Relationships between mature trees and fire fuel hazard in Australian forest

dc.contributor.authorWilson, Nicholas
dc.contributor.authorCary, Geoffrey J.
dc.contributor.authorGibbons, Philip
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-24T06:36:11Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.date.updated2019-03-12T07:34:42Z
dc.description.abstractIncreasing density of mid-storey vegetation since European settlement has been observed in forests and woodlands in several parts of the world and may result in greater fire fuel hazard. This phenomenon is often attributed to a longer interval between fires since European settlement, but may also be influenced by tree removal during the same period. We hypothesised that the number of mature trees in a stand reduces mid-storey vegetation cover and the associated fire fuel hazard through competition. To test this hypothesis, we examined associations between mid-storey cover and fire fuel hazard and the mean diameter of trees within stands of open forest and woodland in south-eastern Australia, a region prone to wildfires. We found that vegetation cover between 2 and 4 m and 4 and 6 m above the ground and two measures of fire fuel hazard were negatively associated with the quadratic mean tree diameter. Our results suggested that the removal of mature trees since European settlement may have triggered tree and shrub regeneration, resulting in higher mid-storey cover and fire fuel hazard. Thus, managing stands for the persistence and replacement of mature trees may contribute to long-term fuel reduction in Australian forests and woodlands.en_AU
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_AU
dc.identifier.issn1049-8001en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/160659
dc.language.isoen_AUen_AU
dc.provenancehttp://sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/1049-8001/..."author can archive post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing)" from SHERPA/RoMEO site (as at 21/05/19).
dc.publisherCSIRO Publishingen_AU
dc.relationhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150100878en_AU
dc.rights© IAWF 2018en_AU
dc.sourceInternational Journal of Wildland Fireen_AU
dc.titleRelationships between mature trees and fire fuel hazard in Australian foresten_AU
dc.typeJournal articleen_AU
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
local.bibliographicCitation.issue5en_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage362en_AU
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage353en_AU
local.contributor.affiliationWilson, Nicholas, College of Science, ANUen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationCary, Geoffrey, College of Science, ANUen_AU
local.contributor.affiliationGibbons, Philip, College of Science, ANUen_AU
local.contributor.authoremailu9303583@anu.edu.auen_AU
local.contributor.authoruidWilson, Nicholas, u4846465en_AU
local.contributor.authoruidCary, Geoffrey, u9303583en_AU
local.contributor.authoruidGibbons, Philip, u9205067en_AU
local.description.notesImported from ARIESen_AU
local.identifier.absfor070503 - Forestry Fire Managementen_AU
local.identifier.absseo960906 - Forest and Woodlands Land Managementen_AU
local.identifier.absseo820104 - Native Forestsen_AU
local.identifier.ariespublicationu4485658xPUB2440en_AU
local.identifier.citationvolume27en_AU
local.identifier.doi10.1071/WF17112en_AU
local.identifier.thomsonID000433073000005
local.identifier.uidSubmittedByu4485658en_AU
local.publisher.urlhttp://www.publish.csiro.au/en_AU
local.type.statusPublished Versionen_AU

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