Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing Planned Burn Guidelines Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland

DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 1 1/05/13 4:03 PM Prepared by: Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) Enhanced Fire Management Team, Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (NPRSR).

© The State of Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing 2012. Copyright enquiries should be addressed to or the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, 41 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4000.

First published May 2013 Published by the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Planned Burn Guidelines – Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland. First edition Bibliography ISBN 978-1-7423-0924 1. Planned Burn – Guideline 2. Fire Management 3. Bioregion – Queensland

Disclaimer This document has been prepared with all due diligence and care based on the best available information at the time of publication. The department holds no responsibility for any errors or omissions within this document. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. Information contained in this document is from a number of sources and as such, does not necessarily represent government or departmental policy. All Queensland Government planned burning should be done in accordance with government policies, procedures and protocols.

Acknowledgements The following people made substantial contributions to the intellectual content of these planned burn guidelines based on experience and/or expert knowledge with regard to fire management in the Cape York Peninsula bioregion. QPWS staff include: Danny Chew, Mike Ahmet, John Clarkson, Daryn Storch, Richard Lindeman, Barry Nolan, Justine Douglas, Col Dollery, Matt Wallace, Marty McLaughlin, Mark Newton, Andrew Frances, John Clarkson, Daryn Storch, Fred Pittorino, Melissa Spry, Peter Stanton (Peter Stanton Environmental Consultant Pty Ltd), Mick Blackman (Friendly Fire Ecological Consultants Pty Ltd), Dr Leasie Felderhof (Firescape Science Pty Ltd), Andrew Houley (Reef Catchments), and Brian Cifuentes (Cape York Sustainable Futures). This guideline has been developed and produced by the QPWS Enhanced Fire Management Team: Kerensa McCallie, David Shevill, Wayne Kington, Jenise Blaik, Troy Spinks, Mark Cant and Justine Douglas; supported by David Clark, Caroline Grayson, Ellen Thyer and Tim Killen. Following a successful pilot project (QPWS South East Region Planned Burn Guidelines) initiated and developed by QPWS staff: Wayne Kington, David Kington and Mark Burnham. Front cover photograph: 55 km north of Strathmay Station, Mark Newton, DSITIA (2008). Bp2009

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 2 1/05/13 4:03 PM Foreword The protected area network throughout Cape York Peninsula (the peninsula) provides the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation for this unique part of our state. Fire, I believe, provides us with the single-most valuable tool to assist in managing these natural assets. A well-planned and implemented fire program will afford managers the ability at the landscape level, to influence diversity in ecosystem age, class and structure.

As the increased resourcing of fire management has enabled the ongoing funding of successive peninsula-wide aerial ignition programs, we have successfully commenced a return to more pre-European regimes which promoted greater “patchiness” across the landscape. Throughout the peninsula, this return has effectively resulted in a shift away from the more recent patterns of destructive and large-scale late dry season wildfires. The benefit is threefold. Firstly we fulfil our obligations as custodians of nature, secondly we fulfil our commitment to be good neighbours and we reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the protected area estate by shifting toward a generally lower-intensity fire regime.

This planned burn guideline provides comprehensive guidance that supports fire strategies and planned burning at a bioregional level. For those with little or no familiarity with the peninsula, the ability to use this guideline in the development of fire strategies and burn proposals will provide a certain confidence not available previously. The completion of the guideline represents a huge step forward and will prove a valuable addition to the fire management tool-kit for all staff, our joint management partners and other like-minded land managers.

It will be important to remember that this guideline seeks to assist in objective decision making only. It should be expected that fire behaviour and objectives will change across time and space and that skilled fire practitioners will keenly observe the natural environment to enable them to best meet the objectives of a burn. The window in which we have to meet the objectives of a burn can at times be very narrow and our ability to judge this is the key.

Adapt burn programs over time as confidence is gained and openly discuss and debate the observations. Suggested changes to these guidelines as time progresses are welcome, but similarly be prepared with good arguments to support them.

James Newman Regional Director Northern Region Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 3 1/05/13 4:03 PM Table of contents Foreword...... iii

Purpose of this guideline...... vi

Scope...... vii

Fire in the monsoonal tropics of the Cape York Peninsula bioregion, Queensland...... ix

How to use this guideline...... xii

Chapter 1: Eucalypt communities...... 1 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities...... 3 Issue 2: Reduce overabundant seedlings / saplings...... 21 Issue 3: Manage high-biomass invasive grasses...... 22

Chapter 2: Grassland communities...... 23 Issue 1: Maintain grasslands...... 24 Issue 2: Reduce overabundant seedlings/saplings...... 34 Issue 3: Manage high-biomass grasses...... 35

Chapter 3: Sedgelands...... 36

Chapter 4: Heath communities...... 39 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities...... 41

Chapter 5: Melaleuca communities...... 55 Issue 1: Maintain healthy melaleuca communities...... 57 Issue 2: Avoid peat fires...... 71 Issue 3: Limit fire encroachment into non-target communities...... 78

Chapter 6: Acacia communities...... 79

Chapter 7: Dunes and coral cays...... 81 Issue 1: Limit fire encroachment into dunes and coral cays...... 82

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 4 1/05/13 4:03 PM Chapter 8: Rainforest...... 83 Issue 1: Limit fire encroachment into rainforests...... 85

Chapter 9: Mangroves and saltmarshes...... 86

Chapter 10: Common issues...... 87 Issue 1: Hazard reduction (fuel management) burns...... 88 Issue 2: Planned burning near sensitive cultural heritage sites...... 95 Issue 3: Manage high-biomass invasive grasses...... 103 Issue 4: Reduce rubber vine...... 115 Issue 5: Reduce overabundant seedlings / saplings...... 127 Issue 6: Limit fire encroachment into non-target fire vegetation group...... 141 Issue 7: Post-cyclone planned burning...... 149

Glossary of fire terminology...... 165

References...... 173

Appendix 1: List of regional ecosystems...... 177

Appendix 2: Mosaic burning...... 184

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 5 1/05/13 4:03 PM Bioregional planned Purpose of this guideline burn guideline This guideline was developed as part of the (and other parameters) Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing’s (NPRSR) Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) Fire Management System to support the formation of fire strategies, burn proposals and Park-based fire on-ground planned burn implementation (supported management strategy by the Planned Burn Guidelines: How to Assess if Your Burn is Ready to Go). They assist rangers and other land managers to:

• protect life and property Planned burn • maintain healthy ecosystems program/burn proposal • promote awareness of fire management issues in the field • identify clear fire management objectives to address those issues; and how to assess objectives to assist in adaptive management Planned burn • identify suitable fire behaviour, burn tactics and implementation weather conditions to achieve objectives • provide information and tools to assist in How the planned implementing planned burns. burn guideline fits Please note that this planned burn guideline uses ‘fire into the QPWS Fire vegetation groups’ provided in ParkInfo that assist Management System. their integration into maps and fire strategies. A fire vegetation group is a group of related ecosystems that share common fire management requirements.

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 6 1/05/13 4:03 PM Scope • This guideline applies to the Cape York Peninsula bioregion (refer to Figure 1) and covers the following fire vegetation groups: eucalypt communities, grassland communities, sedgelands, heath communities, melaleuca communities, acacia communities, dunes and coral cays, rainforests and mangroves and saltmarshes (refer to Appendix 1 for regional ecosystems contained in each fire vegetation group). • It covers the most common fire management issues arising in the Cape York Peninsula bioregion. In some cases, there will be a need to include issues in fire strategies or burn proposals that are beyond the scope of this guideline (e.g. highly specific species management issues). • This guideline recognises and respects Traditional Owner traditional ecological knowledge and the importance of collaborative fire management. Consultation and involvement should be sought from local Traditional Owners in the preparation and implementation of planned burns and specific guidelines incorporated into fire strategies where relevant. • Development of the guideline has been by literature review and a knowledge- capturing exercise, using both scientific and practical sources. It will be reviewed as new information becomes available.

Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant Pty Ltd, Heathlands (1993).

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 7 1/05/13 4:03 PM Figure 1: Map of Cape York Peninsula bioregion of Queensland.

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 8 1/05/13 4:03 PM Fire in the monsoonal tropics of the Cape York Peninsula bioregion, Queensland On Cape York Peninsula it is important to be aware of curing rates. Curing commences in the late wet season (after the last incursion of the monsoon trough from the northern hemisphere and the peninsula has begun to dry from the south). As a broad generalisation, the south central area of the peninsula dries northwards through central Cape York Peninsula with an unequal drying toward the north. This is followed by the west and finally the eastern regions (refer to Figure 2).

While occurring at different times in different locations, the seasons follow a regular pattern which varies curing rates. The wet season is a time of regular rains, high temperatures and high humidity. It begins (usually) very late in the year and is the time in which most of the grass growth and rainfall (80 per cent) occurs. This is followed by the early dry when the country commences curing and fires will usually be of a low-severity. During the mid-dry season, little rainfall occurs in the east and often no rainfall in central and western areas. Curing continues until the late dry season when fuels are completely dry and in some areas high-severity, widespread wildfires become an issue. In some north-eastern areas, fires may not carry until this time. During the storm season, irregular though increasing rains indicate a lead-up to the next wet season. Other factors such as soil type and topographic variation also affect curing at the local level (curing at this scale should be considered in planning burns and fire strategies).

Fire risk is closely linked to the occurrence of fire weather days or sequences of days (FDR very high+ / FDI 25+). In Weipa, these days have an average temperature of approximately 35˚C, a low humidity of approximately 25 per cent and sustained winds of more than 22 km/hr. Palmerville (further south and inland), these days have a slightly higher average temperature of approximately 36˚C, a lower humidity of approximately 18 per cent and sustained winds of approximately 12 km/hr (refer to Figure 3).

Planned burning on Cape York Peninsula must remain flexible to allow for the variation in the timing and length of wet seasons. Limited windows of opportunity to burn occur due to consistently strong moist winds along most of the east coast of the peninsula.

Staff must be vigilant in recognising opportunities to burn and capitalising on these opportunities. It is also important to be aware of conditions prior to and following burns.

Further information can be found in the QPWS Planned Burn Guidelines: How to Assess if Your Burn is Ready to Go and on the Bureau of Meteorology website at .

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 9 1/05/13 4:03 PM July

WEIPA

!

A

u

g

u

s

t

t o

S

e Mid June to Early July p t e

m

b

e

r COEN !

Mid to Late June Early to Mid June

KOWANYAMA COOKTOWN

! !

Mid to Late May

Gulf Plains Einasleigh Wet Uplands Tropics

0525 0100 Kilometres ¯ C

Figure 2: Map of Curing on Cape York Peninsula.

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 10 1/05/13 4:03 PM Figure 3: Fire weather risk in the Cape York Peninsula bioregion.

Weipa Fire Danger Index (1972-2010) FFDI 25+ (VH+) GFDI 25+ (VH+) 3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0 Average days per month 0.5

0.0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May JuneJuly AugSeptOct NovDec Month

Palmerville Fire Danger Index (1972-2010) FFDI 25+ (VH+) GFDI 25+ (VH+) 6

5

4

3

2 Average days per month

1

0 Jan Feb Mar Apr MayJuneJuly Aug SeptOct NovDec Month The likelihood of a fire weather day or sequence of days (FDI 25+) increases significantly from around September and persists for a few months until the start of the wet season. Data (Lucas 2010).

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DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 11 1/05/13 4:03 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 12

xii Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: How to use this guideline a 1. this simple exercise: you go about your work. To assist you inobserving theenvironment, undertake this guidelinesoit becomes partof your observation of theenvironment as that you manage (andthesurrounding landscape). Familiarise yourself with Step 2:Observethecountry. It is essential to regularly observethecountry 1999 andotherlegislative requirements). Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act issues are considered (e.g. zoning plan, threatened species, fire histories, strategy before completing your planned burn proposal to ensure all ecological the majority of issues in your area, it is essential you also review your fire and supports your local fire strategy. While theguidelineshould address Step 1:Know your local fire strategy. This planned burn guidelineworks with How to use this guideline or fire vegetation groups with a 3. or fire vegetation groups with a 2.

tree branch foliage dying? Is there epicormic regrowth onbranches? a) s theground-layer have adiversity of species oris it dominated d) e shrubs looking healthy and vigorous? Are there dying crowns onthe c) there abuild-up of dead anddecaying matter associated with grasses, esence of grasses andgrass clumps. Dothegrasses look healthy b) a) there evidence of fire? What is theprevalence andheight of blackened at are themid-layer trees (young canopy trees, wattles, casuarinasb) or a) e there rainforest, scrub orriparian ecosystems nearby? e there habitat trees (e.g. trees with hollows)? c) b) observe where relevant: shrubs andgrasses but not yet inthecanopy) observe thefollowing: following: F F If

understorey? by oneorafew juvenile tree species? Are weeds dominating the shrubs? shrubs, ferns orsedges? and vigorous? Are there well-formed grass clumps? bark? rainforest species)? How openordense is themid-layer? Are there any dead trees? Doe Ar Is The pr Is Wh Ar Ar Is canopy is present (e.g. for openforests andwoodlands) observethe ground-layer of grasses, sedges orshrubs, mid-layer (trees above theheight of 1/05/13 4:03 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 13 estate. Instructions can beobtained from the QPWS Fire Management System. as partof astructured photo-monitoring process at various locations within the shortfalls in your fire strategy, consider reviewing it. Step 9 can beimplemented or difficult to understand please seek advice. further If this process identifies to keep observing theland. If theresults of fire management are unexpected (such as weed control) are not resolved with asingle burn andit is important years aftertheoriginal burn—once again applying this guideline.Many issues area starting from Step 1).Return to theburn area afterone year andthenafew Step 9:Review your fire management issue (re-apply this guideline to the burn your fire report. objectives. This guidelineprovides information onhow to reporttheresults in in your burn proposal). This will indicate if you have achieved your planned burn undertake thepost-fire assessment recommended by this guideline(as defined Step 8:Review themeasurable objectives in your burn proposal. Afterafire, proposal objectives. this guidelinewill enable you to predict fire behaviour andachieve your burn How to Assess if Your Burn is Ready to Go. Becoming familiar with thetools in Step 7:Is your burn ready to go? Refer to theQPWS Planned Burn Guidelines: have to adjust thewording. guideline andpaste them(ctrl+v)into theburn proposal. Note that you may into your burn proposals. Copy (ctrl+c)statements from aPDF version of this tactics andweather conditions sections of each chapter can becopied directly Step 6: Write aburn proposal. The management ranger orequivalent. If you findit difficult toidentify your objectives, contact your natural resource Do you needto develop objectives not already included inthese guidelines? the land. Do you needto adjust theobjectives sothey apply to your situation? objectives in your fire strategy). Choose oneormore objectives whilst observing measurable objectives to include in your burn proposals (beguidedalso by the Step 5:Choose measurable objectives. Each chapter of this guidelineprovides intended to guidebothland managers andapproval bodies. based onastandard QPWS planned burn proposal prioritisation framework for determining fire management priorities. The statements about priorities are Step 4:Consider your fire management priorities. Each chapter offers guidance proposal. more than oneissue—do not necessarily limit yourself to oneissue perburn apply to thearea you are observing. It is common for burn proposals to address Step 3:Read therelevant chapters of this guidelineanddecide which issues measurable objectives, fire behaviour, 1/05/13 4:03 PM xiii Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: How to use this guideline DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 1

1 New England Tableland Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Grassy open forest allows woody species thecompetitive advantage. concentrated feeding onregrowth grasses intherecently burnt areas which to manage overabundant seedlings/saplings. This is compounded further by burns. Stock grazing reduces fuel loads preventing fires of a sufficient severity much more severe where stock grazing is combined with repeated early season emerging overabundant seedlings/saplings). Woody thickening becomes applied too early intheseason (when they are not intense enoughto control This process is attributed to alack of planned burning and/orfires repeatedly saplings leading to woody thickening, particularly inareas of higherrainfall. Another major issue is loss of openstructure through overabundant seedlings/ diversity) andproducing anenormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions. frequent andintense, resulting in ecological impacts (such as loss of age-class the absence of proactive planned burning, late season wildfires are extensive, landscape. This will mitigate theextent andimpact of late season wildfires. In burning early season inthedry to break upthecontinuity of fuels across the achieved through aerial ignition. The key strategy is to commence planned necessitates abroad-scale approach to fire management, most efficiently This fire vegetation group occurs over extensive inaccessible areas. This Fire management issues and grasses can besparse. giant andwhite spear grass. Onpoorer soils ashrublayer tends to dominate canopy. Grass species vary with location andinclude kangaroo, blady, black, is predominantly grassy but may include shrubs, small trees andarecruiting typically dominated by amix of eucalypt andcorymbia species. The understorey bioregion. The canopy ranges inheight from eight to twenty-seven metres andis floodplain woodland communities located across the Cape York Peninsula This fire vegetation group contains a range of eucalypt open forest and Chapter 1:Eucalypt communities 3. 2. 1. Issues:

Manage high-biomass invasive grasses. Reduce overabundant seedlings /saplings. Maintain healthy eucalypt communities. 1/05/13 4:03 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 2 Mark Newton, DSITIA, Merluna Station (2003). Eucalypt communities are typically dominated by amix of eucalypt andcorymbia species. Park, 1643 ha. Resources Reserve,3566 ha; Flinders Group National Park, 2473ha; Ngalba Bulal National Baja-Muliku) National Park, 5766ha; Starcke National Park, 4850ha; Jardine River (Gaarraay) National Park, 8269ha; Battle Camp Station, 6198ha; Annan River (Yuku (Iron Range) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),10742ha; Melsonby Aboriginal Land),21 309ha; Mount Jack Station Acquisition, 15787ha; Kutini-Payamu Environmental Purposes Reserve,26005ha; Lama Lama National Park (Cape York Peninsula Peninsula Aboriginal Land),34729ha; Mary Valley Station, 26510ha; Shelburne Bay 37152 ha; Heathlands Resources Reserve,35970 ha; Alwal National Park (Cape York (Under Negotiation With Aboriginal LandandNP),39850ha; Jardine River National Park, National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),58150ha; Upper Bridge Creek (Under Negotiation With Aboriginal LandAndNP),58760ha; KULLA(McIlwraith Range) 90 693ha; Olive River Reserve,83069ha; Crosbie Creek Station, 67305ha; Orchid Creek National Park, 127457ha; Cape Melville National Park, 110785ha; Strathmay Station, National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),254428ha; Jack River Examples of this Mungkan FVG: Kandju National Park, 333151ha; Rinyirru (Lakefield) Refer to Appendix 1for complete list. Extent within bioregion: 8525969hectares (ha), 69percent;Regional ecosystems: 1/05/13 4:03 PM

2 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Grassy open forest DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 3 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 3 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities • • • • • Indicators of healthy eucalypt communities broad-scale planned burning. Maintain healthy openeucalypt andfloodplain woodland communities using Issue 1:Maintain healthy eucalypt communities Mark Newton, DSITIA, near Coen (2003). enough to produce shading impacts. A healthy bloodwood community. Notice that canopy recruitment is extensive, but not •

sparse. In someareas with poorer soils, theshrublayer dominates andgrasses are noticeable shading effect onground-layerplants. Lower andmid-stratum small tree species are present but are not having a The community appears openandeasy to walk through. impacts. replace thecanopy), but are not extensive enoughto produce shading young canopy species are recruiting intheunderstorey (enoughto eventually Eucalypt communities have acanopy of eucalypt orcorymbia trees. Some than annuals. and vigorous, with well-formed bases. Perennial grasses are more common occasional legumes, lilies, Lomandra spp., orshrubs. Grasses are upright Grassy eucalypt communities have aground layer of mixed grasses with Blackened bark is present ontrees indicating ahistory of fire. 1/05/13 4:03 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 4 Mark Newton, DSITIA, 11kmsouth-east of Ebagoola (2008). Healthy grassy eucalypt communities are openandeasy to walk through. Stewart (2008). Mark Newton, DSITIA, Port communities. a history of fire in Eucalypt Blackened bark indicates 1/05/13 4:03 PM

4 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 5 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 5 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities • • • • • • communities with agrassy, shrubby ormixed grassy/shrubby understorey: The following may indicate that fire is required to maintain eucalypt Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Mungkan Kandju National Park (2009). A build-up of dead grass indicates theneedfor fire.

abundant and/orare beginning to smothertheground layer. Chain fruit Alyxia spicata (where present) orDodonaea spp. are becoming Melville andMungkan Kandju). Cycads (where present), have anaccumulation of dead fronds (e.g. Cape Xanthorrhoea spp. (where present), have brown skirts. Pandanus (where present), have well-developed skirts. saplings becoming apparent above thegrasses. There is anabundance of eucalypt, melaleuca orrainforest seedlings/ Grasses are collapsing orappear matted with abuild-up of dead material. 1/05/13 4:03 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 6 Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Yuku Baja-Muliku Resource Reserve(2008). Rainforest pioneers are beginning to become abundant dueto infrequent fire. Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Cape Melville (1993). When grasses begin to collapse, it is agood indication of theneedfor fire. 1/05/13 4:04 PM

6 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 7 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 7 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities Mick Ahmet,QPWS, Cape Melville (2008). Chain fruit becomes abundant whensites are long-unburnt. Daryn Daryn Storch, QPWS, Cape York Peninsula (2011). accumulate onXanthorrhoea spp. Left: Intheabsence of fire brown skirts Mark Newton, DSITIA (2003). on cycads indicates theneedfor fire. Above: Anaccumulation of dead fronds 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 8 • • Discussion • • • • • •

appear too green to burn will burn severely (and vice versa). be used and local knowledge sought,as some grass species which still assist indetermining whenthey are ready to burn. However, caution should cent cured. AustralianThe North Grassland Fuel Guide(Johnson 2001)may Grasses are generally considered ready to burn whenthey reach 50–60per in newly emerging transition areas. advanced that it is nolonger recoverable. Aimto use fire wherever possible River catchment andadjacent coastal areas. Inmany places it is sofar Cypress pineoverabundance ineucalypt communities occurs intheJardine rainforest expansion can occur large distances away from rainforest edges. 1992; Russel-Smith et 2004).Russel-Smith al. et (2004)also al. found that Rainforest expansion at Iron Range occurs rapidly—within 30 years (Stanton (refer to Chapter 10[Issue 5],regarding fire management guidelines). woody thickening occurs dueto melaleuca andeucalypt overabundance understorey ineucalypt communities. To thewest of thedividing range River, woody thickening occurs through thedevelopment of rainforest In themoister areas of theeast coast andalong thefloodplains of theArcher potentially reducing thefire-severity and extent. severity). Grazing complicates further theissue by altering fuel loads and low-severity fires exacerbates it (as thefires produced are not of sufficient a problem. Where it is becoming aproblem, theapplication of repeated overabundant seedlings/saplings leading to woody thickening is not usually In healthy eucalypt communities with ahistory of regular fire management, greatest reduction inthenumberof nectivores andgranivores. soon afterfire (12months), but declined inthelonger term (four years), with (2007) found that bird abundance dramatically increased inburnt sites habitat for many species of birds ineucalypt communities. Valentine et al. Variation inburn seasons fire andshort frequencies promote ahealthier Chapter 10,Issue 5,regarding fire management guidelines). should beapplied to reduce theoverabundant seedlings/saplings (refer to (providing agood seedbed)andare oftenfollowed by persistent rains. Fire also have episodic mass germination that occurs afterfloods, baring thesoil (refer to Chapter 10,Issue 4for management guidelines). These communities is found infloodplain woodlands onsouthernareas of Cape York Peninsula reach its maximum within two years with increased wildfire risk. Rubber vine fuel accumulation, pooraccess andwoody thickening. Fuel accumulation can due to anaccumulation of issues including grazing, weed invasion, rapid Eucalypt communities on floodplains require particular management attention depend onresourcing. Aimto achieve as many ignitionperiods as feasible. periods oneach propertyper year. However, theability to achieve this will aerial ignition.Ideally this would include at least three different ignition communities inCape York Peninsula is broad-scale management through A key strategy to manage the vast expanse of inaccessible eucalypt 1/05/13 4:04 PM

8 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 9 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 9 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities Weeds can beaproblem insomefloodplain woodlands; however if they are fire-killed Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Cape Melville (2008). managing woody thickening. Heavy grazing reduces grassy fuel biomass. Maintaining fuel loads is important in Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Lakefield National Park (1992). such as this rubber vine, maintaining fire management controls theproblem. 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 10 after fire, and by using counts where relevant. Estimations can beimproved by returning to thesame locations before and walk around andif visibility is good look about andaverage theresults. locations that will begood indicators for thewhole burn area. At these locations understorey or vegetation type.It is recommended that you select at least three Every proposed burn area contains natural variations intopography, Formulating objectives for burn proposals Assessing outcomes What is thepriority for this issue? Priority High health isgood. Planned burns to maintain ecosystems inareas where ecosystem Priority assessment 1/05/13 4:04 PM

10 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 11 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 11 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities System orconsider formulating your own. burn objectives found inthemonitoring sectionof the QPWS Fire Management If theabove objectives are not suitable refer to thecompendium of planned Select at least two of thefollowing as most appropriate for thesite: reduced. < 2mare saplings overabundant > 75%of wildfires. by burnt that greater than is burns by planned burnt annual area property, the Within a burnt. planned property within the communities of eucalypt 30–60 % demonstrated. burning Progressive Measurable Measurable objectives components) reduced. overabundant saplings (above ground transects, estimate thepercentage of Select several sites orwalk several wildfire onanannual basis. estimate area of planned burns against Using fire scar remote sensing data, on anannual basis. estimate burnt andunburnt country Using fire scar remote sensing data, by month,onanannual basis. estimate burnt andunburnt country Using fire scar remote sensing data, How to beassessed Not Achieved: <25%. 25–75 %. Partially Achieved: Achieved: >75%. wildfire. area planned burnt < Not Achieved: Annual wildfire. area planned burnt > Achieved: Annual < 20%or>80%. Not Achieved: 20–30 %or60–80%. Partially Achieved: Achieved: 30–60%. burning has occurred. Not Achieved: No achieved. One to two burns Partially Achieved: season. burns through the series of progressive sensing shows a Achieved: Remote How to bereported (in fire report) 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 12 history maps andcan beused inplanned burns. Tools such as Australian theNorth Fire Information (NAFI)can provide good fire Fire history mapping is animportant tool inmonitoring these ecosystems. ManagementFire System. observation points can beobtained from themonitoring sectionof theQPWS by photographs andby recording observations. Instructions for establishing observation points beestablished. Observation points are usually supported to keep observing theland. To support this, it is recommended that Many issues are not resolved with asingle planned burn andit is important Monitoring theissue over time Daryn Daryn Storch, QPWS (2011). will assist inmaintaining these important features. Fallen logs provide fauna habitat. Burning inconditions which result inlow-severity fire 1/05/13 4:04 PM

12 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 13 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 13 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities • Fire severity What fire characteristics will help address this issue? Fire parameters Note: This table assumes good soil moisture andoptimal planned burn conditions. Moderate

severity Low class High Low Fire (M) (H) (L) to moderate to ; with occasional high-severity fire during storm burns.

100–500 intensity (kWm 10000 < 100 500– (during thefire) Fire Fire intensity -1 )

Average 0.5–1.5 1.5–4.0 height flame < 0.5 (m)

Complete Average 2.0–5.0 canopy height scorch scorch scorch < 2.0 (m) Fire severity (post-fire) canopy scorch. of elevated fuels. Little orno have burnt. Some scorching surface andnear surface fuels Some patchiness, most of the scorched. All upper storey canopy leaves leaves scorched orcharred. by fire. All mid storey canopy All ground material affected partly scorched. Upper canopy leaves may be storey canopy leaves scorched. fuels burnt.All ormost of mid- All surface andnear surface (loss of biomass) Description 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 14 Landscape mosaic Mosaic (area burnt within anindividual planned burn) • • • Fire frequency /interval (refer to Appendix 2for adiscussion) Daryn Daryn Storch, QPWS, Cape York Peninsula (2011). fallen logs. Low-severity fire will generally produce a patchy burn and assist in retaining stags and

30–60 percent of eucalypt communities burnt within theproperty. features. burns can beuseful as they contribute to mosaics andhelpretain habitat Under mild burning conditions fires will be patchy. Patches within individual flood plains). and five years (orbetween oneandthree years for eucalypt communities on maximum timeframe). Consider abroad create varying stages of Apply

mosaic planned burns across thelandscape

post-fire response

fire interval range of between

(i.e.

recently burnt

at arange of

through to the

intervals to

one 1/05/13 4:04 PM

14 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 15 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 15 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities (2010). Pty Ltd, Mitchell River Fire Ecological Contractor Mick Blackman, Friendly movement. barriers to fire outcrops are useful creeks androcky barriers such as dry conditions, natural planned burn Under suitable Lands (2008). Yuku Baja Muliku Mike Ahmet,QPWS, saplings. seedlings/ overabundant severity to reduce be of sufficient not will season too early inthe Fires applied Archer Bend (1993). Consultant PtyLtd, Environmental Peter Stanton determining factor. tends to bethe accumulation only aguide.Fuel Fire frequency is 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 16 • • • Season: burn planning. undesirable conditions andweather changes can beavoided, orto helpwith It is important to beaware of conditions priorto andfollowing burns sothat What weather conditions should Iconsider? • • Wind speed: <23km/hr DI (KBDI):80–180 GFDI: <11

Post wet season until extremely dry management guidelines). seedlings/saplings are anissue (refer to Chapter 10[Issue 5],for fire Repeated early season burns are not recommended where overabundant unburnt areas. time of year). Each fire should create a slightly different mosaic of burnt and burns, rather than burning to aprescription of every‘x’ years at thesame frequency (e.g. alternating early season burns with season dry orstorm Ensure successive fires are somewhat variable inintensity, season and the storm season). per cent andhightemperatures, which tend to occur just before thestart of Avoid burning during extremely conditions dry (with humidity less than 30 Use occasional storm burns. burn but ahead of late dry-season wildfires. Burn at any timeof the year after thewet season whenit is enoughto dry Wind speed: <23km/hr DI (KBDI):<80 GFDI: 8–16 Storm burns 1/05/13 4:04 PM

16 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 17 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 17 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities • What burn tactics should Iconsider? • • • offered below is not prescriptive, but rather atoolkit of suggested tactics. review andadjust thetactics as required to achieve theburn objectives. What is at thesame site (e.g. dueto topographical variation). During theburn regularly Tactics will besite-specific anddifferent burn tactics may need to beemployed

and program thepath into aGPS for use inflight. an aerial incendiary path using maps, satellite images oraerial photographs also prevent fire from carrying as far as intended. It is good practice to plot fuel, rainforest orpreviously burnt areas. But realise that these features may is nowater, there may besufficient moisture), areas of sparse or uncured features to contain fires. These can include rivers and streams (even if there CSIRO Grassland Fire Spread MeterAustralia. for Northern Utilise natural in evening conditions. Auseful tool to determine therate of spread is the determined by how far thefire is required to travel before self-extinguishing afternoon depending onthedesired outcome. Ignitiontiming would be aerial ignition.Early dry-season fires can belit ineitherthemorning or and inaccessibility of eucalypt communities. This is mostly achieved through Aerial ignition.Broad-scale fire management is necessary due to the size a rich mosaic of severities, burnt/unburnt areas, andseasonal variability. year. They also provide fauna refuge areas. Progressive burning helps create areas can provide opportunistic barriers to fire to support burning later inthe park ineach year, but this will depend onresource constraints. These burnt scale mosaic. Ideally at least three periods of ignitionshould occur ineach cured sufficiently to fire,carry withnumerous small ignitions creating afine Peninsula, ignitioncan begin soon afterthewet season as soon as fuel has carried out throughout as much of the year as conditions allow. OnCape York Progressive burning is anapproach to planned burning where ignitionis create separate fires. fire is the objective thenit is better to use successive single-point ignitions to widely-spaced ignitionpoints that create separate fires. If creating a patchy (a numberof ignitionpoints at thesame location may berequired) or very fire front. Often, this may mean lighting ina single location for anentire burn Single point ignitionis used to create afire of limited extent with alimited mosaic. can beused. The spacing of thespots affects theresulting intensity and desired mosaic of burnt andunburnt areas. Anumberof patterns of lighting Spot ignitionis used to alter thedesired intensity of afire and create the

1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 18 • • • • •

spread are kept to aminimum. melaleuca oreucalypt saplings, while ensures thefire intensity and rate of tactic creates highresidence timewhich is useful inreducing overabundant consumption of fuel. This can becreated using slope orwind direction. This will generally result inamore complete coverage of anarea andabetter A low-intensity backing fire. Aslow-moving, low-intensity backing fire or carry fire through areas of low fuel. objective is to reduce weeds oroverabundant rainforest seedlings/saplings A running fire of ahigher-intensity may berequired initially where the heel of thefire where there is increased residence time. through thenight later inthe year. Be aware that re-ignition may occur at the less severe andoftenself-extinguishing early intheseason, but may carry to increase andtemperature andwinds decrease resulting infires that are patterns can beutilised. For example, after2pmtherelative humidity tends Use periods of declining fire hazard, sothat fires are more controllable. Daily burn within theplanned burn area. already established anetwork of burnt areas sufficient to contain the storm rainfall. Containment of storm burns relies onearlier-season burns having of 50mmof rainfall is recommended with consideration to thespread of Storm burns are fires lit inthe storm season afterthefirst rains. Aminimum season fires entering apropertyor contain fires withintheboundary. often undertaken intheearly season. dry It is used to reduce therisk of late- Boundary ignition(seediagram over page) is anaerial ignitionstrategy, 1/05/13 4:04 PM

18 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 19 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 19 Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities Broad-scale fire management should attempt to establish a landscape mosaic to break- Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Heathlands (1989). up thecountry andmitigate late dry-season wildfires. 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 20 boundaries, fence lines ortheedges of fire-sensitive vegetation. This approach can beused to control themovement of fire across property helps manage thespread of fire and creates anarea of noor relatively low fuel. somewhat inspacing. The two lines tend to draw together. This technique be spaced relatively closely (approximately but 100mapart), should vary inside theboundary edge, usually using aerial ignition.Incendiaries should Two parallel lines (within 20mof each other),are created approximately 2km Figure 1: from boundary 2km Approx Boundary ignitionexample Run 1 Run 2 Distance between spots between Distance can vary up toapprox can vary 100m. Not toscale 1/05/13 4:04 PM

20 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 1: Maintain healthy eucalypt communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 21 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities 21 Issue 2: Reduce overabundant seedlings / saplings overabundant. eucalypt overabundance. Othertrees such as cypress pinecan also become the west of thedividing range woody thickening occurs dueto melaleuca and can occur through thedevelopment of rainforest ineucalypt communities. To the east coast andalong thefloodplains of theArcher River, woody thickening Reduce overabundant seedlings/ saplings using fire. Inthemoister areas of Refer to Chapter 10(Issue 5),regarding fire management guidelines. Issue 2:Reduce overabundant seedlings /saplings 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 22 can beused to helpintheircontrol. dramatically increase fire severity and can bepromoted by fire. Sometimes fire It is important to beaware of thepresence of highbiomass grasses as they can Refer to Chapter 10(Issue 3),regarding fire management guidelines. Issue 3:Manage high-biomass invasive grasses Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Yuku Baja-Muliku Lands (2008). Grader grass can significantly increase theseverity of fire. 1/05/13 4:04 PM

22 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 1­—Eucalypt communities Issue 3: Manage high-biomass invasive grasses DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 23

23 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities the potential to increase fire severity. invasive andhigh-biomass grasses as they can bepromoted by fire and have up thecontinuity of fuels across thelandscape. Be aware of thepresence of is to commence planned burning early season inthedry as this will break- impacts andproduce anenormous amount of greenhouse gas. The key strategy which can beextensive, frequent andintense. They can also result inecological Broad-scale fire management is the key to preventing late season wildfires shrubs andsmall trees may beanissue inspecific areas. the primary issue, andto thewest, melaleucas andeucalypts. However other (predominantly to theeast of thedividing range) rainforest overabundance is fires of insufficient severity to scorch seedlings/saplings). Inmoister areas absent, infrequent orrepeatedly applied too early intheseason (creating saplings (leading to woody thickening) occur where fire has beenlong- preventing theirinvasion by trees andshrubs. Overabundant seedlings/ The main fire management issue is retaining openareas of grasslands by Fire management issues forbs, sedges andannual grasses. and cane grass Mnesithea rottboellioides . Significant diversity is added by Themeda, Aristida, Chrysopogon, Imperata Cymbopogon blady cylindrica spp., usually contain amix of perennial grass species including Heteropogon, Grasslands are openandtreeless orcontain scattered trees orshrubs. They Chapter 2:Grassland communities 3. 2. 1. Issues: National Park, 123ha; Jardine River Resources Reserve, 121ha. 148 ha; Shelburne Bay Environmental Purposes Reserve,144ha; Sir Charles Hardy Group Island National Park, 585ha; Alwal National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land), (McIlwraith Range) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),704ha; Lizard Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),1169ha; Crosbie Creek Station, 919ha; KULLA Kandju National Park, 2315ha; Cape Melville National Park, 1405ha; Lama Lama National land adjoins Lakefield NP, 3048 ha; Mount Jack Station Acquisition, 2619 ha; Mungkan Land), 70483ha; Olive River Reserve,6895ha; Strathmay Station, 6257ha; Bathurst Bay Examples of this Rinyirru FVG: (Lakefield) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal for complete list. Extent within bioregion: 439270ha, 4percent; Regional ecosystems:Refer to Appendix 1

Manage high-biomass grasses. Reduce overabundant seedlings/saplings. Maintain grasslands. 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 24 • • • Key indicators of health: Awareness of theenvironment Maintain grasslands with broad-scale fire management. Issue 1:Maintain grasslands Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Nifold Plain (1993). this grassland onamarine plain. Grasslands should betreeless orcontain only very scattered trees and shrubs such as

Grasses should appear upright and vigorous. sedges andotherground-layer plants scattered. There is more orless acontinuous layer of grasses with adiversity of forbs, shrubs. Grasslands are treeless andshrubless orcontain only scattered trees or 1/05/13 4:04 PM

24 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities Issue 1: Maintain grasslands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 25 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities 25 Issue 1: Maintain grasslands (2010). Pty Ltd, Silver Plains Fire Ecological Contractor Mick Blackman, Friendly vigorous. appear upright and Grasses should Lizard Island (2005). Mike Ahmet,QPWS, grasslands. grasses characterise continuous layer of A more-or-less (2008). Lakefield National Park Mike Ahmet,QPWS, they are still healthy. to collapse, however cure, they may begin asgrasses season, Late inthedry 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 26 • • • The following may indicate that afire is required to maintain grassland

Shrubs are becoming more than scattered. grasses. Overabundant seedlings/saplings are beginning to emerge above the the grass clumps are poorly-formed. There is anaccumulation of thatch (dead material), collapsing grass and/or Pty Ltd, Bolt Head (1994). Environmental Consultant Peter Stanton, open. still appears quite However, this one from shrubinvasion. are under threat headlands coastal on Grasslands (2008). Lakefield National Park Mike Ahmet,QPWS, grassy understorey. emerging above the Melaleuca saplings are 1/05/13 4:04 PM

26 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities Issue 1: Maintain grasslands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 27 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities 27 Issue 1: Maintain grasslands • • • • Discussion • • • •

competitive advantage. regrowth grasses intherecently burnt areas which allows woody species the seedlings/saplings. This is compounded further by concentrated feeding on loads preventing fires of a sufficient severity to manage overabundant combined with repeated early season burns. Stock grazing reduces fuel Woody thickening becomes much more severe where stock grazing is threatened by overabundant saplings/seedlings that shade-out thegrasses. finch, star finch and golden-shouldered parrot utilise grasslands and may be years (Crowley andGarnett 1998)andis anongoing issue. The crimson need for aconcerted fire management effort has beenidentified for many Melaleuca thickening, subsequent broad-scale loss of grassland andthe susceptible to thickening by Piliostigma malabaricum. and grasslands oncracking clay soils of central Cape York Peninsula are grasslands onpoorly-drained soils are susceptible to melaleuca thickening Grasslands found ondeep soil are susceptible to rainforest invasion, they are well away from rainforest edges. aware that irruptions of rainforest plants can appear ingrasslands even if and grasslands oncoastal headlands are being lost to shrubinvasion). Be Park grasslands surrounded by rainforests are being lost dueto tree invasion maintenance using fire is a conservation priority (e.g. at Iron Range National Rare grasslands are quickly being lost andso their retention and 10 (Issue 5),regarding fire management guidelines for overabundant trees. invasion into grasslands is thought to threaten theirhabitat. Refer to Chapter skirts that are animal refuges (Dorricot andGarnett 2007).Also, melaleuca shelter. Fires late season inthedry can destroy thecane grass and pandanus The endangered crimson finch utilises cane grass and pandanus habitat for wet season beneficial for others—variability is the key. important with season dry burns being beneficial to some species andthe reduction inthenumberof nectarivores andgranivores. The season is fire (12months) but declined inthelonger term (4 years) with thegreatest found that bird abundance dramatically increased inburnt sites soonafter for many species of birds ingrassland communities. Valentine et (2007) al. Variation inburn season fire andshort frequency promotes better habitat which can dominate where the grassy ground-cover has beenreduced. loads). Continuous grazing can lead to anincrease insaplings/seedlings Grazing reduces grass cover andthus thefire severity (through reduced fuel still appear too green to burn, will burn severely (and vice versa). should beused andlocal knowledge sought as somegrass species which assist indetermining whengrasses are ready to burn. However, caution cent cured. AustralianThe North Grassland Fuel Guide(Johnson 2001)may Grasses are generally considered ready to burn whenthey reach 50–60per 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 28 Cape YorkPeninsula. Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Lakefield National Park (2008). The opennature of this community has beenimpacted by overabundant trees. Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Archer Bend (1993). Piliostigma malabaricum overabundance occurs onthecracking clay soils of central 1/05/13 4:04 PM

28 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities Issue 1: Maintain grasslands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 29 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities 29 Issue 1: Maintain grasslands Select at least two of thefollowing as most appropriate for thesite: after fire, and by using counts where relevant. Estimations can beimproved by returning to thesame locations before and walk around andif visibility is good look about andaverage theresults. locations that will begood indicators for thewhole burn area. At these locations understorey or vegetation type.It is recommended that you select at least three Every proposed burn area contains natural variations intopography, Formulating objectives for burn proposals Assessing outcomes What is thepriority for this issue? burnt. planned property within the communities grassland 30–60 %of demonstrated. burning Progressive Measurable Measurable objectives Priority High health isgood. Planned burns to maintain ecosystems inareas where ecosystem an annual basis. estimate burnt andunburnt country on Using fire scar remote sensing data, month, onanannual basis. estimate burnt andunburnt country by Using fire scar remote sensing data, How to beassessed Priority assessment < 20%or>60%. Not Achieved: 20–30 %. Partially Achieved: Achieved: 30–60%. burning has occurred. Not Achieved: No achieved. One to two burns Partially Achieved: season. burns through the series of progressive sensing shows a Achieved: Remote How to bereported (in fire report) 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 30 System orconsider formulating your own. burn objectives found inthemonitoring sectionof theQPWS Fire Management If theabove objectives are not suitable refer to thecompendium of planned Fire ManagementFire System. observation points can beobtained from themonitoring sectionof theQPWS by photographs andby recording observations. Instructions for establishing observation points beestablished. Observation points are usually supported to keep observing theland. To support this, it is recommended that Many issues are not resolved with asingle planned burn andit is important Monitoring theissue over time reduced. < 2mare saplings overabundant > 75%of wildfires. by burnt that greater than is burns by planned area burnt the annual property, Within a components) reduced. overabundant saplings (above ground intensity), estimate thepercentage of variability of landform andlikely fire transects (taking into account the Select several sites orwalk several wildfire onanannual basis. estimate planned burns as against Using fire scar remote sensing data, Not Achieved: <25%. 25–75 %. Partially Achieved: Achieved: >75%. burnt wildfire. planned Achieved: Annual area (2008). Range National Park Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Iron at this time. high. Avoid burning and extensive fires is potential for intense collapsed.have The cured andgrasses season fuels are fully Very late inthedry 1/05/13 4:04 PM

30 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities Issue 1: Maintain grasslands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 31 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities 31 Issue 1: Maintain grasslands • Fire severity What fire characteristics will help address this issue? Fire parameters • Fire frequency /interval (refer to Appendix 2for adiscussion) Note: This table assumes good soil moisture andoptimal planned burn conditions. Moderate

severity overabundant seedlings/saplings are anissue. Low one andthree years. the maximum timeframe). Consider abroad fire interval range of between to create varying stages of post-fire response (i.e. recently burnt through to Apply mosaic planned burns across thelandscape at arange of frequencies class High Low Fire (M) (H) (L) to moderate to with theoccasional high-severity fire, particularly where

intensity 50–100 (kWm 1500– 100– 1500 5300 (during thefire) Fire Fire intensity -1 )

Average 0.5–1.5 0.3–0.5 height flame > 4.0 (m)

Complete Complete standing removed removed biomass biomass biomass Average height scorch scorch < 2.0 (m)

Fire severity (post-fire) fuels. Little ornocanopy scorch. Some scorching of elevated have burnt. surface andnear surface fuels Some patchiness, most of the remnants. Stubble burnt to blackened fuels burnt. All surface andnear surface stubble burnt to ash. Ground burnt completely (loss of biomass) Description 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 32 Season: Mosaic (area burnt within anindividual planned burn) • • burn planning. undesirable conditions andweather changes can beavoided, orto helpwith It is important to beaware of conditions priorto andfollowing burns sothat What weather conditions should Iconsider? • • Landscape mosaic • Wind speed: <23km/hr DI (KBDI):80–180 GFDI: <11

burnt andunburnt areas. the same timeof year). Each fire should create a slightly different mosaic of or late burns, dry rather than burning to aprescription of every‘x’ years at season andfrequency (e.g. alternating early season burns with storm burns Variability: Ensure successive fires are somewhat variable inintensity, location. saplings are anissue, nor should they beapplied regularly inthesame Early season burns are not recommended where overabundant seedlings/ the start of thestorm season. less than 30percent and hightemperatures, which tend to occur just before season burns. Avoid burning during extremely conditions dry with humidity Occasional storm burns (normally between orlate October andJanuary), dry Any timeof the year after thewet season whenit is sufficiently dry to burn. features. burns can beuseful as they contribute to mosaics andhelpto retain habitat Under mild burning conditions, fires will be patchy. Patches within individual 30–60 percent of grasslands burnt within Cape York Peninsula annually. Post wet season until until season wet Post extreme season dry Wind speed: <23km/hr DI (KBDI):<80 GFDI: 8–16 Storm burns 1/05/13 4:04 PM

32 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities Issue 1: Maintain grasslands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 33 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities 33 Issue 1: Maintain grasslands Vary theseverity of fire ingrasslands with most burns low to moderate, with occasionally • What burn tactics should Iconsider? Melissa Spry, DNRM,south-west of theDixie Homestead (2007). high-severity fires. offered below is not prescriptive, rather atoolkit of suggested tactics. review andadjust tactics as required to achieve theburn objectives. What is at thesame site (e.g. dueto topographical variation). During theburn regularly Tactics will besite-specific anddifferent burn tactics may need to beemployed

tactics). program these into aGPS for use inflight (refer to Chapter 1, for further incendiary path using maps, satellite images, oraerial photographs and fire from carrying as far as intended. It is good practice to plot an aerial fuel, rainforest orpreviously burnt areas. Note that these may also prevent is nowater, there may besufficient moisture), areas of sparse or uncured features to contain fires. These can berivers and streams (even if there CSIRO Grassland Fire Spread MeterAustralia. for Northern Utilise natural in evening conditions. Auseful tool to determine therate of spread is the determined by how far thefire is required to travel before self-extinguishing or afternoon,depending onthedesired outcome. Ignitiontiming will be through aerial. Early ignition season dry fires can belit ineithermorning and inaccessibility of most grassland communities. This is mostly achieved Aerial ignition.Broad-scale fire management is necessary due to the size

1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 34 from grassland to forest. reduce thehealth andabundance of grasses andeventually lead to atransition Overabundant seedlings and saplings of rainforests ormelaleuca species can Refer to Chapter 10(Issue 5),regarding fire management guidelines. Issue 2:Reduce overabundant seedlings/saplings 1/05/13 4:04 PM

34 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities Issue 2: Reduce overabundant seedlings/saplings DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 35 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 2­—Grassland communities 35 Issue 3: Manage high-biomass grasses can beused to helpintheircontrol. dramatically increase fire severity and can bepromoted by fire. Sometimes fire It is important to beaware of thepresence of high-biomass grasses as they can Refer to Chapter 10(Issue 3),regarding fire management guidelines. Issue 3:Manage high-biomass grasses 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 36 Fire management issues Melaleuca leucadendra orsedgelands. woodlands of broad-leaved tea tree Melaleuca viridiflora, weeping paperbark and occasionally Nymphoides spp. Often these wetter sites are fringed by may have water lilies Nymphaea spp., wild rice Oryza rufipogon, marshworts bulkaru Eleocharis spp. andotherspecies of sedges orferns. Wetter sites Cape York Peninsula. They are dominated by saw sedge Gahniasieberiana, inundated andare generally found inlow areas of thelandscape throughout ground-layer plants scattered. They may bepermanently orseasonally layer dominated by oneortwo sedges, rushes, orsimilar species with other Sedgelands are treeless (orcontain only scattered trees) with aground- Chapter3: Sedgelands and lagoons. Be aware of this issue whenplanning fires. communities. These can include saw sedge communities andpermanent lakes Sometimes there is arisk of apeat fire occurring insomesedgeland woodland/sedgelands rarely burn andactive fire management is not required. for fire management guidelines). Permanent lakes and lagoons with fringing mostly occur with Melaleuca quinquenervia swamp forest (refer to Chapter 5 very extensive, may require active fire management. Saw sedge communities far less oftendueto thepresence of water. Saw sedge communities that are allowed to burn inassociation with thesurrounding landscape but tend to burn Sedgelands onCape York Peninsula are not actively targeted with fire. They are Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),45ha. Aboriginal Land),168ha; Strathmay Station, 157ha; Mary Valley Station, 63ha; Baja-Muliku) National Park, 174ha; Lama Lama National Park (Cape York Peninsula River National Park, 265ha; Heathlands Resources Reserve, 203ha; Annan River (Yuku 550 ha; Cape Melville National Park, 470ha; Jack River National Park, 417ha; Endeavour 1877 ha; Jardine River Resources Reserve, 1692ha; Mount Jack Station Acquisition, Shelburne Bay Environmental Purposes Reserve,2003ha; Mungkan Kandju National Park, Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),4517ha; Olive River Reserve,2150ha; Examples of this Jardine River FVG: National Park, 16910ha; Rinyirru (Lakefield) National for complete list. Extent within bioregion: 100674ha, 1percent; Regional ecosystems: Refer to Appendix 1 1/05/13 4:04 PM 36 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 3—Sedgelands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 37

37 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 3—Sedgelands Bulkaru sedgelands season. inthedry Daryn Storch,Daryn Mary ValleyQPWS, (2011). Station aware of peat existing inadjacent communities. Permanent lakes andlagoons. These communities will generally not burn. However, be Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Red Lily Lagoon Lakefield National Park (2009). 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 38 • • Discussion

avoiding peat fires. Refer to Chapter 5(Issue 2),regarding fire management guidelines for requirements. species change may have flow-on effects to fauna species that have specific plant species which are adapted to thepeat substrate. This process of with thepeat layer can take decades ormore to reform andaffect other of perennial sedges taking many years to re-appear. The sedge roots, along dominant sedge layer can cause asignificant species change with colonies sedge colony. Apeat fire orhigh-severity fire which removes most of the roots burn whenpeat burns, oftenresulting inthedeath of all orpartof the tends to burn slowly, with highseverity andis very difficult to put out. Sedge significant peat layer are vulnerable to severe fires. When peat catches fire it Peat fires should beavoided. Perennial sedges inecosystems with a 1/05/13 4:04 PM 38 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 3—Sedgelands DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 39

39 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities occurred dueto alack of fire and has allowed longer-lived species to dominate. amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Insomeareas aloss of diversity has intense, resulting innegative ecological impacts andproducing anenormous proactive planned burning, late season wildfires are extensive, frequent and mitigate theextent andimpact of late-season wildfires. Intheabsence of assist inbreaking upthecontinuity of fuels across thelandscape. This will management. Aerial ignitionis themost efficient way to achieve this and will The key approach is to maintain aLandscape Mosaic using broad-scale fire repeated large-scale fire events. single-event fire that reduces ecosystem diversity andpromotes acycle of of fuel.Aftermany years this accumulation can create therisk of a large-scale frequent unplanned fire is avoided. A lack of fire will allow an accumulation vegetation, it is important to apply fire inandaround theheath sothat too- Because heaths have alonger fire interval than the surrounding fire-adapted a broad-scale approach, most efficiently achieved through aerial ignition. This fire vegetation group occurs over extensive inaccessible areas necessitating Fire management issues occasional shrubs. For melaleuca dominated heaths seeChapter 5. inundated heath swamps occur. These are characterised by sedges and plains andheadlands. OntheJardine River extensive areas of seasonally- group also includes open-heaths anddwarf open-heaths ondune fields, sand undulating terrain, onhills, mountains andonsand dunes. This fire vegetation Usually this community consists of extensive areas of closed shrublands in Australia. Inmany areas oneortwo species dominate, others are more diverse. York Peninsula theheathlands are less diverse than theotherheathlands of Jardine andOlive river catchments andat Iron Range National Park. OnCape trees (Keith et 2002). al. The main centres of distribution are within the Heaths are shrubby communities that are treeless orcontain only scattered Chapter 4:Heath communities 1. Issue:

Maintaining healthy heath communities. 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 40 Range/Portland Roads, 13ha; Archer Point Conservation Park, 5ha; Hann State Forest, 2ha. Park, 90ha; Possession Island National Park, 30ha; Lizard Island National Park, 17 ha; Iron 130 ha; Annan River (Yuku Baja-Muliku) Resources Reserve,115ha; Flinders Group National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),242ha; Melsonby (Gaarraay) National Park, National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),385ha; Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Creek (UnderNegotiation With Aboriginal LandandNP),1048ha; KULLA(McIlwraith Range) 2078 ha; Starcke National Park, 1884ha; Battle Camp Station, 1743ha; Upper Bridge (Under Negotiation With Aboriginal LandAndNP),2633ha; Mount Jack Station Acquisition, (Iron Range) National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land),3850ha; Orchid Creek 9301 ha; Cape Melville National Park, 5612ha; Kutini-Payamu Reserve, 42997ha; Jardine River Resources Reserve,10541ha; Jack River National Park, Purposes Reserve,74839ha; Heathlands Resources Reserve,73110ha; Olive River Examples of this FVG: for complete list. Extent within bioregion: 587299ha, 5percent; Regional ecosystems:Refer to Appendix 1 Jardine River National Park, 140 838 ha; Shelburne Bay Environmental 1/05/13 4:04 PM 40 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 41 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 41 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities • • • Indicators of health: Awareness of theenvironment mitigates against too much heath burning at once. ignition) helps achieve longer fire intervals by creating aLandscape Mosaic that Implementation of mosaic burning inandaround heath (usually with aerial Issue 1:Maintaining healthy heath communities Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Heathlands Resource Reserve(1989). unburnt areas will mitigate theimpacts of too-frequent andwidespread wildfire. Heaths should vary intime-since-fire across the landscape. Amosaic of burnt and

There are few ornotrees. grasses. Inheath swamps shrubs are sparse andare interspersed by sedges. sparse). Onheadlands, shrubs are wind-sheared, sparse andinterspersed by A continuous cover of shrubs exists (except inareas that are naturally There is a variation intime-since-fire for heath across the landscape. 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 42 Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Jacky Jacky Creek (1988). In healthy heath Swamps, shrubs are naturally sparse andinterspersed by sedges. Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Tozers Gap, Iron Range National Park (2008). Healthy closed heath. Acontinuous cover of shrubs appears green anddense. 1/05/13 4:04 PM

42 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 43 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 43 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities • • • • • • Indicators of where fire is required:

abundant. Cypress pineCallitris intratropica (where present) are beginning to become (a leafless, parasitic vine). Heaths which are long unburnt have become entangled with dodder vine than two metres high. Mature toothbrush grevillea Grevillea pteridifolia (where present) are more she-oak Allocasuarina littoralis). Heath community is becoming dominated by Allocasuarina trees (e.g. black There is abuild-up of dead anddying material. or lower branches of theheath plants are dying. Heath plants are beginning to lose theirlower-level leaves andsomecrowns Landing (1985). Consultant PtyLtd, Captain Billy PeterEnvironmental Stanton, grasses. not emerge far above the wind-sheared anddo communities are often Shrubs within headland 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 44 Mike Ahmet,QPWS, Olive River Resource Reserve(2009). Plants are beginning to lose lower-level leaves. considered. burning should be to dominate, planned Where they are beginning trees are not aproblem. heath. Occasional she-oak to maintain ahealthy of theneedto apply fire die. This is anindicator shrubs have begun to Notice thecrowns of many Range National Park (2009). Mark Newton, DSITIA, Iron 1/05/13 4:04 PM

44 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 45 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 45 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities National Park (1996). Pty Ltd, Iron Range Environmental Consultant Peter Stanton, long-unburnt. when they remain heaths begin to die Lower branches of Resource Reserve(1991). Pty Ltd, Heathlands Environmental Consultant Peter Stanton, toothbrush grevillea. species such as this domination of some tend to lead to a Long fire intervals Reserve (2009). Olive River Resource Mike Ahmet,QPWS, diverse. less- naturally York Peninsula are heaths onCape many that aware fire. However, be long absence of simplify dueto a to hasbegun it in this community— no longer present Some species are 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 46 • • • • Discussion • • • • •

breaking upareas of long-unburnt heath andestablishing amosaic pattern. self-extinguish, while thehead fire will continue to burn. This can assist in the influence of a strong wind. Intheevening theflank fires will tend to Fires inheaths tend to burn inalinear (long narrow fire) pattern when under dense, closed heath onsand dunes to dwarf heath onplains. On Cape York Peninsula thestructure of heaths can vary considerably from (Stanton 1992). of heath species. Ahot fire is required to germinate theseed bank Cool fires can bedetrimental as they donot promote the regeneration A long absence of fire leads to aloss of some species from the community. speed variation. a varied mosaic of burnt andunburnt patches, andattributed this to wind Stanton (1992)observedthat even high-severity fires inheath can create chance of persistence. poorly understood, fire maintains healthy heathlands which increases their the endangered Eremochloa muricata. While these species’ fire response is as therare Xanthostemon arenarius , therare Xanthostemon xerophilus and Some heaths contain many endemic,rare andendangered species such impacting thesurrounding areas. unplanned fires. Thesecond is to mitigate theimpact of severe heath fires is to helpmaintain longer fire intervals inheaths by mitigating too frequent Planned burns inadjacent fire-adapted communities have two roles: Thefirst large-scale fire. that reduces ecosystem diversity andpromotes acycle of repeated accumulation can create therisk of alarge-scale, single-event fire A lack of fire will allow anaccumulation of After fuel. many years this heath species intheabsence of fire (Stanton 1999). establish indense litter allowing themacompetitive advantage over other diversity inheath gradually decreases. Black she-oak has theability to these ofteninclude black she-oak, cypress pineandgrevillea. As aresult, Long fire intervals tend to lead to adomination of tree species. In heaths management. Aerial ignitionis themost efficient way to achieve this. The key approach is to maintain aLandscape Mosaic using broad-scale fire 1/05/13 4:04 PM

46 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 47 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 47 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities catchment (1989). Consultant PtyLtd, Jardine River PeterEnvironmental Stanton, pattern. burn heath inalinear (running fires) tend to Fires lit with thewind 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 48 Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Heathlands (1993). This dwarf heath is long unburnt. Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Iron Range National Park (1996). Heaths occur ona variety of landforms including sand dunes. 1/05/13 4:04 PM

48 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 49 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 49 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities System orconsider formulating your own. burn objectives found inthemonitoring sectionof the QPWS Fire Management If theabove objectives are not suitable refer to thecompendium of planned Select at least two of thefollowing as most appropriate for thesite: after fire, and by using counts where relevant. Estimations can beimproved by returning to thesame locations before and walk around andif visibility is good look about andaverage theresults. locations that will begood indicators for thewhole burn area. At these locations understorey or vegetation type.It is recommended that you select at least three Every proposed burn area contains natural variations intopography, Formulating objectives for burn proposals Assessing outcomes What is thepriority for this issue? wildfires. by burnt that greater than is burns by planned area burnt the annual property, Within a annually. burnt planned property within the communities of heath 10–20 % Measurable Measurable objectives Priority High health isgood. Planned burns to maintain ecosystems inareas where ecosystem against wildfire onanannual basis. (e.g. NAFI),estimate planned burns as Using fire scar remote sensing data country onanannual basis. (e.g. NAFI),estimate burnt andunburnt Using fire scar remote sensing data How to beassessed Priority assessment < wildfire. area planned burnt Not Achieved: Annual > wildfire. area planned burnt Achieved: Annual than 30%. Less than 5%more Not Achieved: 5–10 %or20–30%. Partially Achieved: Achieved: 10–20%. How to bereported (in fire report)

1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 50 long where black she-oak trees begin to dominate above theshrublayer. Consider monitoring thepresence of black she-oak. Fire has beenabsent for too and awell-developed shrublayer has formed. fire. Planned burns should beimplemented whenthey reach about two metres Consider monitoring theheight of toothbrush grevillea to indicate theneedfor ManagementFire System. observation points can beobtained from themonitoring sectionof theQPWS by photographs andby recording observations. Instructions for establishing observation points beestablished. Observation points are usually supported to keep observing theland. To support this, it is recommended that Many issues are not resolved with asingle planned burn andit is important Monitoring theissue over time 1/05/13 4:04 PM

50 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 51 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 51 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities • Fire severity What fire characteristics will help address this issue? Fire parameters Note: This table assumes good soil moisture andoptimal planned burn conditions. Moderate

Extreme severity Low (L) Patchy low-severity. Patchy class Fire (M) (P) (E) to to

/low ormoderate/extreme. Fires will eitherburn severely orat very (during thefire) Average flame Fire intensity height (m) > 1 < 1

Skeletal frames of shrubs. evidence of green vegetation remaining. Extensive to total foliage burnt.Minimal Understorey burnt to mineral earth. Greater than 60% vegetation burnt. of shrubs andsmall trees. Overall little canopy scorch. Some scorching Can create distinct ‘holes’ inclosed heath. surface fuels (litter) andnear surface fuels. and shrublayer. Does not remove all the vegetation (green patches) intheground 40–60 % vegetation burnt.Unburnt Fire severity (post-fire) (loss of biomass) Description 1/05/13 4:04 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 52 Mosaic (area burnt within anindividual planned burn) Landscape Mosaic • • • Fire frequency /interval (refer to Appendix 2for adiscussion) DI (KBDI):160–190 FFDI: <24 in the very late season. dry will not burn priorto this periodas it is too wet.Be aware of containment issues Season: August–September oreven November depending ontheseason. Heath burn planning. undesirable conditions andweather changes can beavoided, orto helpwith It is important to beaware of conditions priorto andfollowing burns sothat What weather conditions should Iconsider? •

and ten years.and maximum timeframe). Consider abroad create varying stages of Apply 10–20 percent. conditions will lead to decreased fire severity and add to patchiness. lines andotherlandscape features such as rocky outcrops. Overnight Patchiness will occur insomeareas dueto thepresence of creeks, drainage patchiness andadjusted for wildfire risk anddrought cycles. assessment of vegetation health, fuel accumulation andprevious fire Fire frequency should primarily bedetermined through on-ground

mosaic planned burns across thelandscape

post-fire response

fire interval range of between

(i.e.

recently burnt

at arange of

through to the

intervals to

five 1/05/13 4:04 PM

52 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 53 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities 53 Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities Don’t beconcerned if heath burns completely. Heaths recover well from stored seed Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Lakefield National Park (1998). eventually regain theiroriginal height. Four years afterfire these Melaleuca arcana are recovering by resprouting. They will Peter Stanton, Environmental Consultant PtyLtd, Jardine River (1991). banks orresprouts from thebase. 1/05/13 4:05 PM DEPNP10061_bp2009_CAPE YORK PENINSULA PBG D5.indd 54 • • What burn tactics should Iconsider? offered below is not prescriptive, rather atoolkit of suggested tactics. review andadjust tactics as required to achieve theburn objectives. What is at thesame site (e.g. dueto topographical variation). During theburn regularly Tactics will besite-specific anddifferent burn tactics may need to beemployed

create along narrow fire. mosaic). When combined with astrong wind, asingle-point ignitionwill lighting another(this provides abetter chance of breaking thearea into a use successive single-point ignitions, allowing onefire to extinguish before sometimes required). If creating amosaic is theobjective of theburn then for theentire burn (anumberof ignitionpoints at thesame location is Single point ignition.It may benecessary to light only asingle location information. burn to theedge of areas previously burnt.Refer to Chapter 1for further limited. This can beachieved by placing incendiaries sothat fires will only aerial ignition.Incendiaries should beplaced sothat fire spread will be and inaccessibility of heath communities. This is mostly achieved through Aerial ignition.Broad-scale fire management is necessary due to the size

1/05/13 4:05 PM

54 Cape York Peninsula Bioregion of Queensland: Chapter 4—Heath communities Issue 1: Maintaining healthy heath communities