Structural and floristic variation in the forest communities of the West Tamar, Tasmania

Abstract

Selective mechanized logging for Athrotaxis selaginoides in temperate rainforest south of Rosebery in western Tasmania has resulted in a maze of logging tracks and associated destruction of part of the forest by firing. Mapping and analysis of regeneration of A. selaginoides, Phylloeladus aspleniifolius, Eueryphia lueida and Nothofagus eunninghamii at sites logged ten and twenty years previous to the study suggest that little successful tree establishment can be expected on areas where the topsoil has been removed by bulldozers, although the sides of the tracks where this material has been piled promise a restoration of the forest canopy. A. selaginoides and P. aspleniifolius establish in low densities after logging but appear to have low apparent rates of mortality in contrast to E. lueida and N. eunninghamii which establish in high densities, but have high apparent rates of mortality.