Fire management strategies for Pinus radiata plantations near urban areas

The western suburbs of Canberra were established in the 1970s adjacent to the Stromlo pine plantation with interface treeless buffer widths of between 55 and 82 m. Bushfires in 2001 and 2003 that burnt through Stromlo plantation provide information about the threats from bushfires in radiata pine plantations to houses and the effectiveness of some plantation fire management practices close to urban areas. This paper reviews the scientific basis for fire management in Pinus radiata plantations and provides information about fire management strategies and the specific measures that were in place in the Stromlo plantation. It reviews the 2001 and 2003 bushfires and their impacts on the Stromlo plantation and adjacent urban assets, as well as the effects of fuel management undertaken prior to the 2003 bushfire. The 2001 bushfire, burning under a Forest Fire Danger Index of 38, destroyed 500 ha of the plantation without any losses of urban assets. The 2003 bushfire, burning under a Forest Fire Danger Index of 102 destroyed the remaining 1800 ha of plantation and 250 houses in the suburbs adjacent to the plantation. Forty-three percent of houses in the 125-152-m-wide plantation ember zone at the urban interface were destroyed, apparently as a result of heavy ember attack. The width of the existing buffers had little impact on the proportion of houses lost. A low-intensity prescribed burn conducted in 2001 reduced the fire intensity in the plantation but did not reduce the proportion of adjacent houses that were destroyed. Drawing on this information, the paper identifies where further research is needed and recommends minimum buffers of 150 m between pine plantations and urban assets in order to reduce the risk of house losses from ember attack during intense bushfires.