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Production forestry and nature conservation Left Fifty year-old blackbutt (Et~colyptrtspilrcloris)regenerallon after logging in the Nightcap Range, norlhcrn N.S.W. Pltoto by P. Hale Above and below right Scleelive logging far Etzcolyptns spp. in the Conondvlc Range, south-east Queensland. Pltoros by P. Hole. Chapter 83 Management of disturbance and biodiversity in production , forests and forest reserves PETER ATTIWILL' Disturbance is common to all &osystems. it drives the cyclic renewal of community composition,and it releases resources and promotes nutrient cycling. Ecosystems are dynamic entities and the pervasiveness of disturbance means that they are constantly changing. It is a basic ecological tenetthat biodiversity is maximum at some intermediate level of disturbance. We are therefore managers of biodiversitythroughthe management of the regime of disturbance, both human-generated and natural. In line with (Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) Reserves philosophy, management of our forests for timber production, water, flora and fauna values must be pmactive. The whole forest estate should be manaeed in a manner consistent with the defined goals of nature conservation. Much of the research in Australian forests has concentrated on - ---- .. 11moer.prod~ction forcsrs andv.c are now n the pos:l:on to control timocr producron in a number of forest types n a waywnich s compat:olcwirn maintenance of b!od,uersilv. Tne challenge . now s lo deve op ecological nno&ledges o that pro-active managemenr across the range of forest values can be formulated. Key words: forests, disturbance, biodiversity, management ~ ~ INTRODUCTION Disturbance is common to all ecosystems. It drives the cyclic renewal of community composition, and it releases resources and promotes nutrient cycling. These statements are nothing new; they have been re-enforced in the ecological literature in a number of major reviews (Pickett and White 1985: Oliver and Larson 1990; Attiwill 1994a, 1994b). They contrast markedly. however, with the idea that ecosystems must be protected, locked up, fenced-off, if they are to survive. Shugart and West (1981) summarised these contrasting ideas succinctly: on the one hand, 'forest ecosystems are dynamic entities that may not be static in either time or space; on the other, "'succession", "wilderness", "virgin forests" and "climax forests" are all concepts that appeal to the basic notion that forest systems should approach some equilibrium state with time.' . . . Loucks (1970),,D I O D O S ~the ~ hvmthesis that maximum , diversity a n d productivity of forest ecosystems are maintained by random periodic disturbance. This solution - o f maintaining diversity through s o m e level of disturbance - is the outcome of Connell's (1978) muchquoted paper on diversity in tropical rainforests and coral reefs. It assumes that disturbances prevent a state of equilibrium ever being reached. The hypothesis is now well-established through Miller's (1982) classic paper: species diversity is maximum at some intermediate regime of disturbance, the result depending on the frequency, size and intensity of disturbance and on the life-histories of the biota. Then comes the difficulty: this is all fine in theory, but how do w e manage it in practice? Ideally, w e should have specific biodiversity goals, and an understanding of the disturbance regimes that are necessary to achieve these goals. The aims of this paper are, firstly, to outline the nature of natural disturbance regimes, and to comment on conservation measures across the whole of the forest estate - timber production forests, water catchments, national parks, etc. ' The nature of natural disturbance Forests throughout the world are affected by a variety of major, natural disturbances. We distinguish between endogenous disturbance (part of the natural system, and part of autogenic developmentland exogenous disturbance (introduced into the system, and part of allogenic development). But this distinction is difficult in practice. For example, does a tree break or fall because of wind or because of its own ageing and decay? Wind varies from zero to hurricane force - at what stage do w e say it is an external force and not a part of the natural environment? Fires start from lightniog strikes, from the normal pursuits of humans over tens of thousands of years and from deliberate arson - how do w e distinguish between natural and unnatural fires, and should w e aim to suppress all fires? Succession in some of the spruce, pine and fir forests of North America is totally dominated by the events following s w e r e insect attack; whal causes these outhreaks, and are the outbreaks natural or should they he controlled? These and other questions relating to the nature of disturbance are critical both to our understanding of ecological processes and to our management of forests. For example, catastrophic hurricanes in parts of the tropics (including northern Australia) are increasingly seen as part of the natural order which preserves heterogeneity of rainforests. This view contrasts with older ecological theories of succession which were pre-occupied with a natural order which progresses toward the stable, selfperpetuating 'climax' proposed by Clements (1916): 'as an organism, the formation arises, grows, matures and dies ... The end of the process of stabilisation is a climax ... Such a climax is permanent because of its entire harmony with a stable habitat. It will persistjust as long as the climate remains unchanged'. We are now increasingly aware that there is no such end-state. Forests are dynamic in time and space, and as with other ecological systems, maximum diversity is reached at some level of random disturbance. Disturbance has its own scales of intensity and frequency School of Botany, The University of Melbourne. Parkvtlie, Victorla 3052 Pages 463-466 in CONSERVATION OUTSIDE NATURE RESERVES, ed. by P. Hale and D. Lamb. Centre for Conservation Biology, The University of Queenstand. 1997. ATTIWILL: MANAGEMENT OF DISTURBANCEAND BIODIVERSITY IN FORESTS and so it providesa range of opportunities for plants and animals, each with their own life histories and developmental sequences. Through this interaction, and under the range of environmental conditions (soils, climates etc.) diversity is created and maintained. FIRE AND FORESTS Spurr and Barnes (1980) wrote that 'fire is the dominant fact of forest history', and nowhere is this more definitive than in the eucalypt forests ofAustralia. Australia in its northward drift from the Gondwanan continent of Jurassic times has now reached the position where the greatest width of the continent lies at the driest part of the world - the Tropic of Capricorn. With increasing aridity and sclerophylly came an increasing incidence and spread of fire from lightning. At some time - estimates vary from 30-40 thousand years ago up to 120 thousand years ago Aborigines came to Australia. The frequency of fire, as estimated from the incidence of charcoal in lake sediments, increased dramatically at that time, and it increased again immediately following European settlement.This sequence of evolutionary development has resulted in our native (or 'natural') forests which we must manage today. I accept Taylor's (1990) concept of a 'natural' forest as one which can be recognised - by simple field observation and the application of conventional phytosociological criteria - as supporting native vegetation. In dealing with the term 'natural forest', Taylor (1990) siates that 'the present equilibrium vegetation (in Australia) has not been"iso1ated in time" from the pre-Aboriginal native vegetation of the late Pleistocene. It has descended from this late Pleistocene native vegetation through an unbroken sequence of autogenic and allogenic successional responses to humangenerated disturbance and other natural agents of landscape change.'This raises the further question: can we distinguish between autogenic and allogenic responses, and between exogenous and endogenous fire? The distinction between autogenic and allogenic responses is made even more difficult if we take Mutch's (1970) hypothesis on hoard: 'Fire-dependent communities burn more readily than nonfire-dependent communities because natural selection has favoured development of characteristics that make them more flammable'. Use of fire to manage biodiversity in national parks The developing program of Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) Reserves in Australia (Joint ANZECCIMCFFA National Forest Policy Statement Implementation Sub-committee 1996) recognises the need for active management of biodiversity. This introduces the difficult problem of the management of disturbance regimes in national parks. Two case studies will be briefly described - Yellowstone National Park in north-western USAand Wilson's Promontory National Park in southern Victoria. The role of fire in regeneration and maintenance of ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park has long been known. However, inYellowstone National Park, as in most national parks, there are aLtive programs of fire detection and suppression rather than active fire regimes. Rowe and Scotter (1973) placed the problem in a general context for the land manager: 'The management of national parks, nature reserves, and wilderness areas poses many questions about the use of fire. The near exclusion of wildfires in such places has had profound effects. If the major goal of such areas is to perpetuate samples of as many landscapes as possible with the recognition that fire is an inseparable part and natural agent in the ecology of many ecosystems -then land managers must "unsell" the false impression that all fires are bad and be prepared to use both prescribed fires and natural lightning fires in landscape management'. Since controlled (or 'prescribed') burning is considered inappropriate in national parks such as Yellowstone, Romme (1982) proposed that most lightning-caused fires, including the very large ones, should be allowed to burn naturally. Romme stated that 'managers should allow an occasional fire covering many square kilometers; these are the fires that will exert a predominant influence on landscape composition and diversity for many decades to follow. Such large fires should not be viewed as unusual events occurring because of unusually high fuel accumulations'. Again, allowing fires to burn in national parks is fine in theory but it is a difficult message to sell and to implement. Without fire, however, the fuel load accumulates and the risk of fire increases; in 1988, the inevitable happened and some 560,000 hectares of the greater Yellowstone area burned, including 396,000 hectares of Yellowstone National Park. Following the fire, BioScience devoted a whole issue to analysis of the various ecological, management and socio-economic controversies (Volume 39, Number 10, November 1989). There were the usual recriminations and allocation of blame, as we saw in New South Wales after the fires of 1994, and some themes coming out of theBioScience issue were: . we never think of fire as good or even neutral. It's bad, and someone must-be blamed for allowing it. ecology and policy are not newsworthy people think of parks as static curiosities rather than as dynamic ecosystems; they see the role of national parks as 'preserving pretty places'. and, as the new growth emerged and Yellowstone regenerated: 'I felt an exhilaration and relief as if Yellowstone, for the first time in a century, had gotten a deep breath of fresh air'. The effects of disturbance in forests are mostly difficult to document. In contrast, the effects of natural disturbance on diversity are more readily illustrated for those very diverse plant communities we call heathlands which grow in areas having Mediterranean-type climates (in parts of Australia, the Mediterranean countries, California, Chile and South Africa). We can see change within decades, and we can study a heathland more easily than a forest since it is only knee-high. ATTIWILL: MANAGEMENT OF DISTURBANCEAND BIODIVERSITY IN FORESTS The fire-dependence of Mediterranean-type vegetation has long been recognised by plant ecologists, and we know that diversity decreases within about 20 years following disturbance. For example, in each of some 30 comparisons of species numbers between paired plots of older heathland and more recently-burned heathland i n Victoria's mallee, diversity was greater in the more recently-burned heath (D.C. Cheal, pers. comm.). 465 planning forests rests fairly and squarely in the -of and operation. Since most of the inventory and research in i Australian forests has been in forests managed for timber , production, management has a good resource base from which to operate. The Mediterranean-type heathland illustrates a simple point: we are managers of the land and its ecosystems. A decision to suppress fires will have major consequences for species diversity, consequences which may be as great or greater than those resulting from other management decisions. Whitmore (1990) concluded his book on tropical forests as follows: ' ...tropical forests are a renewable , resource which can be utilised and still retain their diversity and richness for mankind's continuing benefit; but only if we care to learn enough about how they work, and also if utilisation (is) within the limits of the forest's inherent dynamic processes'. Perhaps the most detailed work and documentation on disturbance regimes has been in the ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada (Parminter 1992). In Australia, bushfire is a natural disturbance which has its own regime of diversity. Bushfires are unpredictable. They occur at irregular intervals and at various times of the year, and they burn at various intensities and over a range of areas. All of this gives diversity to our forests, so that each patch of bush is different, however subtly, from every other patch of bush. A proper and thorough examination of the early records, and the reconstruction of fire-histories for some of our major forest types, is now needed in Australia to advance the management over the whole of our forest estate. EFFECTS OF TIMBER HARVESTING CONCLUSIONS There is an extensive literature on the effects of timber harvesting in Australian forests and it has been extensively reviewed (e.g. Resource Assessment Commission 1992; Attiwill 1994b). Many of the studies have compared the biota following timber harvesting with the biota of oldage forest. It is difficult to summarise the results briefly since both old-age forest and regrowth forest are variable. The diversity of old-age forest is due to both environment and past disturbance regimes, and the diversity of regrowth is due both to environment and the quality of management planning and forest operations. Where the quality of planning and operation is high, the effects of timber harvesting on flora are small or negligible. Similarly, for many species of birds, small mammals and reptiles, recovery after quality harvesting is similar to recovery after fire. Specificmanagement options (the planning of wildlife corridors; the protection of tree ferns during logging operations; the retention of some old-age trees within logging coupes; the retention of coarse, woody debris) are available to create conditions for specific species. Indeed, timber harvesting can be planned to supplement biodiversity in reserves by creating a range of environments and age-classes (since not all species of birds and mammals are found in old-age forest, for example). The three themes of forest ecology that I have developed here are that: The first two themes are inextricably linked. Our forests are diverse because patterns of disturbance are diverse. In Australia, bushfire is a natural disturbance which has its own regime of diversity. Bushfires are unpredictable. They occur at irregular intervals and at various times of the year, and they burn at various intensities and over a range of areas. All of this gives diversity to our forests, so that each patch of bush is different, however subtly, from every other patch of bush. What is certain is that the diversity of ecosystems, from coral reefs to forests, depends on natural disturbance. If this were not so, diversity and patchiness would decrease. It is due to natural disturbance that an equilibrium is never reached. I conclude that there is a scale of human disturbance as there is a scale of natural disturbance.At points on these scales, we could judge that the effects of human disturbance on ecosystem structure and function are not significantly different from those of natural disturbance. Thus the key to the management of biodiversity in timber production The challenge is to develop disturbance regimes for management to achieve specific biodiversity goals. Management for timber production has a considerable greater research base at present than does management of national parks, wilderness areas and other reserves. A particular problem in the coastal heathlands of Wilson's Promontory National Park is the policy of fire suppression which is promoting the invasion of the senescent heathlands by the prolifically seeding shrubs Coastal Tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigafum) and White Kunzea (Kunzea ambigua). The replacement of the low coastal heathlands by these taller shrubs is drastically altering the nature of much of Wilson's Promontory National Park. Furthermore, once the heathland is invaded, firing is more likely to promote dominance of the seeding shrubs than to restore the heathland species. there is no equilibrium, no pre-ordained state of diversity it is a general ecological truth that maximum diversity depends on a regime of disturbance as managers of the land, we are in charge of determining this regime of disturbance. CHRISTENSEN: FAUNA CONSERVATION IN PRC)DUCTION FORESTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA of the native forests reserved in National Parks and Reserves. growth characteristics throughout the forest, habitat trees are left in coupes, special communities and occurrences of rare species are protected by buffer strips, fox control is carried out on a large scale and there are species recovery p l a n s and special management plans f o r rare and endangered species. In Western Australia, in the karri forest region in particular, w e have attempted to strike a balance between conservaGon through reservation and conservation in production forest. Whether or not we have the balance exactly right is not s o much the concern, what is important is the concept that a mosaic of forest with areas managed with different primary aims, v i z conservation and production are far more advantageous for conservation than a forest demarcated and gazetted entirely for wildlife conservation purposes. Forest management has always been based on and s u p p o r t e d by s o u n d s c i e n t i f i c research. Detailed information on the life cycle of forest trees was already in use ensuring that the forest was regenerated successfully following felling, long before such information became available for other plants (Briedahl and Hewett 1995). Pioneer research into the root rot disease, dieback (Phylophthora cinnamomi) a threat to many species of native plants, was carried out by foresters in the sixties and seventies (Shearer andTippett 1989). Even in the field of fauna and flora, forest researchers carried out some of the initial work on fire and plants and were first responsible for bringing to the notice of the scientific community the problem of the European red fox in Australia (See Christensen 1992 and Christensen 1980). Because forestry is a practical profession all of this work was not merely published in scientificjournals but it was put into practice at the earliest opportunity. Ameasure of the success of forest management over the last century is the unprecedented interest in forest conservation in recent times. Hardly a day goes by when there is'not some item' in the media to do with forest conservation. This should begood news but unfortunately it is not.Thegeneral public through a well orchestrated campaign is being led to believe that forest wildlife is in imminent danger of destruction and extinction through logging by timber companies whose only interest is in making a quick buck. Regrettably, it is all too easy to sell a story of disaster about forests. Large majestic trees invoke a sense of awe and wonder in most people. G r a p h i c f o o t a g e o f f a l l i n g f o r e s t g i a n t s accompanied by the screaming of chainsaws, dust and the roar of huge logging machineryand trucks piled up with logs, is emotive stuff for television viewers. More often than not these scenes are accompanied by shots of black desolate coupes still smouldering from a regeneration burn. Commentaries sprinkled with a liberal dose of adjectives such as disaster, destruction, tragic and so on re-inforce the image of doom and gloom. Unfortunately, all too oftin such presentations are supported by so called scientists who should know better. We never see shots of the new regenerating forests, of the vigorous young trees with their thriving populations of birds and animals. How can anyone believe anything other than that logging and burning spells total destruction to the forest? This sort of portrayal of forest management, some of it well meaning, albeit totally naive and misinformed, isvery damaging. It is damaging not only because it makes it difficult for.forest managers to g o about their business of managing the forest but especially because it is steering forest conservation down the w r o n g path pathway which I am c o n v i n c e d is not in the best interests of conservation. Thus the f o c u s is on reservation, and those who push the hardest, the extremists, if you like, want it all. They want all 467 HISTORICAL Forests can be, and indeed have been, regenerated successfully since early times in Western Australia. In Western Australia the timber industry which had its birth in the early days of settlement, developed rapidly from the 1890's and reached an all-time peak of production in 1913. It was not until the passing of the Forests Act in 1918 however that proper conservation and regeneration of the forest was ensured (Anon 1969). It should be understood that the passing of the Forests A c t and subsequent implemeniation of the Act was fraught with difficu1ties.Theprevailingclimate was one where clearing for agriculture held sway; conservation and reservation of any description were difficult to achieve. The role of timber as a commercial product of forests was the prime factor in the success in passing the ForestsAct and in itssubsequent implementation. Without this commercial incentive, little would have been achieved and the area of forest which w e have today would have been much reduced. f The few small National Parks which had been created earlier in 1909 and 1910 were the only areas of forest which were protected in the karri region at that time. Before the time of the Forests Act much forest was cut and cleared for farming, for example karri forest at Torbay near Denmark on the south coast. Other areas of forest were cut, often clear felled and regenerated successfully e.g Boranup karri forest near Margaret River which was clear felled in the 1980's. The success achieved in regenerating the Boranup forest, which was done before any proper forest management, is demonstrated by the fact that the area was recently included in the Leeuwin-Naturalist National Park. The resilience of forest ecosystems 1s demonstrated by the fact that Boranup forest still retains its natural complement of flora and fauna despite the absence of any scientif~cforest management at the time of cutting and regeneration (See Christensen 1992). Following the passing of the Forests Act in 1918, forest management based on sound biological principles gradually started to replace the exploitative forest utilisation techniques of earlier times. Early results w e r e spectacular. T h e magn~ficentkarri regrowth stands of Big Brook near Pemberton resulted from regeneration in 1929/30.This area of several thousand hectares which was clearfelled and was ready for a regeneration burn when a wild fire swept 468 CHRISTENSEN: FAUNA CONSERVATION I N PRODUCTlON FORESTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA the forest. The wildfire did the job of the regeneration burn and results were spectacular and are a credit to the foresters of that time.Apart from having no old growth trees present, besides a few oldstags, these forests retain, as far as anyone can tell, their full complement of fauna and flora. There are many other examples of forest which was cut down in the early days, much of it selectively felled, but also large areas of clearfelling which differ little from the original forest save for the paucity of old growth trees. Foresters were pioneers in the management of natural systems. By initially concentratingtheir efforts on the 'keystone'species of the forest, the dominant tree species, (after all without trees there can be no forest), they have successfully preserved and managed the whole forest ecosystem. In more recent times other forest values such as flora and fauna have received increasing attention. Surveys of flora and fauna are demonstrating the success of past management practices. Recent reviews (Hopper et 01.1992 and Christensen 1992) point to the richness of the flora of the karri forest area; there is no suggestion that logging has in any way affected the flora. Christensen (1992) lists 14 Declared Rare flora in the Southern Forests in contrast to 81 in the nearby Wheatbelt Region and 73 on the south coast. Inions et al. (1990) in a study of karri forest floristics concluded that all but one (a quadrat on a log landing) of 144 permanent quadrats, retained the same plant community type following logging and burning. Although Inions et al's. classification was based in regrowth, they 'concluded that edaphic and climatic variables rather than disturbance were the major determinants of floristic patterns. South West forests are among the few places in Australia where we can still find the pre-European vertebrate fauna almost completely intact. No species of forest mammal has become extinct even though some mammals have declined in distribution in the forest because of fox predation (Christensen 1992). Only one species of vertebrate has apparently become extinct in State Forests. This species, Lewin's water rail (Rallus pectoralis clelandi) was last recorded in State Forest in Western Australia in 1932, and also disappeared from its habitat (swamps) outside state forests. As swamps in State Forests are not subject to logging (or prescribed burning until the 1950's) neither factors can have caused the species demise (Abbott and Christensen 199511996), In contrast 26 species have become extinct on the South Coastal Plain, probably due to clearing of nearly 80 percent of the habitat for agricultural and urban development. An astonishing 43 species have disappeared from the Wheatbelt where 90 percent of the native vegetation has been cleared (See Armstrong and Abbot 1995). Of the original forest 42 per cent has been cleared for farming and 12species have been lost from this part. ~ i o l o g i c surveys i during the 1970's suggest that timber felling has had little effect on vertebrate species distributions. The mosaic of cut and uncut, lightly and heavily cut forest, in fact favours a range of species. The western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis) for example may favour areas of lightly cut over forest where young regrowth is present (Christensen 1992). The mardo (Antechinus flavipes) is common in young karri regrowth (Wardell-Johnson 1986),Tingay and Tingay (1984) record birds of more open habitat e.g. yellow-rumped thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) present in karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) forest soon after clear felling, birds favouring dense understorey like the whitebrowed scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) dominate the young regrowth, whereas species like the western striketit (Falcunculus frontatus) and golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) are common in pole stands. Clearly the evidence suggests that past forest protection and management has conserved the forest environment in excellent condition.What is being done by forest managers to continue this work? RECENT AND CURRENT FOREST MANAGEMENT In the late 1960's and early 70's the general public's attitude to forests changed: people started to become interested in the forests. Up until that time foresters had assumed that everyone knew that they were doing a good job looking after the forest, certainly we felt that we were. In Western Australia the interest in forests manifested itself firstly with concern expressed about controlled burning policies. Sections of the general public were concerned about what fire was doing to the forest environment, especially the fauna. Following these early concerns in the seventies emphasis and concern has shifted to logging and its alleged disastrous effects on forest fauna. Woodchipping became a major issue and most recently the emphasis has centred on 'preserving' so called old growth forest. This sudden onslaught by a public which had always been regarded as being 'on side' came as a shock to foresters. They were upset at what they saw as the injustice of the never ending accusations of destroying the forest. They never fully recovered to properly defend themselves and have been unable so far to convince the public that the forest is in good hands. In spite of this failure on the public relations and political front, foresters nevertheless have reacted with demonstrable success in the area of their professional expertise, practical forest management. Foresters have embraced the concept of total forest management, with renewed enthusiasm and are practicing true multiple use management in the forest. During the early 1970's, following upon increasing public concern over the use of prescribed fire as a fire control strategy, research into fire effects was initiated. One of the benefits of forestry research is having the resources and facilities to conduct broad scale experimental field trials. Through such trials by forest researchers it has been amply demonstrated that most mammals can cope with fairly frequent and recurring fire events (Recher and Christensen 1981, Christensen andAbbott 1989).Although there is an immediate impact, animals recover quickly to recolonise burnt areas. The benefit of having a mosaic of different ages and seasons of burn was demonstrated. Such a mosaic makes it possible to retain larger populations of a greater number of species of animals than is the case CHRISTENSER FAUNA CONSERVATION IN PRODUCTlON FORESTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA with either no burning or only one age of burn. This work resulted in changes to prescribed burning patterns so as to leave 20 to 30 per cent of the area unburnt each time and an increase in the percentage of area burnt in Autumn. Some 70 areas throughout State Forest are also set aside for protection from fire (Christensen and Abbott 1989). These changes to burning practices are ongoing, the best practical methods of achieving results are still being worked out. For example, it is now realised that attempting to protect large areas, greater than 500ha from fire is not practical and more, smaller areas are considered a better practical alternative. An ongoing programme of biological surveys during the 1950's also produced practical results (Christensen et al. 1985 and Christensen 1992). This work together with other information available at the time resulted in the concept and implementation the Management Priority Area System (See Christensen 1974). ~ a n a ~ e m ePriority nt Areas (MPA) The idea was to select the prime areas for various management purposes, e.g timber, fauna recreation etc, demarcate them on a map and manage-thoseareas of forest accordingly. Thus in a Fauna Priority Area, logging, and burning are not necessarily banned, but fauna would have priority in the event that it could be shown that there was conflict between uses. (See Christensen 1974) A number of important areas containing sizeable populations of rare and endangered fauna were designated Fauna MPA's. These areas had the advantage over Nature Reserves at that time in that Fauna management, for example using prescribed fire, could be carried out. A classic example is the management of tammar wallaby (Macrgus eugenii) thickets by periodically regenerating them using fire. (See Christensen 1987 and Christensen and Maisey 1987). During this period also, research implicating the fox in the decline of many forest species was initiated (Christensen 1980). Experimental re-introductions and broadscale fox 'baiting followed. This work has now expanded into a huge programme of fox baiting in forest areas coupled with rare and endangered species recovery plans and re-introductions of several species including the numbat (Myremecobius fasciatus) the woylie (Bettongia penicillata), the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) the chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii) the ring tail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) and the quenda (Isoodon obeselus). Early biological survey results also led to the establishment of a series of river and stream reserves or corridors, as well as uncut buffer strips around swamps, and granite outcrops. pll areas of heath and sedgelands, swamps, rockoutcrops and a range of woodland types were also added to this system of non-dedicated reserves. These non-dedicated reserves contain all of the richest fauna habitat in the karri forest region as well as a very high proportion of the flora. Together with the MPA's and the dedicated areas of National Park and Reserves they form a very substantial area reserved from logging (Christensen 1992). 469 Research on possums and chuditch led to specifications on the number and types of trees and logs to be left in felling coupes (Serena et al. 1991). This work is presently being refined with better data from more detailed research on these and other species. Detailed research on dieback has been resulted in strict rules and regulation relating to the placement of construction of log roads, their surfacing, drainage and other features, designed to minimise the spread and development of the disease. There is also a comprehensive area with dieback quarantine restrictions and all vehicles are subjected to washdown and inspection (Shearer andTippett 1989). There are strict regulations which enable closure of cutting coupes if the soil is too wet and soil damage starts to occur. Timber companies and others working in the forest are required to use machinery which does minimum damage to the soil and minimises any compaction. There are also detailed specificationsfor re-habilitating disturbed area such as snig tracks and log landings. Modern forest management is subject to these and many other rules and specifications (See Christensen 1992). F U T U R E FAUNA M A N A G E M E N T I N P R O D U C T I O N FORESTS With this level of management there is the possibility of manipulating forest structure and the spatial organisation of stands cut at different times and to develop prescriptions to the advantage of fauna. Research has started on developing predictive models which can be used in planning cutting and burning to best advantage for specific species. A mosaic of different aged burns for example is likely to maximise the number of different birds in a community. Recently burnt areas may favour the scarlet and the yellow robin and the white winged triller. The white breasted robin prefers thickets which may take some years to fully develop after fire (Christensen et al. 1986). The grey-bellied dunnart (Sminthopsis grisioventer) favours recent burns whilst the yellow-footed dunnart (Antechinus flavipes) prefers 10 year old litter (Sawle 1979). By having patchy burns or burns of different ages in close juxtaposition it is possible to favour a maximum number of birds and animals in a community. The tammar wallaby and fire management of its thickets has already been mentioned. Likewise with felling, research in karri forest has shown that young regenerating karri has very high numbers of scrub birds, such as the red winged wren, spotted scrub wren and others. The crested strike tit is common in older regeneration whilst the rufous tree creeper and varied sitella prefer more mature forest. ringtail possums are most common in cut overjarrah forest where there are regrowth trees intermingled with mature hole bearing trees. Numbats have been shown to use a high proportion of log debris and rejected logs resulting from felling operations where they occur in jarrah forest which has been selectively cut (Inions 1985 and Christensen et al. 1984). This whole area of stand manipulation and forest planning to favour species or communities of animals and birds is a rapidly developing one which has great potential for the future of conservation in production forests. One 470 CHRISTENSEN: FAUNACONSERVATION IN PRO[ )UCl'ION FORESTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA of the great advantages is that management of this'type if planned properly need cost very little as it can be incorporated into logging plans. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ' I would like to thank Lachie McCaw who read and commented on an early draft of this paper. CONCLUSION For the non foresters, and perhaps for some foresters, although I would have hoped that they already knew, I hope that I have opened their eyes to the value of production forests in fauna conservation. I quote from Abbott and Christensen (1995/1996) who state; "The reason that extinctions of species have been few in WA forests is that sustainable use of natural resources, if properly managed, helps conserve the natural environment. This insight seems to have first been recorded in WAby eminent WAgeographer Dr Joseph Gentilli, who wrote: 'Good forest stands are well preserved as areas of natural environment for the very simple reason that they are well protected because of their economic value'. No matter what value is the motivating factor, protection is protection. All evidence suggests that species are safe in the forest, whether it is logged or not. Ironically, the people often criticised for allegedly harming the forest are the people who feel they have done most to protect it. The foresters of Western Australia laid the foundations for forest management in the State, which has helped to ensure that these species are still present in the forests. In a series of policies made possible by the ForestAct of 1919, the forests have been looked after in ways that have sufficiently sustained them. Managed burning has reduced the threat and impact of wildfire, large areas have been placed into reserves, and areas designated for timber production have been logged on a sustainable basis. Without such controls, our forests would presumably have gone the way of many other forests elsewhere in the world-taking many species with them". Production forests are not a disaster area, far from it, they are well managed forests where only imagination, resources and time impose limits on what is possible to achieve for conservation. The positive side to the forest debate'is that it has stimulated a lot of sound field work and experimental research which are being used to manage our forests even better.This work I believe is pointing the way to the future. Not only is it ridiculous not to utilise the native timber in our forests but it makes good conservation sense. There are opportunities to manage production forests in ways which can benefit a whole range of fauna. Drawing lines on maps and reserving our forests in National Parks and Reserves is not the answer and never will be. Preservation will ultimately lead to extinctions of species if such reserves are the only option which is pursuedfor fauna conservation in our forests. I believe we are close to the answer in Western Australia where we have a dedicated system of forest Reserves and National Parks which form a mosaic with the production forest and non-dedicated reserves .system. The management options as well as flexibility which this system gives us guarantees the best chance of success in conservation of our forests with all their biota into the future. REFERENCES Abbott, I. and Chrirtcnsen, P., 1994. 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