Seed-tree health and survival at Maramingo and Reedy Creek Pulpwood Demonstration Areas, East Gippsland, five years after harvesting.  G. R. Featherston.  April 1983.  9 pp. (unpubl.)

SUMMARY

Pulpwood demonstration areas were established in 1976 at Reedy Creek and Maramingo, in the Cann River District, to study the environmental and silvicultural effects of pulpwood harvesting. On each of these areas, plots were established containing seed-trees at densities ranging from 2 to 15 ha^-1. Survival and health of these seed-trees was assessed in March 1981, five years after harvesting. This report deals with the results of that assessment.

Overall, the number of live seed-trees was found to have declined by about 5% per annum since harvesting. Total mortality, including death and loss of standing trees that fell over, did not differ greatly between areas, being 23.4% at Maramingo and 25.2% at Reedy Creek, nor did it differ greatly between most plots; whereas total mortality on plots of low (2 and 5 ha^-1) and high (15 ha^-1) seed-tree densities was consistently greater than on plots of intermediate density. The percentage of standing dead seed-trees was highest at Maramingo and the percentage of trees that fell over was highest at Reedy Creek.

Seed-trees surviving in 1981 retained, on average, between about 63% and 78% of their original crowns, with Eucalyptus sideroxylon A. Cunn ex W. Woolls (red ironbark) being significantly better than E. agglomerata Maiden (blue stringybark), E. consideniana Maiden (yertchuk) and E. globoidea Blakely (white stringybark) in this respect. Total mortality of E. muellerana A. W. Howitt (yellow stringybark), E. sideroxylon, E. cypellocarpa L.A.S. Johnson (mountain grey gum) and E. obliqua L'Hérit. (messmate stringybark) was lower than for most other species on the plots, particularly E. consideniana, for which mortality was particularly high. Total mortality of E. sieberi L.A.S. Johnson (silvertop) was low at Reedy Creek but considerably higher at Maramingo.

Although there is little doubt that Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands (root rot fungus) was responsible for some deaths, having been isolated from the root collar region of E. sieberi seed-trees showing symptoms of fungal attack, there was no clear relationship between expected P. cinnamomi susceptibility of the various species and mortality or crown health, indicating that the fungus may not have been a major cause of seed-tree mortality on the plots.