Regeneration & Re-planting after Australia Fires

With the wildfires in Australia still burning and some areas contained and/or extinguished, what do we do next? Tons of habitats have been destroyed leaving wildlife with little to nothing to survive on. The thing is many of these trees and plants (specifically eucalyptus) can regenerate after fires as they have for many millenia. In fact they need the occasional fire for some seeds to "activate" for lack of a better word, and they can grow without much competition from other plants and grasses. But the intensity of some of the fires could have destroyed some of these seeds, roots, and shoots. That being said, do we intervene? Intervene by trying to do mass plantings of native Australian trees and plants to help accelerate the process to help the wildlife return to their natural and sustainable habitat, particularly koalas whose primary food source and living space are eucalyptus trees. In my opinion I think we should. Between volunteers, Australia's national guard ( or whatever their equivalent to that is ) and perhaps using local inmates from jails, people who are required to do community service for whatever reason, and even paying citizens for doing jobs like this (which along with planting, growing and tending to these plants in nurseries and greenhouses, and tending to them for a period of time after they are planted). I believe we could play a big role in helping to restore these habitats. Now a problem that could hinder this is the drought. A drought which started before the fires and is still going on with no end in sight in the near future. Trees such as the eucalyptus and others have evolved to be pretty drought resistant but they are going to need some decent moisture when they are first planted if they are going to have a chance to take root and thrive. I'm not going to sit here and say "it's all because of global warming!" Because the fact is its many different things. What do you all think? Should we intervene or leave things alone? And if we do intervene any other ideas on how we can do that? Or ideas/solutions on replanting during this drought? The article linked below talks about The different trees in Australia (including eucalyptus trees) and how they can regenerate after fires. Also talks about the koala bears survival and reasons we should replant and even replant in areas that are outside the burned areas to help with carbon storage like carbon sinks. (I'm kind of new and this is my first OP, so if I didn't place or embed the link correctly I apologize and if so mods could you fix? I'm doing this from a mobile thx!) Looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say

koalaclancy.wordpress.com...

It look`s like Australia has quite big groundwater reserves

www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au...

www.futuredirections.org.au...


So how about building tons of solar powered water oasis , you know where solar powered pumps suply water from ground. Water could be also stored a water tower and in emergency situations like now , could then used to help animals and for killing fires better.

Chinese scientist have also created some kind of paste for making their desert green, maybe that might help Australia also ? And if have both , the solar powered pumps and the Chinese paste it would probably work.

richardvanhooijdonk.com...

Not that i would be an expert on how to turn desert to green,so just a wild opinion . The fires has been to me very sad, the animals and human losses..this has really effected my feelings even thought i am so far from Australia myself , this has been big thing emotionally.

I have a go fund me to help go re plant.

originally posted by: Kenzo
It look`s like Australia has quite big groundwater reserves

www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au...

www.futuredirections.org.au...


So how about building tons of solar powered water oasis , you know where solar powered pumps suply water from ground. Water could be also stored a water tower and in emergency situations like now , could then used to help animals and for killing fires better.

Chinese scientist have also created some kind of paste for making their desert green, maybe that might help Australia also ? And if have both , the solar powered pumps and the Chinese paste it would probably work.

richardvanhooijdonk.com...

Not that i would be an expert on how to turn desert to green,so just a wild opinion . The fires has been to me very sad, the animals and human losses..this has really effected my feelings even thought i am so far from Australia myself , this has been big thing emotionally.

Seems shortsighted to me to use a finite resource to combat a endless cycle

Hears a idea admittedly a crazzy one

We not put the fires out ... Last I checked fire is part of a natural cycle

If people keep this type of thinking up we will cover the earth in flame retadent gmo trees ... if that sounds to insane look up gmo trees it's a thing people need to stop #ing with nature it knows what's it's doing far better than us

a reply to: BerkshireEntity

I couldn't read all of that because of the lack of paragraphs.

Would it make a difference if it was replanted?

I think the Earth has a system for regeneration & re-planting. It is likely to happen on it's own without our help.

The trees will regenerate the shrubs as well, fire is good for our flora. koalas are suffering a disease, they needed culling, reintroduce healthy koalas, chlamidya is destroying their population

www.discoverwildlife.com...
Scientists led by the University of Adelaide have discovered that koalas on Kangaroo Island are free from infection by Chlamydia pecorum, whereas it is estimated that about half of all koalas on the mainland are infected.

The Australian Koala Foundation names chlamydia as one of the leading causes of population decline in koalas, being the most significant disease-causing death, and a major factor in population threat in northeastern Australia.

Do nothing, maybe breed up a healthy fauna population, it will come back naturally in time. These animals are not hunted by anyone ever, just feral introduced cats and dogs

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Constructing coherent paragraphs is becoming a lost art. I imagine one day they will become like ancient Samurai sword forging where nobody knows how they did it.

Keep man away from re-planting and regeneration as they will only plant what they think is wanted. Leave things alone, it will regenerate itself. We've got too many people regenerating areas, re-introducing extinct species etc. They cause more trouble.

Thanks for the responses, and yeah I will make more use of paragraphs.
It is sad what's happening. Fires will happen with or without us. My father was a forest firefighter and he knows the importance of letting nature do it's thing and also the benefits of controlled burns so things don't get so out of control like they are now.

originally posted by: Kenzo
It look`s like Australia has quite big groundwater reserves

www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au...

www.futuredirections.org.au...


So how about building tons of solar powered water oasis , you know where solar powered pumps suply water from ground. Water could be also stored a water tower and in emergency situations like now , could then used to help animals and for killing fires better.

Chinese scientist have also created some kind of paste for making their desert green, maybe that might help Australia also ? And if have both , the solar powered pumps and the Chinese paste it would probably work.

richardvanhooijdonk.com...

Not that i would be an expert on how to turn desert to green,so just a wild opinion . The fires has been to me very sad, the animals and human losses..this has really effected my feelings even thought i am so far from Australia myself , this has been big thing emotionally.

They should plant money trees and breed unicorns, too.



Australia has groundwater reserves, but it is also big and mostly desert. If you pump up the groundwater, then spread it about, then it will also evaporate, leaving the same desert and no groundwater.

It all relates to how much water goes in, compared to how much goes out. If you empty the aquifers, they will be empty.

I know Tasmania is a different country but has anyone heard of any fires breaking out there? I ask because of its proximity to Australia, obviously it wouldn't jump that distance but are the climates similar?

My guess is probably not because it's not as arid unless they are experiencing a drought as well.

originally posted by: BerkshireEntity
I know Tasmania is a different country but has anyone heard of any fires breaking out there? I ask because of its proximity to Australia, obviously it wouldn't jump that distance but are the climates similar?

My guess is probably not because it's not as arid unless they are experiencing a drought as well.

Tasmania is a state of Australia, not a separate country.

It doesn't seem to have had so many large uncontrolled fires as NSW and Victoria.

People should just keep their hands away from nature and let it heal itself.. I expect humans the cause for these fires also.
Nature did well millions of years before humans came along.

It was 8th November last year when the fire raced through my neck of the woods. Turned everything around us black. The ground was scorched to bare rock and earth. Took out most of the village and surrounding rural selections. 83 homes lost. It's good to see the eucalyptus regenerating now. Bright green sprouting around ashen trees.

Another good byproduct of the fires here is that they took out pretty well all of the introduced species especially the impenetrable Lantana. I can only see native plants and pastures regenerating at present. Heavy rains last couple of days has cleared our creeks and filled dams again. Sad for the fauna but just yesterday while my wife and I were clearing up fallen wattles we spied a python curled up inside a char-coaled tree stump and plenty of roos, wallabies and bird life has returned.

The strong flora and fauna survive and I'm sure this time next year things will be pretty well back to how they were when we first bought our block over six years ago. Our rebuilding will be different this time around so our infrastructure won't interfere, as it did before the fire, too much with the surrounding bush.

Looking across the property and into the hills behind me I'm sure we won't have to worry about a large fire returning for some time.

Kind regards,

Bally

Having quite a bit of experience with ecology post-wildfire, I would say that you could replant, but would be wasting vast amounts of money and manpower. You will see in a few years, flush dense regrowth that will outpace anything you planted. It is a misplaced feel-good gesture at best in these circumstances.

In certain specific types of forests, it makes sense after logging, but after wildfire it almost never does. It is a very different mechanism with respect to soil disturbance and nutrient release.

a reply to: BerkshireEntity

The areas burned out during the fires is enormous, over 5 million hectares and 1 billion animals dead just in the state of New South Wales alone. There are currently 69 fires still burning in that state, with 19 of them uncontrolled. There were many endangered species of both flora and fauna in that region that are now gone. Regeneration will still happen but it will never be like it once was.

originally posted by: markovian

originally posted by: Kenzo
It look`s like Australia has quite big groundwater reserves

www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au...

www.futuredirections.org.au...


So how about building tons of solar powered water oasis , you know where solar powered pumps suply water from ground. Water could be also stored a water tower and in emergency situations like now , could then used to help animals and for killing fires better.

Chinese scientist have also created some kind of paste for making their desert green, maybe that might help Australia also ? And if have both , the solar powered pumps and the Chinese paste it would probably work.

richardvanhooijdonk.com...

Not that i would be an expert on how to turn desert to green,so just a wild opinion . The fires has been to me very sad, the animals and human losses..this has really effected my feelings even thought i am so far from Australia myself , this has been big thing emotionally.

Seems shortsighted to me to use a finite resource to combat a endless cycle

Hears a idea admittedly a crazzy one

We not put the fires out ... Last I checked fire is part of a natural cycle

If people keep this type of thinking up we will cover the earth in flame retadent gmo trees ... if that sounds to insane look up gmo trees it's a thing people need to stop #ing with nature it knows what's it's doing far better than us

Not putting the fires out is a bad idea. The fires are bad, ok?

originally posted by: BerkshireEntity
I know Tasmania is a different country but has anyone heard of any fires breaking out there? I ask because of its proximity to Australia, obviously it wouldn't jump that distance but are the climates similar?

My guess is probably not because it's not as arid unless they are experiencing a drought as well.

Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is in a different climate zone to the mainland, it is much cooler with protected natural forests. They still have fires and heat waves but not as bad as the mainland.

originally posted by: weirdguy

originally posted by: markovian

originally posted by: Kenzo
It look`s like Australia has quite big groundwater reserves

www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au...

www.futuredirections.org.au...


So how about building tons of solar powered water oasis , you know where solar powered pumps suply water from ground. Water could be also stored a water tower and in emergency situations like now , could then used to help animals and for killing fires better.

Chinese scientist have also created some kind of paste for making their desert green, maybe that might help Australia also ? And if have both , the solar powered pumps and the Chinese paste it would probably work.

richardvanhooijdonk.com...

Not that i would be an expert on how to turn desert to green,so just a wild opinion . The fires has been to me very sad, the animals and human losses..this has really effected my feelings even thought i am so far from Australia myself , this has been big thing emotionally.

Seems shortsighted to me to use a finite resource to combat a endless cycle

Hears a idea admittedly a crazzy one

We not put the fires out ... Last I checked fire is part of a natural cycle

If people keep this type of thinking up we will cover the earth in flame retadent gmo trees ... if that sounds to insane look up gmo trees it's a thing people need to stop #ing with nature it knows what's it's doing far better than us

Not putting the fires out is a bad idea. The fires are bad, ok?

Agree that fires are 'currently' bad. But we burn off around the block generally 2 x per fire season. In these cases fires are good. Sadly over the last couple of years the seasons were shortened and we couldn't reburn the litter. i.e. hazard reduction. This was due to fire bans.

The product was we lost our machinery shed and everything in it, a cabin and possessions inside, large carport, boat, 4 wheel drive, ride on mowers and much more. The fire got to the house but I managed to douse anything lighting up including the roof, patios and floors.

In this case fire would have been good if we were allowed to burn as prescribed over the last 2 years but all we got in response is complaints and bans. Sadly those that complained the most lost their houses. The bans overall led to this disaster. Too emotional. We aren't arsonists or pyromaniacs but have learned to use fire as a means of survival. Authorities have never prescribed to this thinking. Now they are.

It's simple really. Identify where there is a fuel build up. Check the terrain and demographics. Look to the weather, timing and wind direction (no wind or draft is a bonus). Light up so you can control a slow burn an hour before evening. Have some facilities nearby, eg, water containers or in my case a tank on a ute. Not 'rocket science' knowledge.

True example: Putting in a fire break along my neighbors boundary with that neighbor helping. 4 pm. No wind. Late July 2019. A car pulls up and the owner of a property a kilometer away gets out and starts yelling at us. Any explanation regarding a fire break was met with the threat out aloud and starts yelling at us about the smoke and habitat ect. Threatens to sue us. So that ended the burn.

We still have our house and the good neighbor's house who was helping and a couple of acres of fine solid trees with wildlife surviving. The complainer lost everything. That place is barren along with the half million dollar house. Now trying to explain this in it's simplest form is still met with agro. Along with the 83 houses and numerous outbuildings that were also lost. Had we continued our burn I'm sure I'd have saved a lot more but the threat of legal action regards smoke, ecology and asthma shut us down.

Us and our animals, wildlife and fauna did survive but we did lose a lot.

I'm glad it's over but we will rebuild and later this year, in season, burn off again. Not losing my house to the whims of environmental maniacs.

Kind regards,

Bally

a reply to: bally001

Nice to hear you are okay Bally, I was wondering. We are nearby you and the fires have been burning for close to six months here. This lovely rain we've had the last two days has been wonderful. I believe all of the Clarence Valley fires are now out.