kathwade's Identifications

EUCALYPT FOREST

Observations were taken on 6 Sep 2020, almost a year after the site was burnt.

This site is found in bushland at the end of a road adjacent to and north of Lamington National Park (Binna Burra entrance). It is an area of sclerophyll forest, a vegetation type representative of much of the area prior to clearing for farmland.

After a long dry period, on 8 Sep 2019 the Sarabah fire swept up the slopes of the Lamington Plateau, pushed by strong wind from the west (the Coomera Valley). This major fire burnt in the district for some days before and after this date.

Much of the eucalypt forest along the ridge between the village of Beechmont and Binna Burra was burnt, illustrating the scale of, and danger posed by, this blaze. Evacuations of nearby residents took place at the time and homes were lost.

Most of the trees at this location were scorched at their base and a considerable distance up the trunk, while others appear relatively unscathed. Trees on the exposed ridgeline (along the west-facing escarpment) appear to have fared worse than those in the moister gully a little to the east.

Many mature eucalypts show resprouting, while native and weed reseeders can be seen alongside the bush track and in areas that have been disturbed.