Recreating the Country blog |
When thinking about farm plantations and bushfires, the potential benefits are maximised if a plantation is well positioned, well designed and well managed. To help you ease into this important topic, this blog follows three lines of discussion;
Native farm plantations provide many benefits to a property including increased biodiversity, wind shelter for stock and crops, shade, drought fodder, timber for firewood, construction and craft and so on. I have a slide of twenty benefits that I show at Landcare presentations. One benefit that isn’t mentioned often is the potential for farm plantations to protect a property from bushfires.
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Deciduous trees act as a fire retardant and are often the reason why some houses survive a bushfire when neighbouring houses are burnt. Why do they provide fire protection and how can they be used in rural areas to make summers safer? ' The Weekend Australian' Feb 21 2009 A former owner of the Crossways Hotel in Marysville, which survived the fire in 2009, Mr Lawrey is advising residents to plant European trees around their houses rather than eucalypts. "European trees saved my house," he said. "The embers that landed in the trees had time to burn out". If they land in eucalypts, they burn immediately. "He said all three commercial buildings left standing in Marysville had European trees nearby. They really cooled the fire down when it reached them" The benefits of deciduous plants. Deciduous plants are very useful around the home and in public places, not only because they add to the ambient beauty, but also because they provide cooling shade in the summer and let the sunlight through in the winter. Evergreen trees are unable to provide this shade contrast. In fact, Australian natives often do the reverse and let more sunlight through in the summer by turning the flat surface of their leaves away from the sun to reduce transpiration loss. Some natives like eucalypts let in more light by shedding their leaves during the very hot dry periods. Deciduous trees cool the surrounding air through transpiration. The water held in leaves is released from the stomata as water vapour. A similar evaporative cooling principle is used in air-conditioners. On a hot day, it is possible to feel the temperature drop a few degrees as you walk from the shade of native trees under deciduous trees. I experienced this tangible temperature change recently on a visit to the Adelaide Botanic gardens on a 38 degree day, walking beneath a very large London Plane tree. It wasn't a coincidence that there were many more visitors seated under this shady tree than could be seen in the rest of the gardens. Additional benefits of deciduous trees and vines are fruit & nuts, timber for craft, furniture, and building, firewood, attractive flowers and autumn foliage, privacy screening and as mentioned earlier, they let in the winter sunlight which can make a cold room warm, and dry a boggy track. What to plant, where to plant and how to maintain beautiful native gardens to make our homes safer during the fire season. Planting native gardens with groundcovers, shrubs, and small trees for fire safety and aesthetics Living in the country has a lot going for it most of the year – plenty of wildlife, cheaper property prices, great communities, less traffic and clean air. Then the summer rolls around and the frightening prospect of bushfires becomes a sobering reality once again. Bushfires can be deadly as we all know too well, and they are going to become more frequent and more serious in the southern states according to the Climate Institute’s long term projections www.climateinstitute.org.au/verve/_resources/2016_Bushfire_Factsheet_-_FINAL.pdf Public enemy number one in the bushfire season, aside from hot days with strong northerly winds, are the plants that burn and carry the fire to our homes - grasses, shrubs and trees. Yet we know native gardens often support important communities of native birds, frogs, lizards and insects, give us shelter and a lot of pleasure, so how can we enjoy our gardens and be fire safe as well? Here are some practical insights into what to plant, where to plant and how to maintain these beautiful native plants to make our homes safer during the fire season. |
Stephen Murphy is an author, an ecologist and a nurseryman. He has been a designer of natural landscapes for over 30 years. He loves the bush, supports Landcare and is a volunteer helping to conserve local reserves. |