OBSERVATIONS ON FIRE-KILLED MONTEREY PINES

SUMMARY

At Mt. Burr, in South Australia, a study was made of standing fire-killed 27-years-old Monterey pine plantation trees for a period of 21 months following the fire. Severe fungal attack was associated with a reduction of moisture content below approximately 70 per cent. The trees behaved with marked individuality, differences being due mainly to differences' in the degree of fire damage. The less the damage the greater the amount of cambium that may remain alive, the greater the tendency of the moisture content of the tree to remain high and the less the fungal attack. The timber in the top section of the tree deteriorated much more rapidly than that towards the base. This difference in durability was associated with a difference in rate of drying. During the first six months the only deterioration noted was confined to slight blue staining in the top section of the tree. Deterioration in the basal 20 feet was first noted in a tree felled 9½ months after the fire. All, the timber sawn from trees felled during, the first 14 months was saleable. Trees felled subsequently contained an increasing amount of unsaleable timber, but even the last tree to be felled, (21 months after the fire) contained some timber which was perfectly sound.