Red Gum Native Forest Reserves - ForestrySA

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Redgum and Stringybark trees were cut for railway sleepers and construction timber
from the area including the Round Waterhole NFR until the 1940s. (Kuhl pers. comm.
1991)
There has been no commercial cutting of trees in either area since these times.
3.2.3 Wildfire
Uncharred reject sleepers, cut stumps and tree tops remaining after the last sleeper
cutting operations provide evidence that there has been no significant wild fires at
Round Waterhole for 50 years or more. A similar lack of fire effects is evident at
Muddy Flat where it is believed that no wild fires have occurred at least since 1928.
(Pannell pers.comm.2000).
3.2.4 Prescribed Burning
There is no record of either Reserve being burnt deliberately to reduce the fire
hazard. Prescribed burning has generally been applied to Stringybark and Bracken
vegetation associations where fuel loads, fire intensity and the potential to produce
and deposit wind-borne flaming material ahead of a fire is high. These Reserves are
dominated by more open Redgum woodland over a ground cover of sedge and grass
species considered to be relatively less hazardous.
Prescribed Burning Policy
In 1971, in recognition of the conservation value of the native forests and the limited
knowledge of the ecological impact of repeated burning, ForestrySA (then Woods
and Forests Department) developed a prescribed burning policy with the objective of
carrying out low intensity mosaic burning in native forests at intervals of 3 - 8 years.
Some areas were scheduled for longer intervals between burns, and certain areas
were excluded from burning to provide scientific reference (benchmark) areas.
The policy was reviewed in 1985, 1992 and 1998, continuing the emphasis on habitat
management.
The objectives of ForestrySA's current Prescribed Burning Policy which schedules
burning of varying intensity and interval in selected compartments while maintaining
other compartments as unburnt reference areas, is to:
create and maintain floristic and structural diversity
optimise species presence and minimise further local extinctions
reduce wildfire intensities to improve survival and re-colonisation opportunities
protect assets by fuel reduction in limited strategic areas.
The policy recommends alternating prescribed fire intensity from low to high for
consecutive fires in the same compartment. The seasonal timing of the fire, ie,
spring or autumn may also vary depending on assessed vegetation diversity and
development and the requirement for species regeneration.
The minimum interval between burns has been based on the reproductive period of
the major over-storey species Eucalyptus baxteri which has been established to be
Final Plan – February 2001