Collapse rates of hollow-bearing trees following low intensity prescription burns in the Pilliga forests, New South Wales

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Parnaby ◽  
Daniel Lunney ◽  
Ian Shannon ◽  
Mike Fleming
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Burnt Areas ◽  
The Impact

Hollows in trees are recognized as a critical and threatened resource for a wide range of fauna in Australian forests and woodlands, yet little data are available on the impact of fire on hollow-bearing trees. We report an opportunistic, post-fire assessment of the proportion of burnt, hollow-bearing trees that collapsed in stands near roads following low intensity prescription burns in three areas of mixed eucalypt forest in the Pilliga forests. Mean collapse rates on 29 plots (40 by 50m), separated by burn Area, ranged from 14?26% for a total of 329 burnt hollow-bearing trees. Collapse rates on individual plots ranged from 0?50%. Collapsed, hollow-bearing trees were predominantly older, with 40% of senescent trees and 44% of live stags collapsing. The best predictor in models of tree collapse was the presence of a basal fire entry point. We cannot determine the extent to which collapse rates on our plots are representative of burnt areas away from containment roads due to sampling limitations, but they appear to be higher than those reported from wildfire and more intense prescription burns in southern Australia. Our results point to an urgent need for comprehensively designed studies to address the impacts of prescribed burns on hollow-bearing trees.

Mistletoes increasing in eucalypt forest near Eden, New South Wales

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Turner ◽  
Peter Smith
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
New South ◽  
Natural Cycle ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Boom And Bust

Mistletoe proliferation has contributed to eucalypt decline in rural lands in south-eastern Australia, but has seldom been recorded within forests. We report here on mistletoes increasing deep inside extensive eucalypt forest near Eden. Mistletoes (chiefly Amyema pendula (Sieber ex Spreng.) Tiegh., some Muellerina eucalyptoides (DC.) Barlow) were counted in 180 plots in various logging and burning treatments within a long-term experimental area. In 141.4 ha, there were 516 mistletoes in 1990–1991, and 1478 mistletoes in 2004–2006. The number of trees with mistletoes increased (doubling in logged coupes and almost tripling in unlogged coupes), and the number of mistletoes per tree increased (by ~30%). However, mistletoe prevalence remained low in 2004–2006 (2.7% of trees in logged coupes and 3.7% in unlogged coupes). Intensive logging limited the increase in mistletoe-bearing trees, probably because there were fewer trees available in logged coupes, but had no significant effect on the increase in mistletoes per tree. Low-intensity prescribed burns had no significant effect on mistletoe numbers, even with a high frequency of burning, probably because of their low scorch heights. We suggest that the observed increase in mistletoes in this forest, rather than indicating an ecological imbalance, is part of a natural cycle of boom and bust, with populations crashing in severe wildfires.

Seed production and seedling emergence of Giant Parramatta grass on the north coast of New South Wales

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
TS Andrews ◽  
RDB Whalley ◽  
CE Jones
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Seed Fall ◽  
The Impact

Inputs and losses from Giant Parramatta grass [GPG, Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. major (Buse) Baaijens] soil seed banks were quantified on the North Coast of New South Wales. Monthly potential seed production and actual seed fall was estimated at Valla during 1991-92. Total potential production was >668 000 seeds/m2 for the season, while seed fall was >146000 seeds/m2. Seed fall >10000 seeds/m2.month was recorded from January until May, with further seed falls recorded in June and July. The impact of seed production on seed banks was assessed by estimating seed banks in the seed production quadrats before and after seed fall. Seed banks in 4 of the 6 sites decreased in year 2, although seed numbers at 1 damp site increased markedly. Defoliation from mid-December until February, April or June prevented seed production, reducing seed banks by 34% over 7 months. Seed banks in undefoliated plots increased by 3300 seeds/m2, although seed fall was estimated at >114 000 seeds/m2. Emergence of GPG seedlings from artificially established and naturally occurring, persistent seed banks was recorded for 3 years from bare and vegetated treatment plots. Sown seeds showed high levels of innate dormancy and only 4% of seeds emerged when sown immediately after collection. Longer storage of seeds after collection resulted in more seedlings emerging. Estimates of persistent seed banks ranged from 1650 to about 21260 seeds/m2. Most seedlings emerged in spring or autumn and this was correlated with rainfall but not with ambient temperatures. Rates of seed bank decline in both bare and vegetated treatment plots was estimated by fitting exponential decay curves to seed bank estimates. Assuming no further seed inputs, it was estimated that it would take about 3 and 5 years, respectively, for seed banks to decline to 150 seeds/m2 in bare and vegetated treatments.

Up the Garden Path? Enterprise Bargaining and Decentralization in the NSW Public Sector

1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O'Donnell
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
New South ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Impact

Decentralizing industrial relations within New South Wales is a central recom mendation of the Niland Green Paper (1989). Decentralism also represents the cornerstone of the New South Wales government's industrial relations reform agenda enshrined in the New South Wales Industrial Relations Act 1991. To date there has been little analysis of the impact o f this legislative change on industrial relations in the New South Wales public sector. This paper provides a case study that examines the degree to which responsibility for bargaining has been devolved within the Parks and Gardens of the New South Wales Ministry for the Environ ment. It argues that, in contrast to the rhetoric of the New South Wales Act, the central agency presiding over the introduction of enterprise bargaining in the public sector, the Public Employment and Industrial Relations Authority; has been reluctant to delegate responsibility to parties in the workplace.

scholarly journals Municipal Responses to COVID-19: the case of library closures in New South Wales local government

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Andrea Wallace ◽  
Brian Dollery
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Community Wellbeing ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Library Use ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New South Wales (NSW) government ordered the closure of all municipal libraries in order to limit the impact of the contagion. As a result, 372 public libraries in NSW ceased operation on the 23rd March 2020. While the closure of public libraries will undoubtedly contribute to restricting the spread of the coronavirus, given the pivotal role played by municipal libraries in local communities, as well as the special characteristics of library patrons, it will have other negative consequences. In this paper we consider the impact of the closure of municipal libraries in NSW from two perspectives: (a) its effect on the fiscal circumstances of local authorities and (b) its impact on the spread of the corona contagion as well as its broader effects on local community wellbeing. We conclude that rather than complete closure, partial constraints on library use should have been considered.

Impacts of wildfires on the 2020 floods in southeast Australia: A vegetation data-assimilation case study  using the NASA coupled LIS/WRF-Hydro system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Lahmers ◽  
Sujay Kumar ◽  
Aubrey Dugger ◽  
David Gochis ◽  
Joseph Santanello
Keyword(s):  
Data Assimilation ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Area Index ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Land Information System ◽  
The Impact

<div> <p>In late 2019 widespread wildfires impacted much of the New South Wales province in south east Australia, and this loss of vegetation contributed to increased surface runoff and consequently major flooding caused by extreme rainfall by early 2020. The recently developed NASA LIS/WRF-Hydro system enables the data assimilation (DA) capabilities of the NASA Land Information System (LIS) and the surface hydrological modeling capabilities of the WRF-Hydro model to be combined in a single model architecture. Combining the DA capabilities of the LIS system with WRF-Hydro, which has been used for both research and operational hydrologic simulations, we investigate the impacts of vegetation DA on the simulated floods in several basins across New South Wales, with varying degrees of burn severity from the 2019 fires. We also consider the impacts of the wildfires, as realized through vegetation DA on water partitioning and the surface energy budget, which both have implications for L-A interactions. For DA, we utilize the leaf area index retrievals from MODIS and vegetation optical depth from SMAP. For the present study, we will quantify the impact of the changes to the landscape brought about by the wildfires on hydrologic response, including flood severity, which would not be possible without the DA capabilities of the LIS/WRF-Hydro system.</p> </div>

The effect of sowing rate on the yield and composition of wheat grown on soils of high fertility in southern New South Wales

1963 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 114 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD Colwell
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Seeding Rate ◽  
Fertilizer Response ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wide Range

The effects of the different sowing rates of 20, 40, and 60 lb of seed an acre on the yield, bushel weight, composition, and response to fertilizers, of wheat grown on soils of high fertility has been studied in seven field experiments in the wheat-belt of southern New South Wales. Seasonal conditions ranged from drought to lush growing conditions and in addition one experiment was irrigated to reduce the effects of moisture stress on plant growth. Yields ranged from 10 to 70 bushels of wheat an acre and fertilizer treatments gave both positive and negative effects. For the wide range of growth conditions, variation in seeding rate had only small and non-significant effects on grain yields, with the exception of the irrigated experiment where a consistent trend indicated the need for higher seeding rates for maximum yield. Effects of the seeding rates on grain size and composition and fertilizer response, were negligible. Losses in potential grain yield, caused by the exhaustion of soil moisture reserves by excessive vegetative growth of high fertility soils before grain development has been completed, does not seem to be reduced appreciably by the use of low seeding rates.

scholarly journals Impact of the Four-Hour Rule policy on emergency medical services delays in Australian EDs: a longitudinal cohort study

2020 ◽  
pp. emermed-2019-208958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Wing Young Man ◽  
Roberto Forero ◽  
Hanh Ngo ◽  
David Mountain ◽  
Gerard FitzGerald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Hospital Data ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Meta Regression Analysis ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionDelayed handover of emergency medical services (EMS) patients to EDs is a major issue with hospital crowding considered a primary cause. We explore the impact of the 4-hour rule (the Policy) in Australia, focusing on ambulance and ED delays.MethodsEMS (ambulance), ED and hospital data of adult patients presenting to 14 EDs from 2002 to 2013 in three jurisdictions were linked. Interrupted time series ‘Before-and-After’ trend analysis was used for assessing the Policy’s impact. Random effects meta-regression analysis was examined for associations between ambulance delays and Policy-associated ED intake, throughput and output changes.ResultsBefore the Policy, the proportion of ED ambulances delayed increased between 1.1% and 1.7% per quarter across jurisdictions. After Policy introduction, Western Australia’s increasing trend continued but Queensland decreased by 5.1% per quarter. In New South Wales, ambulance delay decreased 7.1% in the first quarter after Policy introduction. ED intake (triage delay) improved only in New South Wales and Queensland. Each 1% ambulance delay reduction was significantly associated with a 0.91% reduction in triage delay (p=0.014) but not ED length of stay ≤4 hours (p=0.307) or access-block/boarding (p=0.605) suggesting only partial improvement in ambulance delay overall.ConclusionThe Policy was associated with reduced ambulance delays over time in Queensland and only the immediate period in New South Wales. Associations may be due to local jurisdictional initiatives to improve ambulance performance. Strategies to alleviate ambulance delay may need to focus on the ED intake component. These should be re-examined with longer periods of post-Policy data.

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