FORESTCHECK plans and progress reports

Report of Progress 2008-2009

This document reports the results of FORESTCHECK monitoring on nine grids in the Wellington District in 2008-09. The Wellington grids were previously monitored in 2002-03.

The monitoring grids at Wellington are all located in the Dwellingup 1 vegetation complexes in the central region of the jarrah north-west ecosystem. Dwellingup 1 is characterised by an open forest dominated by Eucalyptus marginata subsp. marginata and Corymbia calophylla located on lateritic uplands in mainly humid and sub-humid zones. The external reference grids are situated in uncut forest located in national park and state forest, the shelterwood and gap release treatment grids are in forest that was harvested during the period 1992 to 1997.

Knowledge regarding jarrah forest biodiversity and ecology continues to increase as the second round of FORESTCHECK monitoring proceeds. While the results presented here are from a preliminary analysis, highlights from the 2008-09 results and observations from comparisons with data from the same grids in 2002-03 include:

• Fire is an important agent of disturbance in jarrah forest and tree fall following prescribed fires had a significant effect on the basal area of some grids.
• Mean annual increments in the three gap release grids at Wellington were similar to those reported for gap release grids in Donnelly District, providing further evidence that gap release harvesting has generally resulted in stands that are well stocked and have good tree growth potential.
• Coarse woody debris (CWD) volume increases with the intensity of the most recent harvest, with the most intensive harvest treatment (gap release) having the highest volumes of CWD. A substantial proportion (34%) of CWD on the recently harvested treatments is residue from timber harvesting.
• Important and common mycorrhizal fungi species were either not recorded or under represented at Wellington in 2009 compared to 2003 and this was reflected in the mean species richness and abundance of macrofungi recorded on soil being markedly less in 2009 than in 2003.
• Some successional trends are becoming evident within the cryptogam flora.
• Species richness and abundance of plants has not been affected by silvicultural treatments.
• Sixty eight percent of invertebrate species recorded in 2008-09 were not captured in the previous 2002-03 sample. A significant increase in Isopods and Helena gum moth abundance was recorded in 2008-09. This is attributed to seasonal (weather) variation.
• An increase in the density of understory vegetation with time since regeneration and fire is likely responsible for the decrease in numbers of splendid fairy-wren and western thornbill and an increase in red-winged fairy-wren and white-breasted robin records in 2008 compared to 2003.
• Despite the area being bated under the Western Shield program, mammal numbers were down at all sites in 2008 compared to 2003.
• The number of undescribed species, especially macrofungi and invertabrates, recorded in FORESTCHECK monitoring continued to increase in 2008-09.

Read the full  Report of Progress 2008-2009 (3.35 MB)