Journal article
Evaluating long-term effects of prescribed fire regimes on carbon stocks in a temperate eucalypt forest
LT Bennett, C Aponte, TG Baker, KG Tolhurst
Forest Ecology and Management | Published : 2014
Abstract
Prescribed fires are a common management practice in the temperate forests of Australia, but effects on total forest carbon (C) of long-term prescribed fire regimes, involving multiple repeat fires, remain under-examined. This study quantified C stocks in multiple pools after 27. years of a long-term prescribed fire experiment in a mixed-species eucalypt forest in south-eastern Australia. The experimental design included five replications of each of five treatments - a long-unburnt Control, plus a factorial combination of two fire frequencies (c. 3-yearly 'High', c. 10-yearly 'Low'), and two fire seasons (Spring, Autumn) - encompassing up to 7 low-intensity repeat fires over the 27. years.Ov..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI). We thank many personnel from DEPI's (then) Environmental Policy and Climate Change, Land and Fire, and Forests and Parks Divisions for supporting the re-measurement of the fire-effects study. We also thank many current and past staff from the regional DEPI and from the University of Melbourne for maintaining, measuring, and documenting the prescribed fire treatments for over two decades, including J. Kellas, D. Oswin, A. Ashton, J. Najera, and N. Klaus. Special thanks to H. Shrestha, B. Smith, G. Szegedy, and N. Ahmady for their roles in soil and litter sampling and analyses.