A burning issue : Using fire to accelerate tree hollow formation in Eucalyptus species
- Authors: Adkins, Matthew
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Forestry Vol. 69, no. 2 (2006), p. 107-113
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The importance of hollows to many species of arboreal mammals and birds in Australia has been clearly established, as has the significance of large, old trees in providing hollows. Since European settlement, considerable areas of eucalypt forests and woodlands have been cleared, resulting in significant loss of habitat, including hollow-bearing trees. Recruiting and retaining large, old trees is important to the ongoing survival of hollow-dependent fauna. However, in wood production areas maintaining sufficient numbers of hollows is problematic, since the age at which trees become economically mature is considerably less than that at which they become hollow-bearing. Management strategies aimed at retaining some hollow-bearing trees can assist, but many forests and woodlands are immature and contain too few of these trees. The ability to accelerate hollow formation where hollow-bearing trees are lacking is crucial, but cost-effective methods suitable for use on a large scale are seemingly few. The use of fire to accelerate hollow formation in Eucalyptus trees is one option.
Fire and hollow formation in box-ironbark eucalypts of the Warby Range State Park
- Authors: Adkins, Matthew , Westbrooke, Martin , Florentine, Singarayer , McDonald, Simon
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian Naturalist Vol. 122, no. 1 (2005), p. 47-56
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Hollows are an important, but rare, resource for several native vertebrate species in the box-ironbark forests of central Victoria. A study assessed the external features of trees from burnt and unburnt areas of forest to determine the influence of fire on hollow formation in these forests. Significantly greater proportions of trees in burnt areas has scars than trees in unburnt areas. Fire had less influence on the number of small, medium, large and very large dead branches/branch stubs than tree diameter. Similarly, tree size rather than fire was a major determinant in the occurrence of hollows. The greater number of scars in burnt trees might eventually lead to a difference in hollow numbers between burnt and unburnt trees (A).
- Description: 2003001062
Manipulating avocado fruit ripening with 1-methylcyclopropene
- Authors: Adkins, Matthew , Hofman, Peter , Stubbings, Barbara , Macnish, Andrew
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Postharvest Biology and Technology Vol. 35, no. 1 (2005), p. 33-42
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Previous investigations with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on avocado (Persea americana Mill.) fruit have focussed mainly on improving storage life by reducing the severity of disorders causing discolouration of the flesh. Development of 1-MCP and ethylene treatments, which also help control the time to reach the eating ripe stage, may confer additional practical benefits. In this context, the current study investigated the potential of 1-MCP to accurately manipulate ripening of non-stored 'Hass' avocado fruit by treatment before or after ethylene and at different times during ripening. To investigate this, 500 nL L-1 1-MCP was applied within 1 day after harvest, followed by ethylene 0-14 days after 1-MCP. In addition, fruit were treated with ethylene, then 1-MCP 0-8 days after ethylene. Treatment of fruit with 500 nL L-1 1-MCP for 18 h at 20°C provided the maximum effect by increasing the days from harvest to ripe (DTR) from 8 (with no 1-MCP) to 20. Fruit treated with 500 nL L-1 1-MCP for 18 h at 20°C remained insensitive to 100
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001040