Myrtle Wilt and Wildfire
The risk of wildfire destroying rainforest is increased by Myrtle Wilt and clearfell logging.
Rainforest in Victoria consists of plant communities that will not regenerate after being destroyed by wildfire. Myrtle Beech species are not fire adapted and cannot survive fire. When rainforest is burnt, eucalypt species begin to grow and occupy an area previously made up of rainforest species.
A rainforest community has a high resistance to fire due to the damp conditions provided by canopy shade and the geographical location in gullies and hill sides. However disturbances to the surrounding environment can increase the risk of fire penetrating and destroying rainforest.
See extracts from Rainforests and Cool Temperate Forests of Victoria
Elevated levels of Myrtle Wilt increases fire risk
If a myrtle beech tree is infected by myrtle wilt, neighbouring trees can also be infected through root graft. A number of trees can die together in a patch of rainforest creating a large gap in the canopy. The open canopy allows more sunlight onto the forest floor, drying it out and making it more fire prone. Fire can kill further trees, opening up the rain forest canopy further. If a fire is intense and the rainforest significantly dried out by canopy gaps, the entire patch of rain forest can be destroyed. It takes thousands of years for a burnt out rainforest to regenerate if at all.
Source: Victoria's Rainforests: Perspectives on Definition, Classification and Management. Monash Publications in Geography No. 41, 1992.
Clearfell logging increases fire risk in rainforest
Logging next to rainforest removes protective eucalypt buffers. The removal of buffer trees allows increased wind currents and sunlight to penetrate a rainforest community and dry it out.
Areas of logged eucalyptus often grow plants that are more adaptive to a dryer environment and have greater flammability. Such alterations to the surrounding vegetation increases the risk of severe wildfire destroying rainforest communities.
See extracts from Rainforests and Cool Temperate Forests of Victoria
References
Impacts of intensive timber harvesting on the forests of East Gippsland, Victoria. Conservation & Natural resources, VSP Technical Report No. 15, S.G. Mueck & R.J. Peacock.
Barker P.C.J. (1992). Fire and the stability of a Victorian Cool Temperate Rainforest. In Victorian rainforests: Perspective's, definitions and Management. Peter Gell and David Mercer Eds. Monash Publications in Geography No. 41.
Cameron D.G. (1992). A portrait of Victorian rainforests: distribution,
diversity and definition. In Victorian rainforests: Perspective's,
definitions and Management. Peter Gell and David Mercer Eds. Monash Publications
in Geography No. 41.
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