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I was interested to read Ben Whitworth's and Mark Clayton's comments
regarding local land clearing and controlled burns – food for thought. To
state the obvious, it's a subject far from immune from controversy.
I'm often challenged by the question: Australian plants have evolved to
survive fire and recover well, often with seemingly renewed vigor. In fact many
seeds require fire in order to germinate, so what's so bad about a bit of
controlled burning. So what's the answer in a nutshell? I want to put it in my
mental file for future reference at short notice.
Good to be reminded that Acacia baileyana provides food for
Superb Parrots. I've often sided with the opinion (expressed on this chat line
just a couple of days back) that introduced plants can be important for
birds.
Some years ago, while walking on Black Mountain, a David Bellamy type
hurled his pack down, threw his arms out with palms upturned, rolled his eyes
towards the firmament and bellowed like a lovelorn camel. I thought Black
Mountain's formidable Formicidae had encroached upon his sensitivities. With
that he tore a seedling A. baileyana from the ground and held it
triumphantly as if he'd captured the botanical equivalent of Osama Bin Laden. I
gave him a ten-second verbal burst, primarily because he spattered me with
moist earth and, secondly, because I have a low tolerance for such silly
histrionics as I believe (probably a no-brainer) they do nothing to advance
the cause of reasonable, erudite conservationists.
John K. Layton
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