Alexandra and all
I assume that the fire regime in the Top End before Aboriginal occupation
of Australia was one of hot fires caused by lightning strike and
occurring late in the year. And this is still the case in areas far away
from settlements. Edges of monsoon forest are burnt late in the year
to encourage flowering of fruit trees andI read somewhere that this was
thought to be in part responsible for shrinking of monsoon forest areas
in the Top End. But then again the introduced Passiflora foetida may
also play a part, its dried stems carrying fire into such areas.
As far as I know floodplain areas are burnt after cracks have appeared in
the ground but this depends. If people want to get rid of death adders
they'll fire beforehand so the snakes have nowhere to shelter. Esther
wanted to 'clean up' pandanus woodland while we were collecting colour
and pandanus at Kudjekbinj in September. But none of us had matches and
rubbing two sticks together is for the birds these days (ever tried it?
It's really hard work!).
Tropical eucalypts tend to be fire-tolerant rather than fire-encouraging
like temperate climate ones. Their leaves have a lower, less volatile
oil content and their barks do not decorticate in long, flammable
strands. So even when they do burn many animals survive especially
during the early to mid part of the year. However as eucalypts,
especially in rocky savannah woodland tend to be hollow they burn through
rather easily and annual fires might rid an area of such trees and the
shelter they provide to a whole range of animals.
A couple of pasture grasses have got a foothold in parts of the Top End
and they tend to carry fire late in the year.
Regards
Denise Goodfellow
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