UNIMELB_HAMMOND-Kaitlyn_VYT-LOCAL-2024

Over the past half century the focus of forest management has evolved from a focus on timber
and wood products to a more holistic view of ecosystems and their many values. Heterogeneity in forest structure at fine and broad scales plays an important role in supporting these values; however, in many places, a century or more of extraction-based forest management has simplified forest structure across landscapes. An alternative to conventional forest management strategies is to align silvicultural disturbances with the impacts of natural disturbances. In the Central Highlands of Victoria, southeastern Australia, bushfire is an important disturbance agent. This presentation provides an overview of my research on a major bushfire in the Central Highlands and how it might help us rethink our forest management.