A 3,000-year-old Huon pine and several high-conservation stands of ancient trees have been confirmed to be intact and undamaged by the bushfires impacting Tasmania’s rugged West Coast.
Intact Huon pine stand Harmon River
A team of natural values specialists from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) conducted an aerial assessment of impacts of the Yellowband Creek bushfire on 21 February.
NRE Tas Senior Ecologist Steve Leonard said the assessment consisted of a low-level helicopter flight of the length of the Harman and Wilson Rivers to observe fire impacts on vegetation. It confirmed that the main Huon pine stands along both rivers remained intact.
The only impacts on Huon pine observed were a handful of scorched trees on the lower Harman River, outside the main Huon pine stand. There is a reasonable chance that these trees will survive.
Across the Yellowband Plain fireground, rainforest boundaries have generally held such that impacts on rainforest are mostly confined to the margins.
“We were pretty excited after flying through the burnt landscape to come to this island of intact forest and see these magnificent old trees,” Dr Leonard said.
“These Huon pine forests have immense conservation significance, so their survival through this bushfire is a great outcome.”
Dr Leonard said the forests had managed to hold on in the landscape until now because they occur in areas of natural fire refuge.
“However we can’t just rely on natural fire protection and we’ve seen in the current and recent fires that actions like water bombing, retardant drops and sprinkler lines can be very effective in bolstering natural refuges and preventing fire impacts to these significant natural values.”
One tree in the Harman River stand has been dated to be around 3,000 years old. It is likely that there are a number of other trees within the Harman and Wilson River stands that are a similar age.
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) State Fire Manager Katy Edwards said water bombing had been used to bolster the natural fire protection of the stand.
“PWS fire crews have used the latest technology available to tackle the current bushfires. Our strategy remains focussed on early detection and rapid response,” Ms Edwards said.
“We use state-of-the art remote camera units coupled with satellite technology to detect dry lightning strikes and monitor for hotspots. We also conduct planned burns to reduce the risk of bushfires and help preserve ecosystems across our reserve estate.
“Planned burns in the West Coast area over recent years have proven effective at containing the edges and slowing the spread of a number of the current fires. Our winch crews have also been invaluable in getting into more remote fires quickly to contain their spread.”
This very large Huon pine is estimated to be around 3000 years old. It has remained intact during the current bushfire, which approached to about 30m. Targeted water bombing was deployed to protect this tree.