At first glance, one might think that logging and then removing fallen trees would reduce fire risks. Why do peer-reviewed scientific studies show that the opposite is actually the case? | OPINION by David Lindenmayer
I have worked in the forests of Victoria since July 1983. Today I’m the most highly cited forest ecologist globally and have written 48 books on the subject.
called out at me that if “Greenies like you” had allowed the forests to be logged and “properly” managed then the fires would not have been so severe and more than 100 lives could have been saved. More than a dozen years later, and after detailed studies following the 2009 fires and again after the 2019-2020 Black Summer fires, the science shows the opposite of the audience member’s interjection. That is, logged forestsThis internationally accepted science also applies to salvage logging, like that happening today in wind-damaged areas in the Wombat State Forest, west of Melbourne.
The Black Summer fires provided an opportunity to further test logging and fire interrelationships. Analysis of data across the footprint of the 2019-2020 fire again showed that logged forests always burned at greater severity than intact forests. In addition, logged forest burning under moderate fire-weather conditions burnt at greater severity than intact forests burning under extreme fire weather.
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