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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Size/age distribution and vegetative recovery of Eucalyptus niphophila (snowgum, Myrtaceae) one year after fire in Kosciuszko National Park

Catherine Marina Pickering A B and Kristy Barry A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld 9726, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: c.pickering@griffith.edu.au

Australian Journal of Botany 53(6) 517-527 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT04117
Submitted: 11 August 2004  Accepted: 26 May 2005   Published: 30 September 2005

Abstract

Size/age distribution and vegetative regeneration were examined for 50 Eucalyptus niphophila Maiden & Blakely trees in each of eight subalpine sites in Kosciuszko National Park 1 year after the January–February 2003 bushfires. Trees sampled were generally large and mature, with an average of 2.5 trunks, lignotuber diameter of 54 cm and largest trunk diameter of 18 cm, with a few larger trees at all sites. Converting the girth of largest trunk into rough age estimates by using an existing regression formula gave an approximate minimum (~29 years), maximum (~186 years), median (~58 years) and average age of ~64 years (error of ~15 years). For trees with trunks after fire, 96.5% had lost all existing leaves. Nearly all trees (95%) had shoots from the lignotuber, but only 4.25% of trees had also epicormic shoots on trunks and stems. Size/age were related to some but not all measures of regeneration. In the future, existing trunks could senesce, with nearly all regrowth from the lignotubers. This could result in a change from open woodlands with large/old trees with a few trunks to closed woodlands of lower-growing trees with a mallee form.


Acknowledgments

We thank New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service for access to the field sites. The authors also thank Mr Brian Smith for assistance in the field, Mr Michael Arthur for statistical advice and Wendy Hill, Roger Good, Dane Wimbush and Alex Costin for commenting on a draft of this manuscript. The comments of two anonymous reviewers are also appreciated.


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