Eucalypt plantations in northern NSW are grown on long rotations
(30-40 years) for solid wood products. Managing fuels within these
plantations is essential to minimise the impact of wildfire. Cattle
grazing is the most cost-effective and efficient method of fuel
manipulation. However, cattle only selectively graze and some
species of grass (mainly blady grass, Imperata cylindrica
) dominate, resulting in high fuel loads. Prescribed burning is an
effective method of reducing these fuels but there are many
unanswered questions relating to fire in young eucalypt
plantations.
The main objective of this project is to determine, for specific
plantation species, the crop age/stem size, fuel amount, and
weather conditions that are appropriate for prescribed burning in
order to minimise damage from burning to acceptable levels.
Experimental burning in eucalypt plantations have been conducted
in 2005 and 2006 to achieve the above objective.
Project Link: A 1.3 Fuel Classification and
Availability
