A total of 19 species of flora and fauna have been recommended for interim protection relating to forestry operations, according to the Threatened Species and Communities Risk Assessment report.
The next step will be to prepare action statements for each species based on the management needed to conserve them all.
“All relevant social and economic factors will be considered in their preparation,” the report says, with the actions “feasible and proportionate to the level of risk” the species face.
“Any required permanent protections are due to be in place by May 2023.”
The report was released as part of the government’s policy by 2024 to halve the amount of native forest used by industry, from 4.5 per cent of the forest to about two per cent.
The government says the risk assessments concerning forestry had to be undertaken under Victoria’s modernised Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs). “The risk assessment was informed by input from scientific experts,” published literature and spatial analysis assessing the impacts in the next 20 years in all the RFA regions.
The scientists included 21 species experts, including staff from DELWP, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Country Fire Authority and seven independent environment consultants.
More than 1300 species were listed as threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act in May 2021.
Of these 61 were potentially affected by forestry operations.
A total of 32 were identified as at high or significant risk from forestry operations – nine in plantations and 23 in native forest.
“All hazards rated as medium risk or higher will need to be considered in future management,” the report says.
This assessment was further narrowed down to 19 species that were recommended for interim protections from forestry.
These included three Spiny Crayfish, seven rainforest-affiliated species, and nine restricted and limited range plants.
The hazards affecting these 61 species were climate change, fire, forestry, habitat modification, invasive species and threats to population health and resilience.
The report notes myriad impacts on species from bushfires, some of which could modify some areas for decades, even centuries, with the danger exacerbated by more frequent and intense fires because of climate change.
“Bushfire management is the primary control for reducing the risk of major bushfires,” the report says, with fuel management the key.
This is done through planned burns and newly-introduced mechanical fuel reduction.
“While planned burning mitigates against bushfire risk for a range of values, it contributes to a total fire regime and may, in some circumstances and for some species, generate undesirable ecological changes,” the report says.
Machines that create firebreaks around the planned burn perimeter lead to temporary vegetation loss and soil disturbance.
“The bush perimeter might also intersect with streams or drainage lines, increasing the risk of soil erosion and sedimentation.
The use of machines may also facilitate the spread of weeds and pathogens,” the assessment says.
Forestry operations can have various effects, according to the report. These include:
Directly killing trees previously harvested and now listed as threatened;
Soil disturbance and compaction from machines, potential soil erosion and sedimentation of waterways;
Removal, modification and fragmentation of the forest structure and;
Edge creation, leading to micro-climate changes – more intense light, temperature, humidity and wind strength in adjoining forests.
The report says heavy machinery, particularly on snig tracks and log landings, can affect the survival of many understorey species – for example, Baw Baw berry or Mountain Bird-orchid.
“Burrowing and spiny crayfish are vulnerable to sedimentation impacts arising from roads, stream crossings and unbuffered drainage lines.
Small wetland plants are also vulnerable to sedimentation effects,” the report says.
Regeneration burns have an impact on recruits, such as Forest Geebung, Satinwood, and Tullach Ard Grevillia, or on surviving mature individuals such as Tasmanian Wax-flower.
Plantations also have an impact, says the report.
“Rapidly growing trees draw down on the water table and may reduce surface run-off, leading to the drying out of wetlands and damper habitats,” it says.
“Similar impacts on hydrology may also occur after native harvesting or wildfire, when large areas of vegetation rapidly regrow. Other species may be impacted by chemical run-off and spray drift from adjacent plantations.”
The report warns that species affected by the 2019-20 bushfires may be at greater risk than otherwise because of the uncertainty about the bushfire’s impacts and “the implications for the additional impacts that forestry operations might have on those species and communities, as they recover”.
