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The Effects of Fire Regimes and Logging on Forest Stand Structure, Tree

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The Effects of Fire Regimes and Logging on Forest Stand Structure, Tree University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2012 The effects of fire regimes and logging on forest stand structure, tree hollows and arboreal marsupials in sclerophyll forests Christopher Mark McLean University of Wollongong Recommended Citation McLean, Christopher Mark, The effects of fire regimes and logging on forest stand structure, tree hollows and arboreal marsupials in sclerophyll forests, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Faculty of Science, University of Wollongong, 2012. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/ 3844 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] THE EFFECTS OF FIRE REGIMES AND LOGGING ON FOREST STAND STRUCTURE, TREE HOLLOWS AND ARBOREAL MARSUPIALS IN SCLEROPHYLL FORESTS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the award of the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY From UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG By CHRISTOPHER MARK MCLEAN BEnSc (hons) FACULTY OF SCIENCE 2012 1 Thesis certification CERTIFICATION I, Christopher M McLean, declare that this thesis, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Christopher M McLean 2 Table of contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: The Importance of Tree Hollows for Wildlife Conservation: A Review ......................................................................................................................... 12 Why are hollows important? .................................................................................... 12 Disturbance response of Australian forest trees ....................................................... 13 Effects of fire on hollow formation and loss ........................................................... 15 The relationship between tree size and hollow development .................................. 17 Effects of logging on hollow loss ............................................................................ 17 The interaction between fire and logging on hollow loss ........................................ 18 The importance of hollows for the conservation of arboreal marsupials ................. 19 Petauroides volans ............................................................................................... 19 Petaurus australis ................................................................................................ 20 Effects of logging on arboreal marsupials ............................................................... 21 Effect of fire regimes on arboreal marsupials .......................................................... 22 Overall thesis aims and thesis outline ...................................................................... 23 Chapter Two: Tree hollows and forest stand structure in Australian warm temperate Eucalyptus forests are adversely affected by logging more than wildfire ........................................................................................................................ 25 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 25 Method ..................................................................................................................... 27 Study area............................................................................................................. 27 Site selection ........................................................................................................ 29 Forest structure and hollow abundance sampling .................................................... 31 Data analysis ........................................................................................................ 31 Results ...................................................................................................................... 31 Stand structural characteristics ............................................................................ 31 Hollow bearing trees and hollows........................................................................ 35 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 38 Chapter Three: Effects of fire frequency on basal injury and hollows in sclerophyll forests of northern NSW, Australia. ..................................................... 42 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 42 Methods.................................................................................................................... 45 Study area............................................................................................................. 45 Site selection ........................................................................................................ 47 Forest structure and hollow abundance sampling ................................................ 47 Data analysis ........................................................................................................ 48 Results ...................................................................................................................... 50 Basal injury .......................................................................................................... 50 Hollows ................................................................................................................ 57 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 64 Effects of tree size, species and bark type ........................................................... 64 Management implications .................................................................................... 66 3 Chapter Four: Changes in forest habitat attributes following a single fire in sclerophyll forest ........................................................................................................ 68 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 68 Methods.................................................................................................................... 69 Study area............................................................................................................. 69 Effect of fire on tree basal injury, tree collapse and log consumption ................ 70 Statistical analysis ................................................................................................ 72 Results ...................................................................................................................... 75 Effect of fire on tree collapse ............................................................................... 75 Effects of fire on basal injury............................................................................... 75 Log consumption ................................................................................................. 77 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 79 Chapter Five: Effects of logging and fire frequency on the Greater Glider (Petauroides volans) and Yellow Bellied Glider (Petaurus australis), in North- eastern New South Wales, Australia ........................................................................ 82 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 82 Method ..................................................................................................................... 84 Study area............................................................................................................. 84 Site selection ........................................................................................................ 85 Habitat and Fauna sampling................................................................................. 87 Analyses ............................................................................................................... 89 Results ...................................................................................................................... 90 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 93 Management implications .................................................................................... 95 Chapter Six: Summary of findings, implications and future research ................. 99 Summary of findings from Chapter Two: Effect of fire and logging on forest stand structure and hollow bearing trees in Eucalypt forests ............................................ 99 Summary of findings from Chapter Three: the effect of tree size and fire frequency on the presence of basal injury and tree hollows in common sclerophyll forest
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