Sitting a little above the more famous lake of Cradle Mountain National Park , Tasmamia – Dove Lake, is Wombat Pool. Some tourists are confused by the name – assuming its a good place to see wombat. It’s perhaps not a good idea to tell them it was named by a pioneer of the park,… Continue reading Are the consequences of a fire in Tasmania 3,600 years ago, still present?
Tag: fire
The Hollow Tree Stumps at Curio Bay
A hollow tree stump at the Jurassic fossil forest of Curio Bay, New Zealand. The inside of the stump (the wood is yellow, and has come black, ‘coally’ material inside) has been filled with sandy material (grey). Could this be an in-filled fire-scar? The Jurassic fossil forest exposed on the shore at Curio Bay, southern… Continue reading The Hollow Tree Stumps at Curio Bay
The Immolation of Waimate Bush, Canterbury, New Zealand
In the court case following the 1878 fire that virtually annihilated Waimate Bush, a witness described the wind conditions as “a hurricane” (The Lyttelton Times, 25 June, 1879). A lawyer, seeking a definition of ‘hurricane’ was given: “a very strong wind indeed; a wind that blew no one any good”. His Honor, Mr Justice Johnston,… Continue reading The Immolation of Waimate Bush, Canterbury, New Zealand
Moa ate kōwhai
A little over 700 years ago, humans finally discovered the last habitable place on Earth, Aotearoa-New Zealand (Wilmshurst et al., 2011; Mulrooney et a;, 2011; Bunbury et al., 2022). They found a land where large flightless birds (including the now-extinct moa) abounded, and even the driest parts were covered in forest. Neither lasted long. The… Continue reading Moa ate kōwhai
How to Thoroughly Confuse Everyone about Prescribed Burning in Australia
In the last couple of days, something of a ‘blue’ has developed among some Western Australian fire experts over ‘Prescribed Burning’ – the deliberate lighting of fires as part of fire management policy. On Jan 22, Byron Lamont and Tianhua He published a short opinion piece in ‘WAtoday’ called ‘Why prescribed burns don’t stop wildfires’.… Continue reading How to Thoroughly Confuse Everyone about Prescribed Burning in Australia
Did Queensland Rainforest Spread when Cultural Burning Stopped?
“This is the Giant Stinger tree – avoid it”. Work place health and safety now out of the way, I could then get on with introducing my students to Australia’s forests. *** In Queensland’s O’Reilly’s/Lamington Park I began my student classes with a walk down the road. There happened to be a convenient juvenile ‘Giant… Continue reading Did Queensland Rainforest Spread when Cultural Burning Stopped?
When New Zealand was a Burning Land
Broken River is a Hell of a place to get to. From Christchurch you need to head inland, driving along the road to Arthur’s Pass, the gateway to the West Coast. But then turn off and dog-leg back south along a narrow road beside, and sometimes actually along the railway line. There are 17 gates.… Continue reading When New Zealand was a Burning Land
Australia’s Black Thursday Fires 1851 – how big and why?
Have you noticed? Despite Australia’s on-going fire disaster, there are no shortage of reports telling us to … relax – it’s nothing new, and that it’s the fault of not enough hazard-reduction burning. And certainly, it’s nothing to do with global warming, which by increasing temperature, has exacerbated what would already be an extreme drought.… Continue reading Australia’s Black Thursday Fires 1851 – how big and why?
Australia – both Greening and Burning?
Once again, the south east of Australia has had huge fires. But how can this be? Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are rising, carbon dioxide is ‘plant food’ and apparently the result is ‘global greening’. The greening phenomenon is actually real. Studies have shown that world vegetation has thickened, and that some of this is due… Continue reading Australia – both Greening and Burning?
How You Can Predict Bushfires in Australia – Four Days Out
Tomorrow, Tuesday Nov 12, 2019 is looking very bad for south-east Australia (especially New South Wales, but also parts of Queensland, Victoria and South Australia), and this was clear at least four days ago. The reason for this is the ‘synoptic’ pattern of atmospheric circulation that has been predicted for Tuesday – and how this… Continue reading How You Can Predict Bushfires in Australia – Four Days Out