PROFILE FOR ECOLOGICAL FIRE MANAGEMENT OF DAUAN ISLAND June 2013
Prepared by 3D Environmental with assistance of Peter Stanton for Torres Strait Regional Authority Land and Sea Management Unit Cover image: 3D Environmental (2013) Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3 1.1 The Need for Fire Management ...... 3 1.2 The Situation on Dauan ...... 4 1.3 The Situation Elsewhere ...... 5 1.4 The Value of Effective Fire Management ...... 7 1.5 The Nature of Effective Fire Management ...... 8 2. A PROPOSED APPROACH TO FIRE MANAGEMENT ON DAUAN ISLAND ...... 9 2.1 Principles for Effective Fire Management ...... 11 2.2 Fire Behaviour of Dauan Island Habitats ...... 14 2.1.1 Category 1, 1a ...... 14 2.1.2 Category 2 ...... 16 2.1.3 Category 3 ...... 16 2.1.3 Category 4 ...... 17 3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PROGRESSION TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFECTIVE FIRE MANAGEMENT OF THE ISLAND AS ONE UNIT...... 20 3.1 The Ultimate Goal ...... 20 4. A PROPOSED FIRE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR DAUAN ISLAND ...... 22 4.1 Proposed Program for Year 1 – 2013, 2014 ...... 23 4.2 Proposed Program for Following Years ...... 26 5. REFERENCES ...... 29 6. APPENDIX ...... 30 A1. FIRE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK ...... 30 A2. FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ...... 31 A2-1 General introduction to the approach to fire management ...... 31 A2-2 Ecological description of the island ...... 31 A2-3 The history of fire in the island’s landscape ...... 32 A2-4 Specific requirements for asset protection ...... 32 A2-5 Fire management requirements for weeds ...... 36 A2-6 Management requirements for cultural sites...... 36 A2-7 Management requirements for vegetation communities...... 37 A2-8 Management requirements for sensitive species...... 41 A2-9 Operational tasks ...... 42 A2-10 Monitoring and reporting ...... 43 A2- 11 Dauan Island burn plan ...... 43
2 1. INTRODUCTION
Dauan is one of several inhabited islands in the Torres Strait on which fire plays an integral role in maintaining its natural habitats. As such, this document details the requirements for ecological fire management on the island, as much as they can be ascertained from current knowledge of the island habitats. It is intended that the practices and programs outlined in this report will be the responsibility of the rangers and therefore, to guide them as much as possible, these reports go, in some detail, into the history, theory, and practice of what will be referred to as prescribed burning. Particular emphasis is placed on its traditional aspects.
Prescribed burning refers to the planned use of fire; it is not synonymous with the term “back- burning” which is sometimes used, and fuel-reduction burning is but one form of prescribed burning which is done with the much narrower aim of reducing the intensity and spread of unplanned fires (bushfires or wildfires).
The report should be read in conjunction with similar reports for Moa and its nearest neighbour Saibai. The management of fire on these larger islands is considerably more complex, due largely to the greater diversity of habitats and landscape and as such these reports present a much more detailed synopsis of the rationale for burning and fire management in general.
The island of Dauan, as for the majority of islands in the Torres Strait, has a mostly intact natural environment and sits in what has been identified as one of the most pristine parts of the world’s oceans. For this the thousands of years of stewardship of the area by the people of the Torres Strait must take much of the credit.
1.1 The Need for Fire Management
Dauan sits on the geologic divide between continental Australia and lowland Papua New Guinea which is clearly visible from islands northern coastline. Dauan’s vegetation is the end product of at least 60 million years of evolution that would have seen gradual but continual change in its structure and species composition. Vegetation change would have been imposed by changing climate and changing landscape as mountains formed and were eroded, and the sea rose and fell. Ever present however, was fire, first ignited by lightning, and then by the firestick of man. Its influence would always have been dramatic as it sifted from the landscape those species which could not tolerate its varying regimes of frequency and intensity, and favoured others more tolerant. The arrival of man would have brought the most dramatic and rapid changes of all as infrequent but hot and widespread fires were replaced by frequent numerous and smaller ones. Man effectively took charge of fire to use it in many different ways to manage and shape the landscape to serve his own requirements of
3 safety, ease of access, and food supply. The anthropologist Rhys Jones (Jones, R. 1969) coined the term “firestick farming” to describe this process. Undoubtedly man shaped fire to serve his ends, and in the process fire shaped man as it changed the landscape and thus the way man adapted to live within it.
Much of the islands land management customs have been adopted from the people of the Trans-Fly region in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) southern lowlands , as have those on Saibai, Dauan’s nearest neighbour. Stronach (1999) gives some description to traditional anthropogenic use of fire in the Trans-Fly region of PNG, and to all intents and purposes mirrors usage by Aboriginal people on the Australian Mainland. As Stronach notes:
“Traditionally, the people of the Trans-Fly combine subsistence hunter and gatherer and small scale cultivator lifestyles. Fire has been used extensively to manage their resources. Early burning is used to protect key-fire sensitive resources such as gardens and coconut and sago palm groves from damaging late fires. Fire is used opportunistically in hunting. Stands of taller grasses are burnt to concentrate and flush out bandicoots, wallabies and other species. This activity tends to produce a progressively burnt landscape beginning each dry season with small scale early burns and ending in small scale hot burns in relict patches of fuel. No attempt is made to control hunting fires once lit. This suggests a high degree of confidence that fires lit for one purpose will be useful in other ways or not be damaging. In discussing the use and effects of fire, indigenous people of the Trans-Fly express satisfaction at the ‘cleaning’ of land by fires, a sense of purpose also observed among the aboriginal people of northern Australia (Russell-Smith et al., 1997)”.
Unlike Australian Aboriginals, indigenous people of the Trans-Fly and Dauan have in common been involved in small scale cropping and gardening. Such an important resource as a food garden would have warranted protection from hot fires. For whatever purpose and motive, there remains a critical need to maintain fire in the Dauan Island landscape. The most specific requirement is to maintain habitat for those plants and animals that are adapted to live and forage within the islands fire shaped environs. Because of the likely speed of habitat change, wholesale removal of fire from the island (if it were possible), would not allow the gradual adaptation of species to their changing environment and the end result would be a significant loss of habitats and with them likely many species of plants and animals.
1.2 The Situation on Dauan
Dauan is an ecologically and geographically unique island. Although it is formed on Australia’s continental basement, it lies extremely close to the lowland swamps of neighbouring PNG, and as such has inherited vegetation and a cultural landscape that is not found elsewhere in Australia or the Torres Strait. Dauan’s habitats are expressed in two
4 dominant formations, rainforest and grassland’. The equilibrium between the two is maintained by fire. The current fire regime is maintaining the equilibrium between grassland and rainforest habitats although fire is not penetrating all pockets and in some areas, rainforest margins are subject to extremely hot fire incursion.
It seems certain that in the last century or so, much that was traditional in the way fire was used on the island has largely been abandoned, and undoubtedly the island’s vegetation has changed to some degree, although the nature and extent of this change is uncertain. From on ground evidence, it is apparent that the current burning regime consists of mostly late season fires and is less structured than would have been applied under a traditional regime. Where some areas are burnt annually, other areas are left to the chance occurrence of wildfire. Fires are also observed to be impacting the margins of vine forest and large areas are burnt in single fire events rather than smaller more frequent fires.
In spite of the changed emphasis, under the current fire regime the island’s habitats are largely being maintained, and appear to be in what, by any comparison with similar habitats elsewhere, could be described as excellent condition. If it were possible to remove the influence of fire from the island altogether, change, far more dramatic than that brought by the arrival of man, would be initiated. It is clear that the loss of regular fire from the islands’ vegetation would, in a few decades, initiate change in most of its fire shaped habitats that would be unpredictable but make it very different in structure and species composition from that at any stage when man was present.
1.3 The Situation Elsewhere
It is not possible to directly compare Dauan’s habitats to those on Cape York Peninsula as is possible on the larger continental islands of the Torres Strait (e.g. Moa and Badu). The vegetation of these larger islands is clearly related to habitats of Australia’s continental mainland, sharing similarities in both composition and structure. The landscape scale structural changes in vegetation occurring on Cape York Peninsula are however the result of shifts in fire regime that are occurring broadly throughout tropical savanna habitats extending northward from Cape York Peninsula to southern PNG. This section is informed largely by observations made by Peter Stanton through involvement in extensive field survey in Cape York Peninsula with other inferences drawn from Stronach (1999) relating in particular to changing fire regimes in PNG’s Trans-Fly region.
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Photograph 1. Extensive fire scarring on Dauan’s foothills, November, 2007. Scorched rainforest vegetation is visible on the left of the photograph.
Over large areas of north-eastern Cape York Peninsula, fire had disappeared from the landscape with the removal of aboriginal influence during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Over most of the remainder of the Peninsula, however, a wildfire regime prevailed, with individual fires burning for weeks or months during the drier and hotter part of the year. In the former situation, the wildfires burning on the western side of the Peninsula never penetrated east because they came against barriers of numerous rainforest lined creeks. As a consequence fire sensitive species, such as those found in rainforest, and cypress pine, have invaded former open forests and changed them to closed forests that will no longer carry fire. Where late season hot fires prevail they are destroying hollow trees, so essential for many species of wildlife. In addition these fires destroy most of the litter layer which protects soils from the erosive power of the first storms. Many parts of the Peninsula are also subject to pressure from grazing animals, both domestic and feral, which has altered or destroyed the ground cover vegetation in wide areas around streams and wetlands, facilitating erosion and invasion by weeds.
Similar observations are made by Stronach (1999) in regard to shifting fire regimes in the Trans-Fly region of Papua New Guinea. Stronach notes:
“The present situation in the Trans Fly is one in which traditional fire management is being replaced by less structured practices. Recent administrations have encouraged the concentration of a formerly dispersed population, reducing traditional early burning
6 in remote areas. Younger people are less clear about the aims of traditional burning and with the intrusion of outside influences such as the cash economy, the need to continue them has declined. The new burning practices have much to do with ease of access. Hunters who supply towns with deer meet use motor bikes for hunting and transporting meat, burning extensively wherever they operate. Increase traffic along roads and tracks ensure the new burning regimes are applied widely. It is my observation that the new practices, whilst progressive, are less discriminate and unlikely to protect some habitats”.
Whilst hunting of deer may not be an active pursuit on Dauan, the end result of the cash economy remains the same and fires are seemingly used in an indiscriminate fashion.
1.4 The Value of Effective Fire Management
It is clearly established that most Australian vegetation (including southern PNG savanna’s) has evolved with fire and that the particular expression of any habitat (vegetation type) at any time, is, in the absence of disturbance such as clearing or heavy grazing, or the short term effects of cyclonic wind, determined by its fire regime. A fire regime is defined by the number of fires that occur over a given period and their intensity, and these things must be measured over a time period long enough to be meaningful. If a long established fire regime changes, then the habitat will begin to change in ways that disadvantage some species of plants and animals, and advantage others.
It needs to be recognised that there is much antipathy to the use of fire within the Australian population. It is found at all levels of society from the man in the street to the academic community. It is largely an urban or near urban phenomenon, but is also common in large areas of rural Australia where the use of fire is not seen to have any role in land management. This attitude ignores the now indisputable fact that fire in the hands of pre-European Aboriginal and Islander Australians played a pre-eminent role in determining the nature of the vegetation and landscape that European Australians inherited. There would appear to be no rational basis now for abandoning that ancient order for the hazardous and uncertain future of land management without fire.
Central to the distaste felt by many for the suggestion that fire should play a major role in the management of natural lands for the maintenance of biodiversity is the deeply ingrained belief that fire can only be a destructive force. It is a belief that is continually reinforced by the recurring catastrophic fires of southern Australia, with loss of homes and lives. That these fires are fuelled by huge accumulations of litter as the result of long exclusion of fire, generally escapes attention. Considering its role in shaping the Australian bush, however, fire is as natural a factor as wind and water.
7 In the hands of a skilful land manager, fire can be many different things, each used in different ways to achieve different results. In the hands of indigenous land managers it was, for tens of thousands of years, mostly a gentle force that shaped the land to their desire, and in turn, with time, gradually shaped their society. Indigenous land management gave to modern Australia the habitats, vegetation, and wildlife of which we are so proud, and see as the iconic features of our national identity, but have been, for more than two centuries, progressively destroying. There is, however, for most of Australia, no option of returning to that traditional management. Most of what are recognised as natural environments now has changed from those that the indigenous people once tended. They have been subjected to altered fire regimes; to logging and mining, to widespread invasion by introduced animals and plants, and destructive pressures from recreational users. In these environments the purposeful use of fire is still critical to their management, but now must often be used in ways that are remote from traditional indigenous practice. On Dauan where regular fire has been retained in the landscape and the island’s environment has not been significantly degraded by the factors referred to above, there is an opportunity to re-establish traditional practices. It is an opportunity shared only with the more remote parts of northern Australia, but currently being seized only in few areas in central Australia and in Arnhem Land.
1.5 The Nature of Effective Fire Management
It is known from the historical record, early studies of traditional land management, and contemporary studies of surviving practices in Arnhem Land (Russell-Smith et al, 2009) that traditional fire management could be characterised by certain features. The extensive historical research of Gammage (2011) also demonstrated that these features were common to indigenous practice in all parts of Australia (including the island of Tasmania).
These features were: • Fire was used purposefully to shape the landscape in ways that provided maximum advantage for ease of access, to facilitate the capture of game, and to protect and promote plant food resources. • Large fires were few; numerous small fires were lit progressively during the year. • Aboriginal people used fire to manage the fuel around them.
The logic of the last feature is clear if one looks at it from the perspective of people who lived with fire. They camped with fire, and they carried the fire stick with them wherever they went. They could not safely tolerate conditions in which a stray spark could ignite a large and uncontrollable fire. Clearly, they could not have survived under the current conditions in the bush in most of southern Australia. On Dauan, where the necessity for protection may have been of lesser importance, fire would have been purposefully used to protect gardens, maintain access and maintain and promote arable land.
8 The fine scale of traditional fire management is rarely appreciated today. In essence it involved the use of thousands of small fires in areas which today are burnt by rare single fire events – often decades apart. The anthropologist Rhys Jones, for example, estimated that in the better populated areas of Australia, in an area of thirty square km that would have supported a band of roughly 40 people “Assuming that on average, three foraging parties of various types left camp per day, that each lit 10 bushfires and that this happened on only half of the days of the year, then within that area, no less than 5,000 bush fires would be lit each year”. He went on to state that he considered that to be a highly conservative estimate.
2. A PROPOSED APPROACH TO FIRE MANAGEMENT ON DAUAN ISLAND
The precise direction of fire management on Dauan will have to depend on some measure of community consensus, and the resources available to carry out any particular program. It must be stressed that without majority community support the pursuit of any program could be difficult. The alternatives for fire management on Dauan Island are threefold:
a) To let things continue as they are; b) To attempt, in part of the island or all of it, to permanently remove fire from the landscape; c) To establish purposeful fire management over part or the entire island.
Dealing with each or all of these in turn:
a) It is acknowledged that the island’s habitats are generally in good condition, and the question would naturally arise, if that is so, as to what purpose would trying to change things serve? From ground observation (see Photograph 1), it is apparent that the majority of flammable habitats are burnt in hot and dry conditions and single hot fires burn extensively throughout the islands foothills. Other less accessible areas are possibly not burning at all, or are burning in a sporadic fashion, sometimes with early season fires which are promoting the invasion of some sprawling weed species.
The current fire regime is not systematic, lacks specific purpose and in some cases is imposing a fairly uniform burning pattern over a large portion of the island. This is the antithesis of what would have happened under a traditional burning regime which would have consisted of numerous relatively small fires, spread evenly across the islands flammable habitats over a period of several months. The current fire regime is not providing the variety in the landscape essential for long term maintenance of the island habitats and survival of associated species of plant and animal. A particular threat to the reproductive cycle of many species would certainly arise from the confinement of most fires to the same location and same narrow calendar time each year. Hot fires are also repetitively scorching and suppressing the margins of rainforest habitats, simplifying species composition
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Photograph 2. Livistona palm savanna on Dauan footslopes typical of Category 2 vegetation in November 2007.
Photograph 3. The same location in April 2013 demonstrating a dramatic thickening of shrub layers. It is perceived that this habitat has not been subject to fire for several years.
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and leaving canopy gaps which present an opportunity for weed and other smothering species to take hold.
Clearly, the situation on Dauan could be improved, and the maintenance of the various habitats of the island, for whatever purpose is determined, can only be guaranteed by having clear goals and acting to attain them. In brief, to let things continue as they are would be to rely on continuing good luck and thus to gamble with the future. b) It is a fact that cannot be avoided that in the island situation, dominated by fire derived and fire prone vegetation, and with a resident population, it would be impossible to permanently exclude fire from the island or any large portion of it. All it would do would be to shift the fire regime to one of less frequent and mostly hotter fires that could potentially be destructive of some values, both cultural and natural, that are precious to the community. Such attempts would also destabilise the island’s habitats, which, under a new fire regime would begin to change in numerous ways, largely unpredictable, but varying in degree and type according to the habitat considered. Of particular concern, as discussed further in Section 2.1.2, would be the broad-scale displacement of native grassland habitats with sprawling mats of tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides var. phaseoloides). c) To take charge of the island’s future by actively managing fire throughout its habitats would seem to be the most appropriate of the three options to pursue, and it would best be done by trying to re-establish traditional practices as far as they can be determined or assumed to have been. It would have the clear benefit on top of those to the island’s habitats, of necessitating the development of a detailed knowledge of the island, which in turn would foster much interest in it and a greater sense of ownership among those participating.
2.1 Principles for Effective Fire Management
There are two important principles that are central to actions recommended in the plan that follows. They are the principle of patch or mosaic burning, and the principle of a step by step approach to full implementation of the plan.
1) Patch or Mosaic Burning
Central to all recommended actions is the concept of patch or mosaic burning. This has been touched upon in previous sections of this report but is described more fully in the following paragraphs.
In pre-aboriginal Australia lightning was the main source of ignition and individual fires would have burnt over large areas. The aborigine tamed the lightning; he had to. By managing the
11 fuel around him he deprived lightning of its potency, and guaranteed security for himself and his food resources. He turned the landscape into a mosaic of numerous cool fires where previously few fires but large and hot ones would have raged, fed by accumulations of fuel over large areas, and ignited by the lightning of dry summer storms. The later arrival of people in the Torres Strait would have initiated the same process there and given Dauan, and some other islands, the inheritance of habitats, plant species, and wildlife they have today, and which, unlike in most parts of Australia where massive change to the natural landscape has occurred, are still recognisable as that pre-European legacy. The long-term protection of that legacy demands a return to traditional burning as the only way to guarantee its long term survival, and on Dauan, as it is on Saibai Island, as on so few places on mainland Australia, such a return, if that is what is wished, is still possible.
The question of fire management is often approached from the point of view of the requirements of individual species, usually high profile species rare, or representative in their life history of a large number of species within a particular habitat. This then usually leads to prescriptions concerning appropriate fire return intervals and assumes a high level of control of the way in which fire behaves in the landscape in contrast to the element of chance that is inherent in traditional burning practices. There are several problems that arise from the application of this approach. The first is that there might be dozens of species in any particular habitat, and nowhere in Australia is it likely that there have been detailed studies of the life histories of more than a few of them. In the case of Dauan Island it is unlikely that any species has been appropriately studied in any depth. Secondly, to apply the knowledge of individual species requires a large measure of control over the return interval of fire and its seasonal timing in individual habitats. A third consideration is that for every species that is advantaged by a particular fire regime, another could be disadvantaged, and this observation is as equally valid for animals as it is for plants.
A more useful approach to protection of individual species is to manage to maintain in healthy condition the habitat that supports them. It is far simpler to establish plots to monitor trends in habitat condition and population numbers of target species than it is to elucidate the life histories of a number of species.
A mosaic burning system, progressively and appropriately applied during the year, requires few constructed firebreaks, is relatively inexpensive to apply, and has maximum benefits in relation to diversity of habitats and species of plants and animals. It also takes into account as no other system can, the requirements of hundreds, or even thousands of species such as insects, fungi, and invertebrates in general that are involved in breaking down the litter layer and assisting nutrient recycling, and that are the main supporters of health in an ecosystem. It does this by creating across the landscape an intense mosaic of areas representing different fire return intervals, different seasons of burning, and different intensity of burn that provides
12 maximum opportunity for the maintenance of habitats and the survival of all species of plant and animal. Furthermore, patch burning reduces the area of land exposed to erosion in any given period, a particular problem on Dauan where large areas of soil on steep footslopes are exposed to late season storms when protective groundcover has been removed.
2) The need for a gradual progression towards effective fire management across the whole island.
Starting without long involvement in on-the-ground fire management one cannot become an effective fire manager overnight. No matter what ideals, enthusiasm, and impatience to begin with one brings to the task no fire management plan, no matter how prescriptive and detailed, can achieve its aim without those involved having an understanding of fire behaviour across the full range of habitats and conditions of the area they are responsible for, and a detailed knowledge of its geography.
Thus achieving the goal of effective fire management for the whole island must of necessity involve several steps. First, the development of a broad plan for the whole island, secondly the development of short term goals on the way towards achieving implementation of effective management of the whole island, and, before beginning on field implementation, the development of an understanding of fire behaviour and knowledge of the island among those taking part if these things are not already there.
Beyond the steps referred to above, there are two pre-eminent requirements. There must be continual acknowledgement of the need to work within the limits of resources. There is nothing that will lead to the collapse of any project faster, or breed greater discouragement in those involved, than having ambitions exceed capacity to deliver. On the other hand success in achieving progressive small steps develops interest and enthusiasm and a better chance of achieving the long term goals. It is also essential that those selected for involvement in the work must be clear in their mind that that is what they want to do, and have an interest in the work or feel that they can develop such an interest. It is also very important that those involved in the work have a good chance of long-term tenure in it. There is no point in developing expertise in ranger staff only to lose it and have to start again with someone else. In such a scenario the overall project would never be capable of getting beyond the first steps. It needs hardly to be said, of course, that without stable long-term funding effective fire management of the island cannot succeed.
Before beginning, majority community support should be sought and obtained but the process for achieving that, if it is possible, is a subject that the writer of this report is not qualified to address. Clearly, ranger staff cannot work in an environment where any mistake brings with it the chance that the project might be shut down, or there is such lack of concern for their
13 efforts that firebugs through lack of condemnation by the community feel free to abort the most sincere efforts of the rangers.
The essence of the advice above is that fire management on the island should begin in a small way with progressive increase in responsibility as knowledge and confidence is built up in ranger staff. In this way the limits to function imposed by shortage of resources at any point should become clear long before they are tested, and the morale and interest of staff should not be seriously challenged. In line with these suggestions, it would be best to start with clearly defined but limited objectives. These matters will be further addressed below.
2.2 Fire Behaviour of Dauan Island Habitats
Map 1 illustrates four divisions of the island into categories according to habitat sensitivities and the way in which fire behaves in various habitats. These are basic divisions and the real situation in regard to fire behaviour is much more complex than this. It must be emphasized that any fire management plan not informed by detailed knowledge and on the ground practice in the parcel of land to which it refers can be only broadly prescriptive. If that experience and knowledge is not present then opportunity must be provided for its development by providing a starting point that reflects a broad understanding of fire behaviour in particular habitats and the general principles that guide its management. The categories into which the island is divided and which are illustrated on Map 1 are now described, and the way in which fire should be used in each of them outlined.
2.1.1 Category 1, 1a
This illustrates the areas which with some exception, are unlikely to burn in the majority of circumstances although may be damaged by fire. It includes rainforest and vine thicket, both deciduous and semi-deciduous and other closed forests and scrubs. Rock boulder slopes and vine thicket vegetation associated with coastal dunes is also included within this category.
Category 1 includes rainforest and vine thicket vegetation covers much of the islands interior, extending from the island peak at Mt Cornwallis to the island footslopes. Elevated portions of the islands interior are occupied by evergreen vine forest although these is no risk that fire will damage this vegetation due to the broad buffer of rock and non-flammable vegetation below. Footslopes often host a dense cover of semi-deciduous vine thicket, which late in the season would allow fire to trickle through the desiccating leaf litter until fuel was broken by rocky barriers. There is therefore considerable risk that hot fire events, which would coincide with maximum leaf-fall, could damage vine forest margins and cause edge retreat. Particular attention is required to burn the flammable margins of these forests early in the season under cool conditions to stabilise and facilitate possible expansion of the forest edge.
14 É Map 1. Fire behaviour categories on Dauan Island
Legend
Drainage
Roads
Category 1, Sensitive to fire /will not burn
Category 1a, Sensitive to fire /will not burn
Category 2, Non-flammable vegetation
Category 3, Moderately flammable vegetation
Category 4, Highly flammable vegetation
Category 5, Non-flammable to highly flammable 0 200 400 600 800 Category 5a, Will not burn Metres
Path: C:\Users\Owner\Documents\Clients\3D Environmental\TSRA\tsra_Fire_Behave_Land_23113.mxd In the case of the coastal dune vegetation (Category 1a), this is confined to one severely degraded patch near the island refuse tip. A large portion of the habitat has been cleared and the existing remnant is infused with weeds that include exotic grass (giant panic and red-Natal grass) and sisal hemp. The Dauan Rangers are currently undertaking a program of sisal eradication on the fore-dune, reclaiming this area for recreational purposes.
2.1.2 Category 2
Category 2 covers natural vegetation that will not burn in any situation and is not sensitive to fire damage. This category relates particularly to rocky talus and other bare pavements which carry no fuel as well as mangrove habitats. No particular fire management regime is required to manage or protect these habitats.
2.1.3 Category 3
Swamp forests representative of Category 3 vegetation have an extremely limited distribution and extent on Dauan, being confined to a mangrove fringe on the islands north-western side adjacent to the road edge. The habitat is formed by Melaleuca cajaputi, and has a dense shrub and understory layer of rainforest vines, ferns and shrubs. Due to the advanced stage of rainforest invasion, this habitat would ignite with difficulty, even during the hottest periods late in the year. The conditions in which this habitat would ignite would be extremely hazardous and pose a threat to adjacent infrastructure. It is therefore suggested that the habitat not be subject to any targeted attempts to burn. Cutting of vines may however free the canopy and improve the overall condition of this habitat.
Photograph 4. Tall open forest with Melaleuca cajaputi and dense cover of rainforest shrubs and vines providing an example of Category 3 vegetation.
16 2.1.3 Category 4
This accommodates areas which support a heavy medium to tall ground cover of grass which rapidly re-develops after each fire event and reaches maximum fuel accumulation within 3 to 4 years. It covers grassland and the associated woodland types dominated by livistona or pandanus.
These are the habitats which need the most attention as, without being broken up by numerous small fires, starting with whatever will burn as early as possible after the wet season; they have the potential to support fires which will burn over large areas. On Dauan, grassland habitats are to a large part derived from the attrition of closed forest types although due to their long term stability, represent an important component of the islands cultural and ecological landscape. Where Category 4 vegetation fringes rainforest margins, there is potential for damage to be inflicted and rainforest margins further degraded. There is an opportunity to expand the extent of rainforest on the island through prescribed management of fire on the forest margins, although whether this is a worthwhile objective can be only be determined by the local community. There is also the problem, particularly in habitats closest to the community that tropical kudzu is rapidly colonizing and smothering extensive areas of this habit (see Photograph 6) and exclusion of fire may promote expansion of this invasive weed. Possible methods for management of this invasive species are discussed in Appendix A2 – 5.
The livistona dominant woodlands which comprise 0.7 % (1.7 ha) of the islands habitats are unique to Dauan and not currently known from any other island in the Torres Strait. These habitats are threatened by rainforest invasion which will suppress regeneration of livistona, resulting in the eventual senescence and demise of the community. Due to the unique nature of these habitats, there is a strong argument to maintain the grassy ground cover through targeted use of fire, aiding the long term persistence of the habitat in the Dauan landscape.
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Photograph 5. Sharp boundary of rainforest against grassland which was burnt in November 2007. The impact of the fire on the scrub edge is notable with a fringe of dead trees evident.
Photograph 6. Dense infestation of tropical kudzu smothering grassland behind the township.
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Photograph 7. Recently burnt grassland on the western footslopes of the island in October 2007.
Photograph 8. The same location, unburnt, taken in April 2013 illustrating the relative stability of grassland habitats in this area.
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2.1.4 Category 5, 5a
A final category is reserved for cleared / urban areas which occur most extensively around the township. This category includes residential areas, associated groves on exotic vegetation and interspersed groves of grassland and shrubland, both native and exotic as well as mango groves (Category 5a). Whilst the majority of these areas can be considered to be of low flammability, rank grassland habitats which intrude and fringe the township area can be extremely flammable and of considerable risk to assets and infrastructure if ignition occurs under extreme conditions. A program of fuel reduction burning should be considered in early season to reduce the risk of ignition during periods of high combustibility.
3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PROGRESSION TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EFFECTIVE FIRE MANAGEMENT OF THE ISLAND AS ONE UNIT.
The fire management principles applied on Moa, Badu and Saibai Island to a lesser extent have guided the production of this plan for Dauan. Dauan is however a much smaller, more accessible and ecologically less complex island than its neighbours and as such, the task at hand is much more manageable.
3.1 The Ultimate Goal
Drawing together the information provided in previous sections of the report, it is now possible to provide an outline of what a fire management program that was designed to promote long- term stability in its natural habitats and maximum biodiversity would look like. It would closely approach but not achieve traditional management because of the essential difference that it would never have enough people on the ground to carry it out, and would no longer be guided by the precise timing and customs handed down from generation to generation. It should, however, in the present situation be the best that can be achieved. It would have the following features:
i. It would adopt mosaic burning practices in all habitats that will carry fire with the timing of ignitions and their intensity varying according to fuel types.
ii. As soon after the wet season as fire will carry (April-May in most years) burning will begin in those habitats where fuel accumulates most rapidly (Category 4) and there is the greatest potential for fire scorch in sensitive habitats (Category 1 and 1a). These areas are the grasslands and woodlands with a tall grass understory. Focus should extend to burning grasslands on the margins of rainforest habitat to mitigate potential impact on the forest edge of hot late season fires.
20 The ability to start early burning in these areas depends on having a large percentage of it with at least two years fuel accumulation. Without that there is a risk that the initiation of a program to break up fuel across these areas might have to be delayed so late in the year that fires in them will spread far into parts of those areas with a sparse ground cover. This would risk the desirable orderly progression of burning across the landscape and run the risk that fires in the first target area might cover a wider area than is desirable.
The nature of the ground cover in the tall grass areas is that they reach maximum fuel accumulation in 3 to 4 years after fire. They are difficult to burn in the cool season two years running, but are quite capable of supporting undesirably hot fires late in the season in the second year after burning. After 3 years without fire any late season fires are bound to be hot. The ideal situation for starting early burning and establishing a significant mosaic burning pattern, would, therefore, be to have burnt an average of one third to one half of the target habitat per year. Experience with burning in these communities has demonstrated that once a mosaic is well established with progressive patch burning then this sort of average is what is attained by a combination of chance, and some judgement on the part of the field operator. That judgement is enhanced with experience.
It should be noted, however, that with all average figures there can be some extreme variation away from the mean. In some years burning will be difficult because of constant showers in most months, and consequently a high percentage of it will burn in the following year if there is not a repetition of the same weather pattern. Very early season action will be required if the following wet season ends abruptly. In such a sequence of years the variation in the percentage burnt in any one year could be as extreme as from 15% to 70%. iii. Affecting most of the matters referred to above are some issues, practices, and principles which are important enough to draw together at this point so that their significance is not lost by being diffused throughout the report.
Storm burning: This is a useful technique to apply in any areas where a thick understory has developed as a result of long absence of fire, or because heavy grazing has destroyed the ground cover allowing shrubs and trees to escape competition from grasses, and has also removed the fuel that would allow fires to destroy the understory. Storm burning changes the competitive balance between trees and shrubs, and grass, in favour of the grass. This is because it is carried out after the first storms of the wet season when there is adequate soil moisture to promote rapid growth of grass which then suppresses regrowing shrubs and small
21 trees. Although a useful technique on Saibai, it is not currently known if storm burning will have any direct application for habitats on Dauan.
The presence of significant numbers of grazing animals (horses and cattle): These could be very destructive of soil and habitat values if they concentrate on small patches burnt early in the season. In large enough numbers they would diminish the ability to carry out the fire management programs recommended in this report.
Burning on a declining hazard: Lighting fires before midday should only be practiced early in the season, or in any other circumstance where fires will carry only with difficulty. At other times burning should be carried out at times of day when wind speed is not likely to increase, temperatures are dropping, and humidity is rising, i.e. a decreasing hazard. This usually means after 2.00pm.
4. A PROPOSED FIRE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR DAUAN ISLAND
There are a number of factors that need to be considered prior to the implementation of any burning program. In particular these are: i. A foremost requirement for safety and protection of property and infrastructure. ii. The need to start with a small area that can be readily managed and results clearly demonstrated. iii. The need to considering intervening factors such as invasive weeds and prescriptive requirements for fire management.
Establishing an island wide fire management regime as recommended in this report will involve the difficult task of taking an existing system and improving it with some radical shifts in fire extent and timing. The rangers do not have the power to impose change and will therefore have to try to obtain community support, and however that is achieved it will be easier if the community has confidence in their professional abilities. For that reason therefore, although it would add an extra burden of responsibility that their job descriptions may not have included, it would be valuable for them, before they devote too much effort to the island wide tasks, to address the urban area problems in regard to fire hazard control and reduction referred to above. The main task is to remove the risk posed by heavy fuels in the rank grasslands that surround the township. This would involve the slashing of fire breaks around areas at risk and commencement of small patch burns within adjacent grassy habitats with high fuel loads in early April. To ensure tasks required are manageable, whilst confidence is being built and appropriate methods are identified, it is appropriate that the island be subdivided into areas prioritised for management. With this consideration, the island is subdivided into three management blocks as illustrated in Map 2 which also provides
22 general guidance for fire regimes across all habitats occurring on the island. Specifically these blocks include:
• Management Block 1: Incorporates the north-east facing footslopes of the island behind the township extending westward from the islands most easterly point to the wharf. This block includes the grassy footslopes that fringe the most densely populated portion of the island and presents grassland habitats both in good condition as well as those that are subject to smothering by woody vines. It is proposed that Management Block 1 be the initial focus of fire management activities until the point that program success can be demonstrated. • Management Block 2: The north-west facing footslopes of the island extending from the rubbish tip southwards to the football field. Includes footslopes fringing residential areas and infrastructure although in much lower density than Management Block 1. Management Block 2 is proposed as a management extension area with active management undertaken only when activities in Management Block 1 are demonstrated to be successful. • Management Block 3: The remainder of the islands flammable habitats on the west facing portion of the island encompassing the area from the sports field to the islands most southerly point. Management Block 3 is identified as an area of passive management for ongoing monitoring with specific action required only when a need is identified. Management Block 3 presents habitats in near natural condition and is largely free from many of the exotic weeds and other processes of degradation that occur in other management blocks. The area also contains no permanent infrastructure and as such, no risk is posed by fires that are opportunistically ignited.
For any specific management action, it would be extremely useful to demonstrate its success or otherwise. Hence it is encouraged that permanent photographic monitoring points be established in areas where an active management outcome is desired and these plots be captured on a minimum annual basis.
4.1 Proposed Program for Year 1 – 2013, 2014
It would be beneficial to have at least two years on ground accumulation of fuel to ensure any patch burning regime could be adequately entrenched. Hence for the remainder of 2013 it would be beneficial to exclude fire from the islands habitats as much as is possible. This will increase the likelihood that the program in following years will be successful.
Commencing 2014 and perhaps beyond this depending on resources, confidence and program success, activities should be focused within Management Block 1. The initial task should be to secure the township and infrastructure through construction of fire breaks in those flammable habitats that fringe the community. Fire breaks, 10 – 20 m wide, could be
23 Map 2. Recommended fire regimes and É management blocks for Dauan Island
Management Block 2: Management Extension Area
Management Block 1: Active Management Area
No Fire Management Required
Management Block 3: Passive Management Area
Legend Management Blocks Fire protection burning (lower slope margins) Protection burning / fire exclusion Non-flammable, will not burn Mosaic burning (April - July) Mosaic burning (2yr interval) when soil is wet. 0 200 400 600 800 Asset protection burning Metres
Path: C:\Users\Owner\Documents\Clients\3D Environmental\TSRA\tsra_Fire_Behave_Land_23113.mxd prepared by slashing them as soon as the ground is dry enough after the wet season, and burning the slashed grass soon after. From there on, the direction of the management program can be guided by what are considered desirable outcomes by both the rangers and the island community. A number of possible outcomes are thus identified and appropriate actions discussed in the following sections.
Allow rainforest to re-establish on the grassy footslopes: To facilitate the re- establishment of rainforest in areas currently occupied by grassland, it will be necessary to eliminate the risk of incursion of any hot late season fires. This presents a number of inherent risks, the most likely being that invasive vines will expand dramatically and prevent necessary recruitment of native rainforest shrubs. As tropical kudzu possesses a robust underground tuber, it is unlikely that even hot late season fires will kill the plant. It is fairly certain however that the cool fires required for promotion of rainforest expansion will also promote expansion of tropical kudzu at a much faster rate. Hence to achieve the required outcome, a number of methods will need to be employed as described below:
1. Active management of areas currently infested by invasive vines such as tropical kudzu through application of herbicide to foliage or cutting of stems and swabbing with concentrated herbicide. Appropriate herbicides for application are described in Csurhes (2008). 2. Patch burning throughout flammable grassland habitats from as early in the season as fire will carry. Patch burning can be initiated from the margins of the rainforest boundary, particularly fringing areas where shrubs are beginning to thicken. The main purpose of the patch burning will be to break up fuel loads to prevent the risk of late season fires.
Retain grassland habitats on footslopes: The long term retention of grassland habitats on the footslopes will require a different approach, namely the use of hotter fires burnt later in the season. The general process should however not be significantly different being:
1. Placement of firebreaks around infrastructure and residential areas as previously described. 2. Patch burning should be undertaken from as early in the season as fires will carry although for this purpose, should focus on areas of grassland which are relatively free from shrubs and woody vines. It can also be targeted along the margins of rainforest boundaries to prevent damage to these habitats incurred from hot fires burnt late in the season. 3. Once fuel loads are broken and conditions dry, hotter fires can be driven into areas of shrubby thickening. This most appropriate period will typically be from August to September. Hot fires can also be driven into areas of tropical kudzu invasion as an experimental measure. It may still be necessary to undertake some chemical control
25 of tropical kudzu infestations although hot fires will most likely limit its potential for further expansion.
Maintenance of livistona dominant habitats: The unique nature of these habitats and requirements for maintenance has previously been described in Section 2.1.2. Preservation of the grassy groundcover is considered paramount for long term survival of this community. Hence it is recommended that any burning regime adopt a late season fire strategy for the specific purpose of arresting and reversing the encroachment of shrubby layers that is observed to be occurring. To do so will require the preparation of an appropriately placed fire break to prevent hot fires spreading more widely throughout Management Block 1.
4.2 Proposed Program for Following Years
A program for years following 2014 can, at this stage, only be tentative. It will depend very much on the experience of the preceding years, and how closely its goals can be reached. There are unpredictable circumstances relating to how successful a start can be made on changing burning patterns and establishing a mosaic pattern of burning on which to build. Also to be tested at all stages is the question of whether or not resources available are adequate for the task. For these reasons, therefore, fine detail has been avoided, and this report confines itself to outlining the direction of an ideal program to occupy the year 2015, and repetitively from there on, while emphasizing its essential features. Whatever precise direction is pursued for 2014, however, should be shaped by the experiences of the operations in 2013, and all annual programs from there on should evolve from the experience of preceding years. Appropriate actions in specific management blocks in subsequent years are described below. • Management Block 1: Continued placement of fire breaks around infrastructure and residential areas should commence early in the season prior to any burning being undertaken; chemical control of tropical kudzu can be considered for any persistent infestations, and; maintenance of livistona dominant habitats with late season fires should be ongoing. Dependent on the desired outcome, this process can continue on an annual basis until:
o Rainforest has established on footslopes to a degree that fire will no longer carry. At this point, monitoring and control of tropical kudzu infestations may be the only management action required.
o In the option that it is desired that grasslands be maintained on the footslopes, long term fire maintenance will be required. This will involve ongoing placement of firebreaks and commencement of patch burning early in the season extending through to about September dependent on seasonal conditions.
26 o Maintenance of the grassy nature of livistona dominant habitats will require late season fires to the point that shrubby thickening has significantly retreated. Once a retreat of shrub layers is noticeable (referenced through photographic monitoring points), patch burning commencing early in the season will be sufficient to maintain structural integrity of this habitat.
• Management Block 2: Management Block 2 represents a management extension area and as such, similar management actions should be applied as within Management Block 1. Works should however commence only when there is some demonstrated success in methods employed in Management Block 1 and rangers have confidence that the extension works can be adequately resourced. There should however be ongoing monitoring undertaken within the management block and attention given to any problematic areas where neglect might deem impacts irreversible. This may include a dramatically expanding infestation of tropical kudzu or other weed species. It should be noted that Management Block 2 contains a substantial area of livistona forest which should be monitored for shrubby thickening.
• Management Block 3: There is little requirement for active management at present in Management Block 3. The area is largely free from invasive weeds and in its current state, even with the removal of fire, would advance to a vine thicket without any significant ecological consequence. Whilst there is evidence of intense fires occurring within this area, vine thickets have retreated to the extent that their boundaries are controlled by physical barriers such as rocks and boulders and further retreat is unlikely. One significant point of note is that whilst examining habitats in this area, there was evidence that cool burning was promoting expansion of Indian calopo (Calopogonum mucunoides) in some grassland habitats. In such circumstance, cool burning should be discouraged and replaced with more intensive fires burnt later in the season for the specific purpose of arresting further expansion. Such problematic areas should be identified during ongoing monitoring of the area on an annual basis and mitigations applied to arrest further expansion of the problem.
27
Photograph 9. Infestation of Indian calopo in grassland habitats, April 2013. The grassland habitat has been recently burnt with a low intensity fire which may be promoting expansion of the infestation.
28
5. REFERENCES
Csurhes S. (2008). Plant Risk Assessment – Kudzu. Biosecurity Queensland, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
Gammage, B. 2011 – the biggest estate on earth. Allen and Unwin
Jones, R. 1969. Aust Natural History 16, pages 224-48.
Russell-Smith, J, Whitehead, Cooke, P. (eds) 2009. Culture, Ecology and Economy of Fire Management in North Australian Savannas: Rekindling the Wurk Tradition. Tropical Savannas CRC, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.
Stanton D. J, Fell D. G and Gooding D. O. 2009. Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems of the Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. Unpublished report to the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
Stronach, N (1999). Fire in the Trans-Fly Savanna, Irian Jaya/PNG. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Proceedings, Canberra, 2000.
3d Environmental. 2012. Dauan Island – Profile for the Management of Habitats and Related Cultural Resource Values. Unpublished report to the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
29 6. APPENDIX
A1. FIRE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
The essential feature of the fire management framework is that it is based on the premise that the diversity and patterns of distribution of the island’s habitats are the result of the purposeful use of fire by man over perhaps thousands of years, and therefore the maintenance of these features depends, at the most basic level on the continuing presence of fire. Whilst the precise nature of traditional management cannot be determined in the absence of its practitioners, its main features are known, and the island’s fire management should be guided by them. It should endeavour to create a patchwork of numerous small burnt areas by using progressive ignition throughout the year whenever conditions are suitable. It should ensure that most fires are of mild to moderate intensity, and provide the conditions under which wildfires will tend to self-extinguish before they can cover large areas.
Fire management will take place in three overlapping stages. During, or soon after the wet season, priority will be given to securing the town area by grading, slashing, mowing and burning of fire breaks to protect infrastructure. As soon after the wet season as fires will carry, patch burning will be carried out on the ground in grassland habitats with a tall grass understory, paying particular attention to littoral scrubs and rainforest margins. This burning can continue late in the season if for the specific purpose of maintaining grassland habitats. Spraying of exotic smothering vines should be considered where infestations occur that have potential to smother extensive areas of native habitat. When it is judged that satisfactory progress has been made in these operations, attention will then shift to the remaining patch of swamp forest.
30 A2. FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
A2-1. General introduction to the approach to fire management
The fire management program should aim to: • ensure as the highest priority the protection of life and property;
• establish an approximation of traditional burning practices by burning throughout the year, when conditions are suitable, to establish a mosaic pattern representing burns at different times of the year, and at different intensities and return intervals;
• replace any existing fire patterns dominated by relatively few large fires with smaller more numerous ones;
• provide the conditions under which fires can self-extinguish;
• protect the edges of rainforests and vine thickets from scorch;
• manage specific habitats to provide appropriate conditions for the survival of sensitive species.
A2-2. Ecological description of the island
Location and Landscape: The granite rock pile that forms Dauan, along with nearby Saibai and Boigu Islands form the Northern Island Group, located approximately 150 km north of Thursday Island. Whilst Saibai and Boigu Island are extensions of the alluvial Fly Platform, geologically part of the Papua New Guinea mainland, Dauan is formed on continental basement rock which extends northward from Cape York Peninsula to Mabadauan Hill on the south-west coast of Papua New Guinea. Dauan, with an area of 364 ha, rises dramatically from the ocean to a height of 295m on Mt Cornwallis, the highest point on the island and the second highest mountain peak in the Torres Strait Island group after Banks Peak (Mua Island) at 399m. A broad estuarine flat with associated mangrove vegetation is developed on the north-western side of the island. The flat terminates with a broad circular fringe of coralline sand and shell grit that supports a small area of littoral vine thicket.
Climate: Dauan Island, as for other Torres Strait Islands is influenced by the summer monsoon (wet season) between December and March during which moisture laden north and north-westerly winds prevail. South-easterly trade winds dominate for much of the remaining months with transitional periods between April to May, and October to November. April is typically the wettest month producing on average precipitation of 244 mm out of an annual average of 1082 mm. This compares with Badu which is the wettest recording station in the
31 Torres Strait at 1983 mm. There is however considerable rainfall variability on both annual and decadal cycles. Due to its location, and the regulating effect of the ocean, moderate temperatures are experienced throughout much of the year and the broader Torres Strait experiences a mean annual temperature of 27° with minimal range from 25° to 28°.
Vegetation: The island rises dramatically from the ocean with a chaotic pile of granite boulders that is blanketed by vine thicket, broken with numerous bare boulder fields and a broad fringe of flammable grassland on the islands footslopes. Vine forest in varying form ranging from evergreen forest to semi-evergreen thicket forms up to 48 % of the islands vegetation with native grasslands comprising 23 %. The balance of vegetation comprises boulder field vinelands, shrublands, swamp forest and non-remnant / exotic vegetation. Vegetation communities mapping is provided within Map A.
A2-3. The history of fire in the island’s landscape
It is not known when traditional burning was abandoned and there is no documentation of fire history since then. From field evidence, it is apparent that the island is regularly burnt by a number of people and that burning has appears to be completed largely in the months of October and November. The condition of the island’s habitats indicates that although they are largely stable under the prevailing fire regime, there continues to be some attrition of vine forest boundaries through the impact of extremely hot fire events. There is also evidence that some habitats are escaping fire and suffering from thickening of shrub layers.
A2-4. Specific requirements for asset protection
Specific factors that require consideration during prescribed burning are detailed in Table A2- 4 overleaf. The table is intended as a guide to information that is required and it is expected that additional detail will be added as the fire program develops.
32 2b Re Vegetation Communities and Broad Vegetation Groups of Dauan Island
Cl 2u Cl Re R É Cl Cl Ex Ex
7a Cl 24a 19a 19a 19a 17d 12a 17d 2b 7a Cl 2b 19a Cl Cl
Cl Cl
19a Re 19a 19a
Cl Cl 19a Ex
Re Ex 24a 2b 24a 12a 2b R 19a Cl 17d17d 17d 19a Re 17d 17d 2d 12a 11b 19a 2b 2b 19a 19a
1b 1a 19a 2s 1b R 19a 19a 19a
2b 2d 17d 2b 17d R R 19a Legend 17d 19a Open vineland/deciduous shrubland/boulder slope complex. 19a Cleared 19a 17d 2b 2b Granite talus and boulder slopes. 19a R Communities dominated by exotic species R Pandanus sp. +/- Melaleuca catjaputi subsp. platyphylla +/- 19a Evergreen notophyll vine forest + Acmenospermum 17d Acacia leptocarpa +/- Melaleuca acacioides shrubland and 2b 17d claviflorum + Syzigium puberulum + Ganophyllum falcatum low woodland. Alluvial plains (Quaternary and Pleistocene). + Arytera divaricata + Ficus microcarpa + *Mangifera 19a R Pandanus sp. +/- Melaleuca viridiflora open forest, 17d 19a 19a indica.Granite ranges. 2b woodland and shrubland. Seepage zones on alluvium, dune Evergreen notophyll vine thicket (windsheared) + Manilkara swales and granite headlands. 19a kauki + Intsia bijuga + Pouteria sericea + Aglaia R R Regrowth Cl eleagnoidea + Garcinia warrenii + Pandanus sp. Granite footslopes. Ex Rock 11a Exotic species Semi deciduous vine forest + Tetrameles nudiflora + 2b Canarium australianum + Ficus spp. + Bombax ceiba var. R R Livistona meulleri woodland. 2b leiocarpum +/- Alstonia spectabilis. Granite slopes. 17d Low Alyxia spicata + Manilkara kauki +/- Buchanania arborescens +/- Canarium australianum +/- Diospyros spp. Semi deciduous vine forest/thicket + Canarium australianum + Terminalia subacroptera + Bombax ceiba var. leiocarpum 17d +/- Pandanus sp. low closed shrubland/ rock pavement + Cochlospermum gillivreai + Cleistanthus peninsularis + complex. Coastal headlands on granite and rhyolite. Ficus virens var. sublanceolata. Footslopes on granite and 2b R R Low Melaleuca cajuputi subsp. platyphylla open forest. rhyolite. Alluvial plains and drainage depressions. 14g Semi-deciduous notophyll vine thicket (windsheared) + 2b Mangrove closed and open forest, woodland and shrubland Pouteria sericea + Ficus virens var. sublanceolata + complexes (24d/24c). Schefflera actinophylla + Garcinea warrenii + Syzygium Medium to tall Mnesithea rottboellioides + Heteropogon puberulum. Granite hillslopes. triticeus + Cymbopogon spp. +/- Imperata cylindrica +/- Semi-deciduous vine forest + Manilkara kauki + Terminalia R Themeda triandra grassland. Alluvial and residual plains, spp. + Sterculia quadrifida + Premna serratifolia + Acacia 17d coastal dunes and granite footslopes. crassicarpa + Drypetes deplanchei + Millettia pi¤ata. 14g Medium to tall Mnesithea rottboellioides + Heteropogon Coastal dunes. triticeus + Cymbopogon spp. +/- Imperata cylindrica +/- Themeda triandra grassland. Alluvial plains, coastal dunes 0 200 400 600 800 and granite footslopes. Metres
Path: C:\Users\Owner\Documents\Clients\3D Environmental\TSRA\tsra_Fire_Behave_Land_23113.mxd Table A2-4. Preliminary list of assets, specific issues and requirements and contact information.
Asset Issues Specific Requirements Stakeholders (to be listed) Contact
Dauan township area Flammable fringing rank grassland A program of hazard reduction habitat occurs as fingers intruding into burning is required to manage Dauan Council the community and as a broader the risk that hot wildfire poses swathe on the settlement margins. to dwellings. Dauan Community Flammable vegetation occurs up to boundary fences of dwellings in some locations. Island Rangers Tenny Elisala
Rural Fires – Fire warden Powerline and generators The location of generators and • Hazard requires powerlines requires consideration. management around Ergon Energy?? facilities including slashing Other facilities should be identified. of grass around generators Dauan Council and power poles. • Ergon to be given minimum Island Rangers of 2 weeks notice prior to a Tenny Elisala planned burn. • Ergon on ground maintenance teams to cut grass 2 m from around poles and look after generators. Water supply and other The risk that fires pose to water supply infrastructure infrastructure and associated facilities Dauan Council needs to be considered in burning plans. Island Rangers Tenny Elisala Cultural assets (requiring Cultural assets and the risk fire poses further documentation) to them requires further consideration Island Rangers Tenny Elisala and documentation. PBC
34 Asset Issues Specific Requirements Stakeholders (to be listed) Contact
Other infrastructure – The susceptibility of other infrastructure Mapping the location of fire bridges, signage etc. to fire damage needs to be established sensitive infrastructure is Dauan Council and considered in the fire program. required and considered in the burning program. Dauan Community
Island Rangers Tenny Elisala
35 A2-5. Fire management requirements for weeds
There are a number of herbaceous environmental weeds that may benefit from targeted burning if this is followed up by chemical spraying as green shoots re-emerge. Such infestations are restricted to disturbed lands around settlements and include a number of herbs and scrambling vine species such as stylo (Stylosanthes spp.), siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum), phasey bean (Macroptilium lathryioides), butterfly pea (Clitoria terneata) and beggar weed (Desmodium tortuosum). Such areas should be identified and an approach to burning and subsequent herbicide treatment considered on a case by case basis.
Appropriate control of tropical kudzu ((Pueraria phaseoloides var. phaseoloides) requires further investigation. It may benefit also from burning although any follow up spraying that may be required will also impact regeneration of grasses (unless a selective herbicide is identified). Alternatively, attempts could be made to overspray the infestation followed by burning of the dead matter under moderate condition. Whatever course of action is taken however, it is likely that several cycles of burning and herbicide usage will be required to arrest or reverse patch expansion. Appropriate use of herbicide is discussed in Csurhes (2008).
A2-6. Management requirements for cultural sites.
A list of cultural sites is to be compiled with any specific requirement for fire management issues to be detailed.
Table A2 – 6. Management requirements for cultural sites (example - to be compiled).
Cultural Site Location (GPS) Specific Fire Issues/ Treatment
36 Cultural Site Location (GPS) Specific Fire Issues/ Treatment
A2-7. Management requirements for vegetation communities.
Recommended fire regimes and treatments for vegetation communities on Badu Island are provided in Table A2 – 7.
Table A2 – 7. Fire behavior and recommended treatment for vegetation communities on Badu Island. Fire BVG Vegetation Fire Behaviour/ Description Category Community Recommendations Evergreen notophyll vine forest + Acmenospermum claviforum + Syzygium 1a puberulum + Ganophyllum falcatum + Arytera divaricata + Ficus microcarpa + Evergreen forest and Mangifera indica* thicket Evergreen notophyll Generally will not vine thicket (wind- burn under most sheared) + Manilkara conditions although kauki + Intsia bijuga + 1b habitat margins may Pouteria sericea + be subject to Aglaia eleagnoidea + damage and further Garcinia warrenii + attrition. Pandanus sp. Burns conducted early in the season Category 1 Deciduous/Semi- (April to May) where deciduous vine forest + these habitats share Erythrina variegata + a boundary with Manilkara kauki + 2a highly flammable Terminalia vegetation. subacroptera + Mimusops elengi + Cordia subcordata. Patchwork burning of surrounding Semi-deciduous vine flammable thicket Semi deciduous vine vegetation essential forest/thicket + for preservation of Canarium australianum habitat margins. + Terminalia subacroptera + Bombax ceiba var. 2b leiocarpum + Cochlospermum gillivraei + Cleistanthus peninsularis + Ficus virens var. sublanceolata.
37 Fire BVG Vegetation Fire Behaviour/ Description Category Community Recommendations Semi deciduous vine forest + Tetrameles nudiflora + Canarium 2d australianum + Ficus spp. + Bombax ceiba var. leiocarpum +/- Alstonia spectabilis. Semi-deciduous
notophyll vine thicket (wind sheared) + Pouteria sericea + 2s Ficus virens var. Sub- lanceolata + Schefflera actinophylla + Garcinia warrenii + Syzygium puberulum Low Alyxia spicata + Manilkara kauki +/- Buchanania arborescens +/- Shrublands and 14g Canarium australianum shrubland complexes +/- Diospyros spp. +/- Pandanus sp. low closed shrubland/ rock pavement complex. Require careful management due to associated infestation of exotic grass. Semi-deciduous vine forest + Manilkara Preventative cool kauki + Terminalia spp. burns on the + Sterculia quadrifida + margins of habitat, 1a Littoral vine thickets 2u Premna serratifolia + particularly vine Acacia crassicarpa + thicket components. Drypetes deplanchei + Millettia pinnata. Interspersed cool burns in grassland patches to prevent hot wildfire incursion and promote vine thicket expansion.
Open vineland/deciduous 19a shrubland/boulder slope complex
Boulder slope vineland/ 2 Will not burn shrubland complexes
Pandanus dominant 11a woodland associated with boulder fields
38 Fire BVG Vegetation Fire Behaviour/ Description Category Community Recommendations
Mangrove closed and open forest, woodland Mangrove forest 24a and shrubland complexes complexes (24d/24c – 80/20).
Can burn with considerable intensity under hot, dry conditions (although vine thicket component will limit potential for this). Those Low Melaleuca cajaputi Melaleuca dominant conditions under 3 7a subsp. platyphylla open forest which this habitat will open forest burn will be extremely hazardous. It is thus suggested that fire be excluded from this habitat.
Susceptible to hot, late season fires and will burn with Open to closed tussock considerable Grassland 17c grassland with intensity emergent shrubs.
First communities to be burnt after wet season. Pandanus sp. +/- Pandanus dominant Melaleuca viridiflora Well-spaced fires lit 4 11b woodland open forest, woodland progressively from and shrubland. as soon after the wet season as they will carry until, in most years, early June
Melaleuca viridiflora +/- Target cool burns in Livistona dominant Pandanus sp. this vegetation 12a woodland shrubland and low where it forms woodland. boundary with Category 1 vine forests and thickets.
Asset protection burning commencing Vegetation dominated early in the season. 5/ 5a Exotic Vegetation EX by exotic species (mostly mango) Fire breaks should be constructed prior to initiation.
39 Fire BVG Vegetation Fire Behaviour/ Description Category Community Recommendations
Includes exotic vegetation, rank Cleared Areas Cl grassland and infrastructure areas
Vegetation communities 1 and 1a: Vine thickets and dune complexes on coastal dune complexes.
Strategy: Protect these communities from fire damage to the margins. When burning in adjacent communities light the first fires close to the margins. Burning on habitat margins should only be undertaken under conditions where fires will be cool and not impact the vine forest margins to any considerable extent.
Vegetation communities 2: Natural vegetation that will not burn.
Strategy: No protection or other management required.
Vegetation communities 3: Seasonally wet forests and woodlands that will support fire.
Strategy: Fires entering these swamp communities when they are dry have the potential to do severe damage. There exists only a limited area of this vegetation and it may burn with extreme difficulty or not at all due to a heavy vine thicket understory. It is recommended that fire be excluded from this habitat as the conditions under which it will burn may prove extremely hazardous to nearby infrastructure.
Vegetation communities 4: Vegetation communities of moderate to high flammability. Communities with a medium to tall grassy ground cover, including grasslands and woodland communities and some previously cleared areas.
Strategy: These communities accumulate fuel more quickly than others and should be the first burnt after the wet season. Well-spaced fires should be lit progressively from as soon after the wet season as they will carry until, in most years, early June, with the aim of reducing the capacity of unplanned late season fires to spread. As a high proportion of the rainforest areas have margins with these communities it is desirable that a cautious approach to them be adopted by lighting the first fires of the season near their margins (see Vegetation Communities 1, above.) The ability to start early burning in these areas depends on having on average between one third and two thirds of them with at least two years’ fuel accumulation, and patch burning operations should cease if they seem likely, in any one year, to cover more than half of the available area.
40 If it is considered desirable to maintain grassland habitats, patch burning will need to be maintained late into the season to arrest shrub development. Similarly for livistona dominant forests, hotter fires burnt late in the season ( August to September) will be required to prevent rainforest encroachment.
Vegetation communities 5/5a: Cleared and urban areas.
Strategy: Major concern is for infrastructure that is fringed by flammable grassland vegetation. Appropriate action requires construction of fire breaks early in the season followed by burning of slashed grass. Adjacent flammable areas should be managed with patchwork burning to reduce fuel loads.
A2-8. Management requirements for sensitive species.
Table A2-8 details specific requirements for sensitive flora species known to occur on Dauan Island that may be influenced by fire regime. Additional baseline survey on sensitive fauna species populations is required before specific management issues are identified in regard to fauna. In the case of fauna species, as it is for the majority of flora species, mosaic burning of the landscape commencing early in the year is considered the most appropriate management action.
Table A2-8. Management recommendations for sensitive flora species
Fire Management Species Habitat requirements Requirements
Alectryon repandodentatus Limited population Not susceptible to fire damage (Endangered NC Act, EPBC Act) associated with evergreen (Sapindaceae) vine forest on Mt Cornwallis.
Costus poteriae (endangered Found in wet, non-remnant Any burns undertaken in swampy NC Act) (Costaceae) swamps where it mixes with grassland vegetation should be phragmites grassland as timed to ensure soil condition is well as margins of springs at moist. This will prevent damage the base of footslopes. to the underground portions of the plant.
Where it occurs on rainforest margins, habitats should be protected with a mosaic of cool patchwork burning in surrounding flammable habitats
Diospyros sp. (Bamaga BP Eucalypt dominant Widely spaced mosaic spread Hyland ) (Vulnerable) woodland habitats. evenly across the landscape to (Ebenaceae) promote patchiness. Burning should be completed in June to August with the aid of incendiary devices when additional resources are required.
41 Fire Management Species Habitat requirements Requirements
Dishidia littoralis (Vulnerable Mostly associated with The species is best preserved with NC Act, EPBC Act) semi-deciduous vine forest a mosaic of cool patchwork (Apocynaceae) on footslopes of the island. burning in adjacent flammable habitats.
Arenga australasica (Vulnerable Location unknown although Not susceptible to fire damage EPBC Act, NC Act). reported from vine forest on Mt Cornwallis
Cissus aristata (Vulnerable NC A slender trailing vine from Not susceptible to fire damage Act) (Vitaceae) a single collection record on Mt Cornwallis
Neolebra atra (Near Abundant on margins of The species is best preserved threatened NC Act) deciduous vine thicket, with a mosaic of cool patchwork (Poaceae): particularly on footslopes burning in adjacent flammable habitats.
Operculina brownii (Near Known from deciduous vine The species is best preserved threatened NC Act) thicket, particularly on with a mosaic of cool patchwork (Poaceae): footslopes burning in adjacent flammable habitats.
Apluda mutica (Near Non-remnant grassland in Ecology and habitat requirements threatened NC Act) moist locations. Also found are not known. Best management (Poaceae) within livistona dominant approach is to patch burn habitats. flammable habitats commencing as early in the season as fuel will carry. Preservation of grassy ground cover is considered paramount for survival of this species.
A2-9. Operational tasks
This section provides a checklist of items that are considered essential to delivery of fire management on purpose of this section is to list those matters that are essential to the delivery of fire management on the island. Responsibilities for each task should be allotted each year and recorded in the annual burn plan.
Table A2-9. Operational requirements of the Badu Island burning program.
Requirement Comments
Equipment inventory A detailed list of equipment necessary for implementation of the burn program and checklist of items held by the Badu Island Rangers Training Essential training required for implementation of the fire program (further advice required; Mick Blackman).
42 GIS mapping training to record burn locations.
Stakeholders A list of all stakeholders including agencies, names and contact numbers (see Table A2-4).
Safety and emergency procedures A full statement of emergency procedure is to be compiled. Advice is required from agencies such as the State Emergency Service / Mick Blackman).
Regulatory requirements Advice from SES/ Mick Blackman is required in this regard.
A2-10. Monitoring and reporting
Specific requirements for monitoring and reporting on an annual basis are provided in Table A2-10.
Table A2-10. Recommended monitoring and reporting requirements Requirement Comments/ Responsibility Establishment of photographic monitoring points Specific photographic monitoring points need to be established at appropriate locations to detail the success of specific management actions.
Guided by senior ranger/ ranger supervisor with external expertise sought where required.
Fire mapping The locations and extent of areas burnt during each fire season should be mapped for ongoing reference.
Guided by senior ranger/ ranger supervisor with external expertise sought where required.
Satellite mapping of fire scars Satellite mapping of annual burns requires investigation.
Currently under investigation.
Annual reporting An annual report on the Dauan Island fire program should be prepared at the completion of each burn season. This should provide a summary of areas burnt, timing, conditions as well as mapping of burn scars.
Senior ranger guided by ranger supervisor
Preparation of annual burn plan To be completed prior to commencement of the annual burn program with consideration given to previous years activities.
A2- 11. Dauan Island burn plan
43 Burn Plan: Year 2013 - 2014: This year will be devoted to building community support for future fire management programs by becoming involved in dealing with fire problems in the urban area, in particular with managing fire risk around the township and surrounding area. This will require full involvement with any brigade set-up under the Rural Fires Act and training in relevant legislation. Initial operations should focus on the construction of fire-breaks by encouraging slashing as well as encouraging land-owners and council to clear long grass from near houses and fence lines. It would be beneficial to have at least two years on ground accumulation of fuel to ensure any patch burning regime could be adequately entrenched. Hence for the remainder of 2013 it would be beneficial to exclude fire from the islands habitats as much as is possible. This will increase the likelihood that the program in following years will be successful.
Commencing 2014 and perhaps beyond this depending on resources, confidence and program success, activities should be focused within Management Block 1. The initial task should be to secure the township and infrastructure through construction of fire breaks in those flammable habitats that fringe the community. Fire breaks, 10 – 20 m wide, could be prepared by slashing them as soon as the ground is dry enough after the wet season, and burning the slashed grass soon after. From there on, the direction of the management program can be guided by what are considered desirable outcomes by both the rangers and the island community. A number of possible outcomes are thus identified and appropriate actions discussed in the following sections.
Allow rainforest to re-establish on the grassy footslopes: To facilitate the re- establishment of rainforest in areas currently occupied by grassland, it will be necessary to eliminate the risk of incursion of any hot late season fires. This presents a number of inherent risks, the most likely being that invasive vines will expand dramatically and prevent necessary recruitment of native rainforest shrubs. As tropical kudzu possesses a robust underground tuber, it is unlikely that even hot late season fires will kill the plant. It is fairly certain however that the cool fires required for promotion of rainforest expansion will also promote expansion of tropical kudzu at a much faster rate. Hence to achieve the required outcome, a number of methods will need to be employed as described below:
3. Active management of areas currently infested by invasive vines such as tropical kudzu through application of herbicide to foliage or cutting of stems and swabbing with concentrated herbicide. Appropriate herbicides for application are described in Csurhes (2008). 4. Patch burning throughout flammable grassland habitats from as early in the season as fire will carry. Patch burning can be initiated from the margins of the rainforest boundary, particularly fringing areas where shrubs are beginning to thicken. The main purpose of the patch burning will be to break up fuel loads to prevent the risk of late season fires.
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Retain grassland habitats on footslopes: The long term retention of grassland habitats on the footslopes will require a different approach, namely the use of hotter fires burnt later in the season. The general process should however not be significantly different being:
4. Placement of firebreaks around infrastructure and residential areas as previously described. 5. Patch burning should be undertaken from as early in the season as fires will carry although for this purpose, should focus on areas of grassland which are relatively free from shrubs and woody vines. It can also be targeted along the margins of rainforest boundaries to prevent damage to these habitats incurred from hot fires burnt late in the season. 6. Once fuel loads are broken and conditions dry, hotter fires can be driven into areas of shrubby thickening. This most appropriate period will typically be from August to September. Hot fires can also be driven into areas of tropical kudzu invasion as an experimental measure. It may still be necessary to undertake some chemical control of tropical kudzu infestations although hot fires will most likely limit its potential for further expansion.
Maintenance of livistona dominant habitats: The unique nature of these habitats and requirements for maintenance has previously been described in Section 2.1.2. Preservation of the grassy groundcover is considered paramount for long term survival of this community. Hence it is recommended that any burning regime adopt a late season fire strategy for the specific purpose of arresting and reversing the encroachment of shrubby layers that is observed to be occurring. To do so will require the preparation of an appropriately placed fire break to prevent hot fires spreading more widely throughout Management Block 1.
A program for years following 2014 can, at this stage, only be tentative. It will depend very much on the experience of the preceding years, and how closely its goals can be reached. There are unpredictable circumstances relating to how successful a start can be made on changing burning patterns and establishing a mosaic pattern of burning on which to build. Also to be tested at all stages is the question of whether or not resources available are adequate for the task. For these reasons, therefore, fine detail has been avoided, and this report confines itself to outlining the direction of an ideal program to occupy the year 2015, and repetitively from there on, while emphasizing its essential features. Whatever precise direction is pursued for 2014, however, should be shaped by the experiences of the operations in 2013, and all annual programs from there on should evolve from the experience of preceding years. Appropriate actions in specific management blocks in subsequent years are described below.
45 • Management Block 1: Continued placement of fire breaks around infrastructure and residential areas should commence early in the season prior to any burning being undertaken; chemical control of tropical kudzu can be considered for any persistent infestations, and; maintenance of livistona dominant habitats with late season fires should be ongoing. Dependent on the desired outcome, this process can continue on an annual basis until:
o Rainforest has established on footslopes to a degree that fire will no longer carry. At this point, monitoring and control of tropical kudzu infestations may be the only management action required.
o In the option that it is desired that grasslands be maintained on the footslopes, long term fire maintenance will be required. This will involve ongoing placement of firebreaks and commencement of patch burning early in the season extending through to about September dependent on seasonal conditions.
o Maintenance of the grassy nature of livistona dominant habitats will require late season fires to the point that shrubby thickening has significantly retreated. Once a retreat of shrub layers is noticeable (referenced through photographic monitoring points), patch burning commencing early in the season will be sufficient to maintain structural integrity of this habitat.
• Management Block 2: Management Block 2 represents a management extension area and as such, similar management actions should be applied as within Management Block 1. Works should however commence only when there is some demonstrated success in methods employed in Management Block 1 and rangers have confidence that the extension works can be adequately resourced. There should however be ongoing monitoring undertaken within the management block and attention given to any problematic areas where neglect might deem impacts irreversible. This may include a dramatically expanding infestation of tropical kudzu or other weed species. It should be noted that Management Block 2 contains a substantial area of livistona forest which should be monitored for shrubby thickening.
• Management Block 3: There is little requirement for active management at present in Management Block 3. The area is largely free from invasive weeds and in its current state, even with the removal of fire, would advance to a vine thicket without any significant ecological consequence. Whilst there is evidence of intense fires occurring within this area, vine thickets have retreated to the extent that their boundaries are controlled by physical barriers such as rocks and boulders and further retreat is unlikely. One significant point of note is that whilst examining habitats in this area, there was evidence that cool burning was promoting expansion of Indian calopo (Calopogonum mucunoides) in some grassland habitats. In such circumstance, cool burning should be discouraged and replaced with more intensive fires burnt later in
46 the season for the specific purpose of arresting further expansion. Such problematic areas should be identified during ongoing monitoring of the area on an annual basis and mitigations applied to arrest further expansion of the problem.
Burn Plan – Following Years: A program for years following 2014 can, at this stage, only be tentative. It will depend very much on the experience of the preceding years, and how closely its goals can be reached. There are unpredictable circumstances relating to how successful a start can be made on changing burning patterns and establishing a mosaic pattern of burning on which to build. Also to be tested at all stages is the question of whether or not resources available are adequate for the task. For these reasons, therefore, fine detail has been avoided, and this report confines itself to outlining the direction of an ideal program to occupy the year 2015, and repetitively from there on, while emphasizing its essential features. Whatever precise direction is pursued for 2014, however, should be shaped by the experiences of the operations in 2013, and all annual programs from there on should evolve from the experience of preceding years. Appropriate actions in specific management blocks in subsequent years are described below. • Management Block 1: Continued placement of fire breaks around infrastructure and residential areas should commence early in the season prior to any burning being undertaken; chemical control of tropical kudzu can be considered for any persistent infestations, and; maintenance of livistona dominant habitats with late season fires should be ongoing. Dependent on the desired outcome, this process can continue on an annual basis until:
o Rainforest has established on footslopes to a degree that fire will no longer carry. At this point, monitoring and control of tropical kudzu infestations may be the only management action required.
o In the option that it is desired that grasslands be maintained on the footslopes, long term fire maintenance will be required. This will involve ongoing placement of firebreaks and commencement of patch burning early in the season extending through to about September dependent on seasonal conditions.
o Maintenance of the grassy nature of livistona dominant habitats will require late season fires to the point that shrubby thickening has significantly retreated. Once a retreat of shrub layers is noticeable (referenced through photographic monitoring points), patch burning commencing early in the season will be sufficient to maintain structural integrity of this habitat.
• Management Block 2: Management Block 2 represents a management extension area and as such, similar management actions should be applied as within Management Block 1. Works should however commence only when there is some demonstrated success in methods employed in Management Block 1 and rangers have confidence that the extension works can be adequately resourced. There should
47 however be ongoing monitoring undertaken within the management block and attention given to any problematic areas where neglect might deem impacts irreversible. This may include a dramatically expanding infestation of tropical kudzu or other weed species. It should be noted that Management Block 2 contains a substantial area of livistona forest which should be monitored for shrubby thickening.
• Management Block 3: There is little requirement for active management at present in Management Block 3. The area is largely free from invasive weeds and in its current state, even with the removal of fire, would advance to a vine thicket without any significant ecological consequence. Whilst there is evidence of intense fires occurring within this area, vine thickets have retreated to the extent that their boundaries are controlled by physical barriers such as rocks and boulders and further retreat is unlikely. One significant point of note is that whilst examining habitats in this area, there was evidence that cool burning was promoting expansion of Indian calopo (Calopogonum mucunoides) in some grassland habitats. In such circumstance, cool burning should be discouraged and replaced with more intensive fires burnt later in the season for the specific purpose of arresting further expansion. Such problematic areas should be identified during ongoing monitoring of the area on an annual basis and mitigations applied to arrest further expansion of the problem.
Table A2-11. Considerations for protection of life and property.
Area Strategy
Dauan • During late wet season complete a system of fire breaks around the town as Township. required by slashing and then burning slashed grass.
Fuel is cleared from around houses by slashing or mowing, and raking.
• Identify potential fire hazards around other island settlements and essential infrastructure, and liaise with owners to ensure appropriate action is taken to protect them, including early burning around them if necessary.
Table A2-12. Considerations for biodiversity conservation
Habitat Strategy
Vine forest and thicket Early burn adjacent grassland areas to protect sensitive species and habitats communities from late season fires. If resources for this work are limited, concentrate on these areas where there has been attrition of vine thickets from the influence of past fires.
Table A2-13. Considerations for weed management.
Identify areas that will not be covered by the island-wide burning program, mostly in the
48 vicinity of settled areas, where it could be useful to burn patches of heavy weed infestation, with follow-up spraying when new plants begin to germinate.
Management of tropical kudzu will require experimentation to determine the most appropriate course of action. Foliar overspray followed by burning of dead matter in moderate conditions may be the best course of action although further investigation of the most appropriate techniques is required.
Table A2-14. Fire management program checklist (example)
Action Responsibility Date Achieved
• Has equipment been checked and serviced, and will it be adequate for the planned program?
• Have all necessary approvals and Is there a fire warden? Is Council permits been obtained, and relevant approval needed? people advised?
• Has communication gear been tested Does communication gear have to and a communications protocol put in be purchased? Might need to place? identify a consultant to advise on this.
• Are adequate maps available? Consult with 3D Environmental / TSRA GIS section on this.
• Are safety and emergency plans in place?
• Have those involved been briefed on the requirements of the burn plan, on safety and emergency plans, and trained in the use of equipment?
• Has responsibility for post burning season reporting been allocated?
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