Over Half Of Gondwana Rainforest Affected By Record Bushfires Plus 100s Of Rare/Endangered Species
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Among the fires were ones that raged along the NSW and Queensland border. Here lie patches of rare, ancient rainforest that make up sections of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area (GRAWHA).
A UNESCO site, the GRAWHA contains the most extensive remaining stands of subtropical rainforest in the world, as well as the largest areas of warm temperate rainforest in Australia. However, this distinction may now be in jeopardy as the Australian government says that over half of the GRAWHA has been affected by this season’s bushfires.
Fire is extremely rare in any rainforest. However, David Keith, Professor of Botany at the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW, said particular conditions were met in the border region that enabled the forest to burn. “[A] severe and extended drought preceded the fires [and] caused moisture levels in soils and vegetation to decline to historically low levels,” he said. “Severe fire weather on particular days, in combination with low moisture levels, created a rare window of flammability.”
Keith identified the Nightcap Range in NSW and the Lamington plateau in Queensland as being among the most affected. “The forests are burnt, severely in some places, but not lost,” he said. “Where fire has killed tree canopies, it causes major reorganisation of the rainforest that will require many decades or more than a century to recover. “In other areas, the impacts may be confined to the edges of large forest patches or to the rainforest understory, which has the capacity to recover more rapidly, given follow up rains.”
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https://news.mongabay.com/2020/02/fallout-threatened-species-in-australia-continue-to-struggle-after-fires/
