest regeneration model that simulates the natural regeneration densities of black spruce and jack pine following fire and salvage. Tree species basal areas used for simulations represent the natural range expected in the field. Additional parameters include the abscission schedule of the species, the percentage of optimal (exposed mineral soil or humus) post-fire seedbeds, and the timing of the salvage operation. The tool also allows for rapid planning of both salvage operations and planting. It has important advantages over conventional seedling surveys in that it can be employed immediately following fire, can guide management decisions about the planning of road construction and the harvest sequence, and takes into account the entire establishment phase. Using the tool to adjust the harvesting schedule to minimize replanting, the likely final cost of reforestation can be estimated for an entire burn. The tool shows that a higher percentage of optimal seedbeds are necessary following salvage: (1) for black spruce to regenerate adequately compared to jack pine (i.e., planting of black spruce will almost always be necessary); (2) as basal area of the species of interest decreases; and, (3) to adequately regenerate burned intact and salvaged stands in late-season fires compared with those from early-season fires.


1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 531 ◽  
Author(s):  
DB Lindenmayer ◽  
A Welsh ◽  
CF Donnelly ◽  
RB Cunningham

The use of den trees by a population of the mountain brushtail possum (Trichosorus caninus) in forests of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) at Cambarville, in the central Highlands of Victoria, is described. Relationships are explored between the use of trees with hollows by 16 radio-tracked T. caninus and a range of measures of the morphological characteristics of the 113 different den trees they occupied. The results of the analyses indicate that the most used trees contained a relatively large number of cavities and were not surrounded by dense vegetation. Male possums were found most frequently in the southern part of the 35-ha study area, and females were found most often in the northern part.


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