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Prescribed Burning To Commence In Gippsland

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) is preparing to commence the annual prescribed burning program in State forests and National Parks across Gippsland.

By Department of Sustainability and Environment - 25th February 2004 - Back to News

Recent rainfalls and the current mild weather mean conditions are becoming suitable for these specialised burning operations.

Prescribed burns fall in to three categories: fuel reduction burns, regeneration burns and ecological burns.

• Fuel reduction burns assist in making bushfires easier to control during the hotter months and to protect neighbouring properties around National Parks and State Forests.

• Regeneration burning is an important part of the commercial forest management cycle. For a number of forest types in Victoria, fire is the best option for helping to ensure new forests are successfully established after timber harvesting. Burning not only provides an ideal seed bed for germination, but it also helps the regenerating forest to maximise access to nutrients and water.

• Ecological burns are carried out to protect and promote populations of threatened species of native flora and fauna, such as the New Holland Mouse and some rare species of orchid. These species are adapted to and respond to fire.

Prescribed burns are carried out in autumn when weather conditions are mild. The day of the burn needs to be warm enough to burn, but avoiding humid conditions which would hamper efforts to burn. Windy conditions and days when it is too hot and dry are also avoided.

Regional Fire Prevention Coordinator, Tony Dowler said that there will be approximately 385 prescribed burns to complete across Gippsland this autumn.

"These burns will be conducted from Noojee in the west of the region to Cann River in the east and comprise 150 fuel reduction burns, 190 regeneration burns and 45 ecological burns," Mr Dowler said.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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