Prescribed burning of thinning slash in regrowth stands of jarrah ( Eucalyptus marginata ) following bauxite mining in south-west Australia

Prescribed burning of regrowth jarrah stands established after bauxite mining is key to their integration into standard jarrah forest management, but fire management in thinned regrowth stands has not been studied. Fuel loads in 10- to 13-year-old thinned regrowth increased exponentially with thinning intensity, doubling from 18 t ha –1 in untreated stands (1500–2500 stems ha –1 ) to 37.4 t ha –1 in the heaviest treatment (400 stems ha –1 retained); however, litter and standing dead vegetation were concentrated within 60 cm of the ground. Intensities of subsequent autumn prescribe-burns increased with increasing fuel loads, but all burns were typically of low to moderate intensity