Bushfire Management Strategies for Vegetation Communities in Lane Cove Valley

ENV267/ENVS605 Assessment 1
Title:
Date:
Student name and student number:
Question:
Bushfires are a significant hazard in Lane Cove Valley. In the upper LCV, which vegetation
communities have been mapped as having an adverse fire regime? For these vegetation
communities, what fire management strategies and activities could you put in place to
achieve an optimum fire regime?
The Lane Cove Bational Park is beautiful pocket that has a pocket of bushland and it
is located on either side of the Lane Cove River. The national is locatd not far from the
Sydney’s city centre and is a perfect spot for school excursion and family day out. Due to the
combination of vegetataion, topography and climate the Sydney is a bushfire prone area
(nationalparks.nsw.gov.au 2018).
The vegetation communities that are mapped as having the adverse fire regime are the
freshwater wetlands (Rushland), Grasslands (no particular community is represented in the
reserves), heathlands (shrubland/ closed shrubland), Shrubby dry sclerophyll forests (Malllee
open woodland/Open woodland/ Sydney Peppermint Woodland, Red Bloodwood, E.
paniculata, E.piperita, E. haemastoma, Turpentine forest or Blackbutt, E. globoideam, A.
costata), grassy dry sclerophyll forests, Sclerophyll grassy woodlands, semi-mesic grassy
forests, wet sclerophyll forests (Blue Gum high forest- weed growth & dense mesic fern),
saline wetlands (Mangrove), Saline wetlands (Grey mangrove low closed forest), rainforest
communities (Coachwood simple rainforest) (environment.nsw.gov.au 2018).
The first and important step prior to suggesting any strategy regarding the fire
management for the vegetation communities is to designate the fire interval status of the
vegetation. The various levels that can be formed are: over 50 percent of the community is
burned (if over 50 percent of the vegetation community is over burnt), over burnt (if the
community is burnt less than the minimum levels of threshold of two or more times in
succession), vulnerable (if a particular vegetation community has experienced a one interval
less), recently burnt (vegetation community that has recently experienced fire), within
threshold (if fire occurs this vegetation will get burnt instantly), long un-burnt (the vegetation
communities have not burnt for several years) (environment.nsw.gov.au 2018).
It is important to note that the bushfires are bound to occur due to the unplanned
human ignitions, fires start accidentally from the machinery, power lines, and abandoned
campfires. Thus, it is always the best option to manage fires in a multi-pronged way.
Bushfire prevention strategies- the fire investigators can work along with the NSW
FB, RFS and the local police to effectively investigate all the suspicious activities that are
occurring within the reserves; in order to stop fire from spreading within the reserves, the best
option is to close part of the reserves or parts of the reserved can be banned to prevent
damage occurring from the extended fire; Al the major public entrances must have the fire
danger signage in order to promote public awareness during the days of extreme fire danger;
patrolling the reserve area to search the perimeter of ant wildfires during the onset of the
extreme seasons; fire trails gates can be installed and the wherever necessary and the key