Lower Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Re-establishment Program: Scientific Program

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In January 2005, the Black Tuesday bushfire burnt around 77,000 ha of land across lower Eyre Peninsula.

Yaccas regenerating after fire

See map of the Black Tuesday fire zone.

The fire burnt through an area previously recognised for its high biodiversity values. A number of threatened ecological communities and threatened species, some found nowhere else in the world but on Eyre Peninsula, were significantly impacted. Native plants within the fire-affected area, including species such as eucalypts, hakeas, grass trees and sedges, are now recovering, although the regeneration process will take many years.

As part of the Lower Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Re-establishment (LEPBR) Program coordinated by Primary Industries and Resources SA, the Department for Environment and Heritage is undertaking a scientific program to conserve the biodiversity values of the fire-affected area into the future. The scientific program aims to:

• determine how native animals, plants and ecosystems have been affected by the fire
• implement critical management actions to conserve biodiversity impacted by the fire, including threatened species and ecological communities
• gather information to use in future biodiversity conservation activities.

Land-holders and others involved in managing our natural resources will be able to use information from this program to better inform future biodiversity conservation activities in the fire-affected area. The scientific program has been funded by the South Australian and Australian Governments, and through the Nature Foundation SA's Threatened Species Bushfire Fund.

Threatened Animals

At least six threatened animal species were affected by the Black Tuesday bushfire including:

• Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus
• Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren Stipiturus malachurus parimeda
• Common Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula
• Western Gerygone Gerygone fusca
• Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor
• Diamond Firetail Stagonopleura guttata.

Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos

Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos usually nest in hollows in old Sugar Gum trees

The bushfire burnt core habitat of the critically endangered Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus funereus xanthanotus. The Sugar Gum woodlands that were burnt in the Koppio Hills and Wanilla areas were important feeding grounds and the only known breeding habitat for the cockatoos on Eyre Peninsula.

Artificial nest boxes have been installed to replace natural tree hollows lost in the fire

For more information see the Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo web page.

See video footage of Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo habitat (4.3Mb file) at Tucknott Scrub Conservation Park recovering after the fire.

As part of the scientific program, recovery actions to assist Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos include:

• post-fire assessment of traditional and non-traditional feeding and nesting sites
• supplementary feeding trials
• revegetation (direct seeding and tubestock) to strengthen habitat linkages and increase native food resources in the cockatoo breeding area
• weed control at revegetation sites
• artificial nest box installation
• monitoring to evaluate the success of recovery actions.

See the report Literature Review to Investigate the Use of Supplementary Feeding for the Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo(250Kb PDF).

Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren

Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wrens

The Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren is a small, insectivorous bird found only on lower Eyre Peninsula. It is listed nationally as Vulnerable to extinction. A weak flier, the species is thought to need corridors of dense vegetation for movement. It therefore has a limited capacity for dispersal. Southern Emu-wrens have specific habitat requirements, ie wet sedgeland/shrubland or dry heathy mallee/shrubland having one or two low, dense layers. The Black Tuesday bushfire burnt through parts of the Southern Emu-wren's habitat on lower Eyre Peninsula, significantly impacting populations of this tiny bird.

See video footage of Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren habitat at adjacent burnt and unburnt sites (3.9Mb file)

As part of the scientific program, recovery actions to assist Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wrens include:

• post-fire population and habitat assessment
• identification of known and potential habitat areas for protection from grazing and creating habitat linkages
• weed control at revegetation sites and known habitat areas
• monitoring to evaluate the success of recovery actions.

See the report Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren 2005 Post-fire Survey (1.2Mb PDF).
See the report Habitat Management Planning for the Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren in the 2005 Bushfire Area (2Mb PDF).

Common Brushtail Possums

Common Brushtail Possums are considered endangered on Eyre Peninsula, where they are confined to limited areas on the eastern coast and southern parts of the peninsula. The 2005 Black Tuesday bushfire destroyed many large, hollow-bearing trees, which had provided nest sites for possums.

As part of the scientific program, recovery actions to assist Common Brushtail Possums include:

• post-fire population and distribution assessment
• artificial nest box installation.

See the report Distribution and status of Brushtail Possums on the Lower Eyre Peninsula following the January 2005 bushfire (950Kb PDF).

Eyre Peninsula's Sugar Gum Woodlands support many native bird species

Threatened Woodland Birds

Eyre Peninsula's Sugar Gum Woodlands support a high diversity of birds, including the following threatened species - the Western Gerygone, Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Scarlet Robin and Diamond Firetail. The 2005 bushfire burnt remnant patches of Sugar Gum Woodlands, as well as Sheoak, Peppermint Box and Eyre Peninsula Blue Gum woodlands. The birds of these woodlands are thought to be declining in the region, however few studies have been undertaken to monitor these species.

As part of the scientific program, recovery actions to assist threatened woodland birds include:

• collating existing data on key threatened woodland bird species
• post-fire population and habitat assessment.

See the report Woodland Birds of the Southern Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Area 2006 (15Mb PDF)

Vegetation

Plant species have different responses to fire, for example, many native plants have adaptations that enable them to survive fire, while others do not recover. The Black Tuesday bushfire poses conservation challenges for native vegetation, but it has also provided an opportunity to study the fire responses of some of the region's unique plants.

Threatened Ironstone Mulla Mulla plants have been a focus of monitoring efforts after the fire Photo: Sally Deslandes

Threatened Plants

At least seven nationally threatened plant species were impacted by the bushfire including:

• Fat-leaf Wattle Acacia pinguifolia (100Kb PDF)
• Winter Spider-orchid Caladenia brumalis
• Metallic Sun-orchid Thelymitra epipactoides (2500Kb PDF)
• Prickly Raspwort Haloragis eyreana (150Kb PDF)
• Silver Daisy-bush Olearia pannosa ssp. pannosa (300Kb PDF)
• Ironstone Mulla Mulla Ptilotus beckerianus
• Tufted Bush-pea Pultenaea trichophylla.

Prior to the Black Tuesday bushfire, the after-fire response of Eyre Peninsula's threatened plants was largely unstudied. Monitoring has since been undertaken to see if, and how, these plants are recovering from being burnt. Other activities, such as weed control, are aimed at improving the chance of survival of threatened plants affected by the 2005 fire.

As part of the scientific program, recovery actions to assist threatened plants include:

• threatened plant threat assessment (700Kb PDF)
• monitoring vegetation response to fire at priority threatened plant and habitat sites
• installing anti-grazing cages to reduce grazing on threatened orchids, including the nationally Vulnerable Winter Spider-orchid
• re-establishment of roadside/rail-side marker system for significant plant sites, and supporting the system's establishment in new areas
• bush carer environmental weed control program
• identifying and mapping critical habitat for threatened plants for strategic planning
• monitoring to evaluate the success of recovery actions.

See the report Threatened flora threat assessment (700Kb PDF).

Threatened Ecological Communities

A number of threatened ecological communities were impacted by the bushfire including:

• Sugar Gum Eucalyptus cladocalyx Woodland
• Eyre Peninsula Blue Gum Eucalyptus petiolaris Grassy Woodland
• Drooping Sheoak Allocasuarina verticillata Grassy Low Woodland
• Broad-leaf Box Eucalyptus behriana, +/- Peppermint Box E. odorata, +/- White Mallee E. dumosa Woodland/Mallee
• Cummins Mallee Eucalyptus peninsularis, White Mallee E. dumosa complex Mallee
• Freshwater wetlands including aquatic Herblands/Sedgelands
• Cutting Grass Gahnia trifida Sedgeland
• Thatching Grass Gahnia filum Sedgeland.

See video footage of regenerating Broad-leaf Box / Peppermint Box Woodland (4.1Mb file).

For more information on threatened ecological communities of Eyre Peninsula, see the threatened ecological communities recovery web page.

As part of the scientific program, recovery actions to assist threatened ecological communities include:

• surveying and mapping remnant areas of threatened ecological communities to determine management requirements and linkage opportunities.

Fire Response Monitoring

As part of the scientific program, general recovery actions related to the fire response of vegetation include:

• monitoring the response to fire of native plants, weeds and planted vegetation to inform future management and prescribed burning
• investigating the effectiveness of weed control
• investigating the effectiveness of re-seeding and other restoration works at revegetation sites.

See the report Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Recovery Program Vegetation Monitoring (3.4Mb PDF)

More information

• Biodiversity Conservation Programs of Eyre Peninsula and the Far West Fire Management web page
• Environmental Highlights: Fifteen stories of 2006 (page 29) (2.4Mb PDF)

Scientific Program Reports

• Literature Review to Investigate the Use of Supplementary Feeding for the Eyre Peninsula Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo (260Kb PDF)
• Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren 2005 Post-fire Survey (1.2Mb PDF)
• Habitat Management Planning for the Eyre Peninsula Southern Emu-wren in the 2005 Bushfire Area (2Mb PDF)
• Distribution and status of Brushtail Possums on the Lower Eyre Peninsula following the January 2005 bushfire (950Kb PDF)
• Threatened flora threat assessment (700Kb PDF)
• Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Recovery Program Vegetation Monitoring (3.4Mb PDF)
• Woodland Birds of the Southern Eyre Peninsula Bushfire Area 2006 (15Mb PDF)