Controlled burns

Controlled burns and the benefits

Historically fire has been an important tool to maintain plant and animal species that people relied on for survival. Controlled burns in cool conditions can reduce build up in the undergrowth and help control weeds.

The benefits of controlled burns are being trialled in the Moira Shire with the first burn taking place on Three Chains Road, Tungamah in April 2021.

So why burn the grassland?

The main reason to burn is to reduce annual weeds by killing both live plants and the seed on the soil surface.

A burn can also:

  • reduce further weed invasion by removing the litter and its store of nutrients;
  • reduce pests by removing food plants, litter, and destroying eggs and larvae;
  • enhance germination of native species by providing heat to crack seed coats, smoke to break dormancy and bare soil to allow establishment and
  • make control of perennial weeds much easier because with lots of bare ground after the burn and vigorous re-growth, weeds are easy to see and there is much less off-target herbicide damage.

Burning grasslands can greatly reduce the fuel loads and wildfire intensity by removing litter and standing dead weeks. It can act as a break in fast-travelling grassland fires.

Controlled burn on Three Chain Road, Tungamah to control exotics and give natives a chance to thrive.

A 1km stretch of high conservation roadside reserves has had a controlled burn, providing a low risk training exercise for the Tungamah and St James CFA volunteers and some positive outcomes from a biodiversity and fire risk perspective.

These roadside reserves remain the largest area of natural grasslands of the Murray Valley Plains within the Moira Shire. There are more threatened plants here than only other site in the eastern Riverina, some of which have not been seen in recent years mainly due to being outcompeted by weeds.

The benefits of this well planned burn include:

  • Reduction of exotic species and their seeds that have a high fuel load
  • Native species with a lower fuel load have a better chance to germinate and grow
  • Native plants were green at the time of burn so in large were not burnt
  • A good firebreak created to the East for the Tungamah community and adjacent landholders
  • Adjacent landholders will have less invasive species to manage

This area will continue to be monitored over the growing season and winter growing weeds will be managed. Future burns and weed control will be adjusted in response to the findings.

Three-Chain-Rd-Burn-Report-Moira-Shire.pdf(PDF, 3MB)

Three Chain Rd Burn Flora.JPG

Long Eryngium Eryngium paludosum, Yellow-tongue Daisy Brachyscome chrysoglossa, Lobe-seed Daisy Brachyscome dentata, Emu-foot Cullen tenax , Golden Billy-buttons Pycnosorus chrysanthus.

 For further information please contact us on 03 5871 9222 or info@moira.vic.gov.au. 

 

 

Back to top