{"title":"OzCBI: the composite burn index adapted to assess fire severity and key fauna habitat features in Australian ecosystems","authors":"V. Densmore, R. van Dongen, R. Ong, B. Harris","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2023.2168400","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2023.2168400","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Although fire management is essential to conserve ecosystems and protect communities in Australia, the best way to achieve these goals is controversial. Recent advances that use satellite imagery to map fire severity focus on canopy effects and provide limited ecological information. Fires and prescribed burns can also occur over weeks to months, limiting the relevance of a single post-fire image. We adapted the composite burn index, a field-truthing method commonly used in North America, to include parsimonious metrics that assess resprouting dynamics common among Australian eucalypts and the retention and recovery of key fauna habitat attributes. We used multitemporal satellite imagery to compile the greatest impacts within fire boundaries over several months and derive the maximum differenced normalised burn ratio (dNBR max). We used the dNBR max and a new field method, the OzCBI, to create distinct fire-severity models for three forested biogeographical regions in southwest Western Australia. Ecological outcomes were used to set thresholds between severity classes that were common to the three models. Balanced accuracies averaged above 0.7 across the models. This study demonstrates a practical method to incorporate ecological assessment into fire-severity maps. The approach informs efforts to achieve best-practice fire management that balances risk reduction and the conservation of natural environments. Key policy highlights The OzCBI is a parsimonious method for relating key habitat features to distinct fire-severity classes. Different biogeographic regions require distinct models relating satellite imagery and field-truthing. Multitemporal imagery increases the accuracy of severity maps when fires burn over extended periods (weeks to months).","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45280297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"List of reviewers in 2022","authors":"Julie Cantrill","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2023.2204016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2023.2204016","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135754739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Ivkovich, G. Dutkowski, T. McRae, P. Buxton, J. Sasse, S. Elms
{"title":"Scaling of estimated breeding values for stand productivity in the Australian Pinus radiata breeding program","authors":"M. Ivkovich, G. Dutkowski, T. McRae, P. Buxton, J. Sasse, S. Elms","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2023.2178706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2023.2178706","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The radiata pine tree improvement program in Australia estimates breeding values for selection criteria traits (SCTs) such as diameter at breast height and height, as measured in progeny trials. The data in each trial are standardised so that estimated breeding values (EBVs) are expressed in units of additive genetic standard deviations. EBVs for harvest-age breeding objective traits (BOTs), such as stand volume mean annual increment (VMAI), are predicted from the SCT EBVs and expressed in measurement units. BOTs are not routinely measured in progeny trials because it would prolong the generation interval. However, the slope of the relationship between VMAI and BOT EBV provides an estimate of the scale of VMAI EBVs. This slope was estimated using 26 block-plot realised-gain trials with stand total produced basal area (TPBA) measurements near age ten years and 11 trials with final VMAI measurements between 15 and 25 years extrapolated to a harvest age of 25. In all trials, EBVs were positively correlated with growth, demonstrating substantial realised genetic gains. At age ten years, on average, one standard deviation of BOT EBV corresponded to a realised gain in TPBA of 3.7 m2 ha−1 and an additive coefficient of variation (CVA) of 11.2%. At the harvest age of 25 years, one standard deviation in EBV corresponded on average to realised gains in VMAI of 4.2 m3 ha−1 y−1 and a CVA of 15.0%. Methods for incorporating estimated genetic gains into growth and yield modelling and forest valuations are discussed.","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48583504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. A. S. TibÚrcio, A. L. Bacha, P. Alves, T. P. Salgado
{"title":"Long-term growth response to weed-control strips in Eucalyptus urograndis plantations in Brazil","authors":"R. A. S. TibÚrcio, A. L. Bacha, P. Alves, T. P. Salgado","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2023.2167155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2023.2167155","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Several studies have reported the effect of weed competition on eucalypt plantations, but most have focused on initial growth. The aim of the study reported here was to evaluate the long-term growth response of Eucalyptus urograndis in weed-control strips of different widths and its competitive performance in a rotation area over seven years. An experiment was conducted in a commercial area (12 960 m2) in Eunápolis, Bahia, Brazil. The treatments consisted of weed-control strips with the following widths on both sides of eucalypt planting lines maintained for the first six months of crop cultivation: 0 cm (weedy check control); 25 cm; 50 cm; 75 cm; 100 cm; 125 cm; 150 cm; 175 cm; and 200 cm (weed-free control). The 125-cm weed-control strip obtained the best eucalypt growth performance after seven years, with a gain of 61.8% compared with the weedy check control. The competitiveness index of E. urograndis tended to increase after the first two years of cultivation, the period in which the interference caused by weeds was most accentuated.","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42100183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vale Adrian Norman Goodwin","authors":"A. Warner","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2023.2205301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2023.2205301","url":null,"abstract":"Adrian Goodwin was a highly valued associate editor of Australian Forestry for nearly ten years. In this role he was responsive, efficient and constructive—he clearly wanted to help contributors in their efforts to publish high-quality science, and he provided valuable and detailed comments and advice. Australian Forestry’s associate editors are volunteers, and they are essential for ensuring the high quality of published papers. Adrian’s contributions were greatly appreciated and will be sorely missed. The following obituary, written by Andy Warner, was published originally in The Forester. Adrian Goodwin was a gifted biometrician who had the unique talents of a disciplined statistical approach coupled with a keen interest in practical applications of complex growth and yield models in tree-related applications.","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45696152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interaction of site, spacing, weed control and fertiliser in Pinus radiata plantations in southeast New South Wales","authors":"P. Green, J. Turner, S. Turner","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2023.2170853","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2023.2170853","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Two trials addressing soil preparation, weed control, fertiliser application and planting density were established on dry, high-elevation sites as part of a program to develop site-specific management. The sites differed in soils and the level of pasture improvement. The objectives included identifying treatment combinations that had greatest productivity and best stem and branch form, considering that poor stem form is an issue on pasture sites. The trials were assessed at 13 years of age. Volume production was high compared with a plantation established earlier on a native forest site, but it was not possible to determine whether this was a result of higher survival, higher nutrition, improved weed control or improved genetics. There was little difference in the effects of soil preparation treatments, and there was no effect at 13 years of the small early-fertiliser application. Weed control was important, with effects on volume production varying between sites and having a greater effect on the highly improved pasture site. Increasing stocking from 1000 stems ha−1 to 1500 stems ha−1 increased volume production by about 24% where weed control was applied. There were differences in stem and branch form between sites, and the highly improved pasture site had a higher level of multi-leaders, probably attributable to low boron. The study shows the value of small, standardised silvicultural trials in the development of site-specific management.","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48812021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. X. Tran, J. Doland Nichols, D. Li, N. Le, S. Lawson
{"title":"Seasonal flight and genetic distinction among Xylosandrus crassiusculus populations invasive in Australia","authors":"H. X. Tran, J. Doland Nichols, D. Li, N. Le, S. Lawson","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2022.2151722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2022.2151722","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Xylosandrus crassiusculus is an invasive Asian-origin ambrosia beetle that has spread across many regions of the world, including first records in Queensland, Australia, in 2011 and New Zealand in 2019. To determine the seasonal flight activity of this species in Australia, panel traps using quercivorol + ethanol lures were placed at three study sites in New South Wales. This trapping yielded 1173 beetles, consisting of 21 species from three tribes (Xyleborini, Cryphalini and Hylurgini). Xylosandrus crassiusculus contributed almost half the total number of beetles captured over a period of 12 months, mainly driven by catches at one site. The trapping showed a seasonal peak of X. crassiusculus in late March and early April. The genetic relationships between the Australian and New Zealand specimens of X. crassiusculus were compared with other populations across the world. Phylogenetic analysis of the Australian X. crassiusculus populations showed that the beetle population in Queensland was similar to those found in New Zealand and countries in the Americas (Clade I), while the New South Wales population was closely related to Southeast Asian populations (Clade II). This divergence of genetic populations in Australia infers independent introductions of X. crassiusculus into Australia.","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44453591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. J. Carnegie, A. Kathuria, M. Nagel, P. Mitchell, C. Stone, M. Sutton
{"title":"Current and future risks of drought-induced mortality in Pinus radiata plantations in New South Wales, Australia","authors":"A. J. Carnegie, A. Kathuria, M. Nagel, P. Mitchell, C. Stone, M. Sutton","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2022.2145722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2022.2145722","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Drought is a regular feature of Australian landscapes, and its intensity and frequency are likely to increase in a changing climate. Land managers are grappling with managing the impacts of drought, with large-scale die-offs occurring more frequently in forests globally. Drought-induced tree mortality has caused major impacts in Pinus radiata plantations in New South Wales, Australia, with extended drought, heatwaves and pest and disease attacks all recognised as predisposing, inciting or contributing factors. The extent and severity of drought-induced tree mortality has been mapped across the Pinus plantation estate in New South Wales annually since 1996. In this study, we used this long-term empirical data to develop a model of drought risk for P. radiata plantations. Using random forest, we identified site index, annual temperature, annual rainfall, elevation and increasing number of hot days (above 20°C and 35°C) as the influencing variables associated with drought-induced tree mortality. We then used this model to look at the risk of drought-induced tree mortality under climate-change scenarios in 2050 and 2070. Although forest managers already understand the drought risk in their estates, we developed an empirical model and produced GIS layers at high resolution (100 m) to assist in more accurately and effectively managing drought. The accuracy and precision of our model (overall accuracy 89.2%, kappa 0.75) enables forest managers to include it in their decision-making in the management of the potential impacts of drought on the current plantation estate (e.g. via modified silvicultural regimes) as well as in the future (e.g. modified silvicultural regimes or planting drought-tolerant genotypes).","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48265860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. J. Carnegie, S. Callaghan, M. Laurence, K. Plett, J. Plett, P. Green, O. Wildman, A. Daly, B. Summerell
{"title":"Response to the detection of an exotic fungal pathogen, Fusarium commune, in a Pinus radiata production nursery in Australia","authors":"A. J. Carnegie, S. Callaghan, M. Laurence, K. Plett, J. Plett, P. Green, O. Wildman, A. Daly, B. Summerell","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2022.2145643","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2022.2145643","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Early detection of exotic pests is key to a timely response for enabling options for eradication and future management. It is widely recognised that engaging the public and industry in general surveillance significantly increases the chance of detecting newly arrived pests and pathogens. Once a new pest or pathogen is detected, Australia has guidelines to follow via the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed and PLANTPLAN. This paper describes the detection of unusual symptoms in a Pinus radiata production nursery in New South Wales, Australia, and the subsequent response. The unusual symptoms were detected in early January 2021 by nursery staff and reported immediately to biosecurity authorities. The nursery was placed under quarantine as a precaution. Within five weeks, Fusarium commune was diagnosed from the samples, a known pathogen of conifers not previously recorded in Australia. Formal biosecurity processes were enacted immediately to determine whether the pathogen was an emergency plant pest and whether eradication was necessary and technically feasible. Quarantine and movement restrictions continued, such that no seedlings could leave the site other than for ongoing diagnosis and under biosecure protocols. Tracing was conducted to determine the distribution of the pathogen and a potential source, including ongoing sampling in production nurseries, diagnosis of planting media and seed, and diagnosis of root and soil eDNA samples collected in previous years. Fusarium commune was recovered at a very low frequency from two nurseries, primarily in association with healthy seedlings. Root and soil samples collected from nurseries and plantations between 2019 and 2020 tested negative for the presence of F. commune using F. commune-specific primers. Pathogenicity tests revealed that F. commune did not cause wilting or significant disease on tested seedlings. Overall, evidence suggested that F. commune did not pose a serious threat to the P. radiata industry. The Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests determined that F. commune was not a significant pathogen and that no further action was warranted. The affected nursery was allowed to resume operations in mid-May 2021, in time for the winter planting season. Here we discuss the lessons from this response, including the benefits of a quick and timely response, cross-institutional collaboration, the potential threat to the forest industry, and the need to encourage greater general surveillance. These lessons can help in the event of an incursion of a serious pathogen such as F. circinatum (pine pitch canker).","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47049019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Forest health and biosecurity in a changing world","authors":"A. Carnegie, S. Lawson, J. Mason, H. Nahrung","doi":"10.1080/00049158.2022.2142373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2022.2142373","url":null,"abstract":"Australia’s forest industry faces significant challenges to ensure it is prepared to meet existing, emerging and new forest health and biosecurity threats in a changing world. Increasing volumes and diversification of trade and travel are escalating the risk of exotic pests establishing in Australia, and climate change is predicted to affect host susceptibility to pests and pathogens and increase the frequency and intensity of droughts and fires, which can cause significant forest losses. Yet, as these risks are increasing, Australia’s technical capacity in forest health and biosecurity is declining. Together, this substantially weakens our ability to identify and respond to biosecurity threats, solve emerging forest health issues and manage ongoing pest risks – all crucial for sustainable forest productivity and market access. The papers presented in this themed edition of Australian Forestry address key issues relating to these broad topics.","PeriodicalId":55426,"journal":{"name":"Australian Forestry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44678908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}