LOOKING BACK 10 YEARS

Click on an image to enlarge

Mixed Messages: When a logging coupe is burned many are outraged and others say that it is necessary. Possibly the outrage is justified given the apparent waste and nowadays the increased awareness of the carbon stored in forests – nowhere more so than in Tasmania. The proposition that 60% of the biomass in a logging coupe such as this one goes up in smoke (CO2) is plausible. The notion that the landscape will repair itself is contingent upon all kinds of complex factors that never seem to be considered in holistic ways.

There are no simple answers but looking back at this coupe it is possible to say that after 10 years the biomass present now represent a relatively small portion of what was there before the fire and a smaller proportion still than when the trees were all standing.

How much timber was harvested from this coupe? That is a question that you are unlikely to get an answer to without a FOI and that is an answer in itself! The point that seems to be missed is that it is the ecology that needs managing as much as the economy. When might this project start? Who is going to initiate it?

THE 10 YEAR SURVEY

Click on images to enlarge

Photography: Toby Muir-Wilson

WATCH THIS SPACE

The site has been revisited to mark 10 years of watching.
There are images to be uploaded soon.

Some Time Lapse Images

After almost 5 years questions arise in respect to the claims being made for this mode of land and resource management. Firstly, it would seem that the biomass present remains significantly less than that lying on the ground waiting to be burnt after the clear fell. Then it seems that the species mix has been somewhat compromised but possibly not. However it certainly does not look like a likely plantation site. After that there are question to do with the length of time required before anything like the original volume of biomass might return.

The Stump on GOOGLEearth

THE RED DOT MARKS THE SPOT: It might not look like that this coupe is going to bother anyone all that much as it so much out of the way and surrounded by uncleared forest. This makes it all the more interesting to watch – out of sight is no longer out of mind nor really out of sight. Mind you it was selected at random. Like we got in the car and drove until we found a clear fell site. It has proved an interesting thing to have done and it didn't take long to find.

If You Paint Something RED it Tends to Change What You See

Because it is RED it is read in quite different ways and
you tend to see thing that you might not otherwise.

Painting something RED makes something stand
out and that is not always welcomed.

The Place in Another Context

At the margins of this coupe it was possible to imagine what had been cleared and what biodiversity was present within it. These trees were protected from logging because they are in a stream side zone and thus must remain. That is something that is not ALWAYS respected but it was here. Nonetheless, these trees will provide an ongoing reference for the so called regeneration of the clear fell.


In 2009 it is possible to visit this site from your computer! Simply go to GOOGLE EARTH and entre the coordinates. That was not possible in 1999 – well not to everyone!