tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171765088403710716.post5603903425152898206..comments2024-02-06T20:59:17.306-08:00Comments on Toowoomba Plants: Dry Rainforest TreesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171765088403710716.post-69881543981326608092023-10-11T13:47:49.567-07:002023-10-11T13:47:49.567-07:00That's a very big question.
First, we need to ...That's a very big question.<br />First, we need to consider to what extent we are prepared to let humans spread over the world, eliminating native plants and animals. We Australians have a tendency to spread ourselves out, when it comes to towns. A European town with the same population takes about a quarter of the space because they have building regulations which protect the countryside from human invasion. We do love to extend our suburbs, building a dream "home among the gumtrees" - until those trees catch fire. It seems a pity to blame it on the trees, and certainly a pity to deliberately exterminate all those native animal species, from the tiniest insects upwards, which depend on them. Eucalypt forests and woodlands are very species-rich. It would be a brave government, though, that told people they were not allowed to build homes on their outer suburban acreage estates.<br />Second, we would have to be sure that the environment would support a dry rainforest environment before trying to make a change. I have no idea what grows around Mogo or Nelligan, having never been to either place. What dry rainforest species already grow there? The idea of planting a a buffer of more fire-resistant trees is a good one, but it would need careful selection of plants to suit the environment. It can be possible to plant trees from different ecosystems, but they would have to be chosen carefully. It wouldn't work, to establish dry rainforests expecting them to need no aftercare, if the chosen trees turn out to have higher water needs or lower frost tolerance than the situation requires. Would the towns be prepared (or able) to maintain the buffer if it needs watering or frost protection on a permanent basis? <br />Thirdly, we need to ask whether it is our modern forest management practices that are a good part of the problem with Eucalypt forests. Forestry techniques sometimes seem to be ignoring their contribution to the fire problem, taking logs out of forests and leaving all the waste to dry on the forest floor, building up a huge fuel load. We might also not yet be using preventative burn-offs to the best effect. We are told that traditional Aboriginal fire management techniques, with regard to frequency and extent of the areas burned, prevented major runaway fires. No doubt there are people investigating this. Perhaps we just don't spend enough government money on best practice? There are also stories of government ministers interfering with the experts and ordering them not to burn because of complaints from voters about smoke.<br />Fourthly, of course there is the global warming thing. Throughout long-term time, changes in climate have meant changes in the ecosystem types any given area of land could support. Changes from forests to a more arid ecosystem type have probably always been accompanied by increased forest fire frequency until the forests eventually disappeared. The climate may eventually eliminate forest fires with no help from humans!<br />So yes, your question is a good one, but of easy answers there are none.<br />Trish<br />Patricia Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04892273329190235852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171765088403710716.post-85110293413088745112023-09-26T18:14:01.124-07:002023-09-26T18:14:01.124-07:00Hi, amazing article - would you suggest that we sh...Hi, amazing article - would you suggest that we should be replacing eucalyptus forests near urban towns with dry rainforests to act as fire breaks?<br />The fires that swept through the South Coast of NSW in the 2019-2020 bushfires really was frightening to watch.<br />I can't help but wonder if those towns like Mogo and Nelligan used deciduous trees in gardens and replaced the native eucalyptus forest that surrounded these towns with dry rainforests if they would have fared better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171765088403710716.post-78890689664481734922022-02-25T23:24:06.013-08:002022-02-25T23:24:06.013-08:00I enjoyed reading your advice, thank you Patricia,...I enjoyed reading your advice, thank you Patricia, RichardAlienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18324814869993989837noreply@blogger.com