Underpinnings of fire management for biodiversity conservation in ...

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24 Table 2.1 A sample of track densities. Track includes many forms of bare-earth features or paving suited to the carriage of firefighting vehicles, including roads. There is no guarantee that what one source calls a track or road is the same as another in a different data set. Location State or Territory Land use Albert River Vic Hardwood and softwood plantation Booderie National Park Jervis Bay Territory Canberra ACT South-western suburbs Cooleman Ridge Cuttagee Creek General NSW and Vic General NSW and Vic Namadgi National Park NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Northern Branch Reserves North-eastern Victoria Sample area (km2 ) Track length (km) National park 55 143 ACT Conservation reserve, suburban edge NSW State forest, native spp. Track density (km km -2 ) Fire and adaptive management Underpinnings of fire management for biodiversity conservation in reserves Area (km 2 ) that contains 1 km of track Reference 82 345 4.2 0.24 Takken and Croke (2004) (38 km public roads, rest management trails) 2.6 0.385 Booderie National Park (pers. comm., 2004) 0.25 c. 10.5 c. 0.095 Street directory 1.92 17 8.8 0.11 Environment ACT (pers. comm., 2004) 38 75 2 0.5 Takken and Croke (2004) Forestry, native median 0.5; range 0 to 2.3 Forestry, plantation ACT Conservation reserve NSW National parks and nature reserves Median 4.2; range 1.2 to 5.6 Croke (2004) Croke (2004) 1058 551 0.52 1.9 N. Lhuede (pers. comm., 2004) 15 303 8393 (omitting dormant tracks) 0.55 1.8 S. Hemer (pers. comm., 2004) Vic Fire area 2003 9773 4435 0.45 2.2 Wareing and Flinn (2003, pp. 195 and 208) Victoria Vic Public land 77 000 25 000 0.32 3.1 Auditor General, Victoria (2003, pp. 3 and 136) Yathong and associated nature reserves, western NSW NSW Nature reserve 2472 250 0.10 9.9 NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2003)
Underpinnings of fire management for biodiversity conservation in reserves Fire lines, containment lines, fire control lines and suppression lines Few figures are available for the densities of lines established for the suppression of fire. The preferred term used here is suppression lines – to avoid the impression that the established line will guarantee the containment or control of any fire that encounters it. Lines may be bare-earth breaks (fuel breaks), or lines laid down by aircraft as water, with or without added chemicals, and referred to as wet lines. In this section, discussion is exclusive to the former type. Data indicates that densities of suppression lines vary widely: • 1997 – Mount Martha Park, Victoria: 7.5 km on 0.36 km 2 (36 ha) or 1 km line per 0.05 km 2 – 21 km km -2 (Caling and Adams 1999) • 1998 – Caledonia fire, Alpine National Park, Victoria: 358 km fire line, 312 km 2 burned area, thus ca. 1 km line per 0.9 km 2 burned area – 1.1 km km -2 (Caling and Adams 1999) • 2003 – North-eastern Victorian fires, Victoria. ca. 7000 km of fire control lines requiring rehabilitation 3 on public land and 2000 km on private land (Wareing and Flinn 2003 p. 211) – areas of 9773 km 2 and 900 km 2 respectively (ibid. p. 195). These figures give an approximate density of tracks of 1 km per 1.4 km 2 and 1 km per 0.45 km 2 respectively or, alternatively, 0.7 km km -2 and 2.2 km km -2 . Densities can be high and may include regular tracks. A common question is ‘Should there be more tracks?’ A common assertion is that there indeed should be more tracks; however, what sort of track network is ideal? Model track networks: access all areas? In this section a hypothetical, featureless square study area is invented, upon which we will establish a track network. This exploration of networks is used to illustrate principles in the simplest of all possible terrains. It is far from reality, but the principles are better demonstrated in this way, rather than using a set of track networks in real landscapes in which so many other variables intrude. The variables affecting networks in real landscapes will be considered later. Each area marked out by lines in Figure 2.4 is called a cell, while all cells combined form the study area. Figure 2.4 The hypothetical study area. The intersections of the grid are considered to be the points to which track access is desired. Each area marked out by lines is called a cell. There is no attempt to define scale. 3 Rehabilitation sometimes means closure of the track and application of revegetation and drainage works. At other times it means works are carried out alongside tracks that were widened at the time of the fire, but the tracks themselves remain open. Fire and adaptive management 25
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Page 38 and 39: 28 Compartmentalised track networks
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Page 58 and 59: 48 What is actually achieved in the
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Page 62 and 63: 52 The focus here is on biodiversit
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Page 70 and 71: 60 Environmental effects of grazing
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