Strategic management of Aleppo Pines on Lower Eyre

6 ALEPPO PINE MANAGEMENT ON LOWER EYRE PENINSULA
6.1 Past and current control efforts
The rationale for <strong>Aleppo</strong> Pine control is widely recognised and well documented. <strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong>
were listed as a Proclaimed Pest species on southern Eyre Peninsula in 1992 (under the Animal and
Plant Control Act 1986, now the Natural Resources Management Act 2004). This listing applies to
feral populations only, that is, <strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong> that are not planted. It is still legal to buy and plant
<strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong> on private land, however the landholder is responsible for controlling any feral
seedlings that may emerge.
The Lower Eyre Pest Management Group (previously the Southern Eyre <strong>Aleppo</strong> Pine Management
Group) formed in 1997 to control infestations <strong>of</strong> feral pines on public land. In the past, significant
control efforts have occurred at:
• The Fountain, Flinders Highway
• Uley Wanilla Basin
• Yallunda Flat
• C<strong>of</strong>fin Bay approach road.
Depending on the site, control has <strong>of</strong>ten involved bulldozing, stockpiling for 12-18 months and
burning. Seedling control and revegetating with locally indigenous species has occurred as key
follow-up activities. Prison work teams, Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers and local
Green Corps groups have also targeted juvenile pines with handsaws and direct pulling <strong>of</strong>
seedlings.
<strong>Aleppo</strong> Pine control has been carried out to protect biodiversity and help maintain road safety.
Local government and community group involvement has also influenced the location and
amount <strong>of</strong> effort that has gone into pine control.
6.2 Implications <strong>of</strong> the Wangary Fire, January 2005
6.2.1 Implications on <strong>Aleppo</strong> Pine abundance on lower Eyre Peninsula
On 12 January 2005, a bushfire originating near Wangary burned across 82,000 hectares <strong>of</strong> lower
Eyre Peninsula (Figure 11). The fire destroyed numerous <strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong> and many others have been
felled since the fire.
Figure 11 The January 2005 Wangary fire scar across lower Eyre Peninsula
Despite many pines being destroyed, the fire has not eliminated <strong>Aleppo</strong> Pine infestations from
lower Eyre Peninsula. Depending on fire behaviour, <strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong> may respond to fire with mass
germination <strong>of</strong> released seed from their cones (Daskalakou and Thanos 1996) and this process is
expected in some areas across the fireground. This germination peaks with the first rains post-fire
and diminishes in the seasons to follow, as soil seed banks are short-lived.
To inform post-fire <strong>management</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong>, a quantitative estimate <strong>of</strong> remaining mature
trees has been made.
<strong>Strategic</strong> <strong>management</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Aleppo</strong> <strong>Pines</strong> on Lower Eyre Peninsula to maximise biodiversity conservation outcomes 17