plant responses to fire
- To: ,
- Subject: plant responses to fire
- From: J*
- Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 10:15:49 -0700
The California Association of Fire Ecologists has a web page of information
sources at http://www.ice.ucdavis.edu/cafe/tab_info_main.html
Among other things there is a link to the Fire Effects Information System
database, which describes fire behavior for hundreds of native species,
mostly trees and shrubs of North America.
-----Original Message-----
From: Trevor Nottle <trevorn@torrens.tafe.sa.edu.au>
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000 4:32 PM
Subject: Bushfires everywhere
>Dear All
>
>Having seen just last week TV news footage of the severe bushfires/ wild
>fires in Greece and elsewhere I thought it may be timely have a discussion
>about the ways of gardening, and the kinds of plants that can be used to
>reduce the risks of fire damage. We had very severe bushfires here in 1983
>that burnt out several thousand hectares of national park and dozens of
>homes and businesses in the suburbs on the perimeter, as well as destroying
>many farms and hundreds of cattle and sheep and horses. After the fire an
>official enquiry was held and the results were made public - as far as I
>know these were in precis form only as the full report carried a lot of
>'sensitive' cost breakdowns relevant to the productivity of the insurance
>industry.
>
>Among the most interesting results were the studies of the way the fires
>travelled, the fuel loads and the burn rates of different plants and trees.
>One suggestion put forward was that broad leaved deciduous trees were far
>less likely to ignite or burn than evergreen trees, esp. pines, with high
>levels of combustible saps and resins. Another was that succulent or
>semi-succulent ground covering plants used in broad carpets (and kept free
>of pine needles, pine cones, bark pieces and other dry rubbish) were also
>effective in reducing the advance of wildfires at ground level. I wonder if
>other members would like to suggest specific plants or trees that are
>either fire-proof and capable of recoving from a bushfire, or those that
>have fire retarding qualities? The information may well be useful to those
>unlucky MGS members, and others, who must now contemplate rebuilding their
>homes and remaking their gardens.
>
>regards
>
>trevor n
>
>Trevor Nottle
>Manager-Education
>Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE
>School of Horticluture
>505 Fullarton Road
>Netherby
>South Australia 5062
>AUSTRALIA
>
>Tel. +61 +8 +8372 6801
>Fax. +61 +8 +8372 6888
>e-mail <trevorn@torrens.tafe.sa.edu.au>
