Foxes Lair
  • Home
  • About
    • About Foxes Lair
    • History
    • Landscape and Soils
  • Things To Do
    • Scavenger hunt
    • Picnic Spots
    • Walking Tracks
    • Visit the Arboretum
    • Geocaching and Orienteering
    • Ride Your Bicycle
  • Things To See
    • Birds
    • Wildflowers
    • Trees in the Narrogin district
    • Narrogin spiders scorpions ticks
    • Vertebrates
    • Fungi and lichens
  • Other Places to Visit
    • FAMILY bush attractions
    • WILDLIFE bush attractions
    • WILDFLOWER bush attractions
    • all reserves
  • 1Foxypress
    • Foxypress
    • Vanishing Farms
  • Foxes Lair seasonal guide
  • Contact

Oh for some Fire and Burrowing Animals

3/7/2019

 
​Greetings fellow Foxies,
Despite an exceptionally dry summer and autumn, we have had over 90mm of rain since mid June. If it all soaked in it would wet the soil to at least 2.5 metres. There has been relatively little runoff and I was gobsmacked, and very concerned to find dry soil within 5cm when digging side-drains on a range of soil types on walking trails to reduce erosion. These soils are massively water-repellent.
Picture
dry subsoil on mallet wando sandy gravel
Picture
Rock sheoak gritty sand
If the water largely didn’t run away, where did it go? Many of our native plants have excellent strategies for channelling water down their roots, and an experiment I did some years ago showed the importance of obstructing surface water flow to allow time for water to overcome the water repellence. The image below shows a section of water repellent soil where a racehorse goanna had been burrowing for insects in an old root channel. Note how moisture has wet the soil to depth around the root channel.
Picture
Picture
subsoil wet around the goanna hole
Picturethe quandong seed above was buried by a woylie that later dug it up to eat
​I read this great article about the importance of woylies in the regeneration of sandalwood and native poisons. No doubt emus were also important.
​
Woylies and emus have gone from most of our reserves with the only burrowing animals being rabbits, reptiles and  echidnas. This is having a massive impact. Over time as plants die leaving bare ground and roots rot away there is less chance that new plants will replace them unless conditions change.

I commented on  irreversible changes in small reserves previously, and feel sad about the ongoing loss of nesting trees.
When entering Foxes Lair from opposite the caravan park, one can see poorer shrub and wildflower growth on the left side that hasn’t been burnt for over 50 years on the left, compared to vibrant growth on the right where an arsonist burnt about a third of the reserve.
That fire was a real revelation for me, as it triggered orchids I hadn’t previously seen and rejuvenated small bird life such as  quail that hide in dense undergrowth.
The arsonist had several goes in Foxes Lair After a small attempt I noticed a smouldering front moving through the soil under marri that burnt the water repellent organic surface layer to a depth of 3cm, and after the arsonist’s finale the fire continued to burn along underground tree roots for about 3 weeks (lesson here don’t walk through burnt country soon after a fire – your foot can plunge into underground burning root). The images below shows the difference burning made on the Valley Walk.
Picture
two years after fire
Picture
8 years after fire
​What can be realistically done by volunteers and local government in small reserves?
 
Over time I have developed the following achievable strategies in Foxes Lair.
  • Proper low intensity mosaic burns, with raking around big standing dead trees that are vital nesting spots. I developed a 10 plus year interval burning program for blocks in the reserve (no luck with implementation so far).
  •  When pruning is required or trees fall across tracks etc. prunings are placed on bare areas to help trap water (amazing how quickly the leaves disappear).
  • Dig small side drains at short intervals along trails and roads to return water to the bush more evenly.
  • Spread soil from these side drains on to bare areas to introduce and retain seed and help water infiltration.
  • Control weeds (so many).
  • At the rate that large nesting trees are falling over, I reckon that nesting boxes will be needed one day.
I still remember being appalled at the lack of bird diversity when I travelled overland from India to Turkey a lifetime ago. Just sparrows,pigeons, crows and vultures!
​ I would hate Australia to go down that route.

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Doug Sawkins is a friend of Foxes Lair 

    Categories

    All
    Animals Other
    Birds
    Disorders Plant Animal
    Fungi Lichens
    History
    Insects Bugs Other Arthropods
    Landscapes Soils
    Other Reserves And Places
    Reptiles
    Spiders Other Arachnids
    Tree
    Walks Other Facilities
    Wasp
    Wildflowers Orchids
    Wildflowers Other Summer Autumn
    Wildflowers Other Winter Spring
    Wildflowers Parasitic

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    May 2012
    March 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    April 2011

© 2015 All Rights Reserved. Doug Sawkins, Australia.