Management

Create an action plan

Land managers can use this section to create an action plan to achieve their goals for either carbon farming, wildlife conservation, or a combination of both.

Grow carbon

To grow carbon, the management aims for all states are to:

• maximise the height and diameter of existing trees (as much as possible without reducing the productivity of the site too much)
• increase the density of large trees to reach the typical tree density for the vegetation type (or managers can choose a lower target tree density, but this may limit the site reaching its maximum carbon state
• ensure that the number of new trees growing into the canopy is adequate to replace losses from dying large trees. This can be achieved by allowing seedlings and saplings to develop into trees.
• if generating carbon credits, vegetation is managed in line with the rules of the relevant method being used.

Conserve wildlife

To conserve wildlife the management aims are the same as those for growing carbon (above), with the addition of:

• avoid actions that kill or injure wildlife (e.g. clearing, fire)
• provide a range of shelter options and food resources for wildlife
• manage fire and grazing to allow ongoing recruitment of all plant species
• protect and restore landscape features that support wildlife such as connection to other habitats and water
• control competitors and predators that threaten wildlife (e.g. feral animals, weeds).

Rainfall and temperature will have a large influence on the potential for reforestation and carbon accumulation on your site. However, other factors, such as fire, grazing, and exotic grasses, may also require management. The history of the site will generally determine the amounts of initial effort and ongoing maintenance needed to restore it.

To determine which actions apply to your site:

1. Identify your site's condition state.
2. Select whether your goal is farming carbon, conserving wildlife, or both.
3. Use the table below to compile a list of management actions for the condition state and goals of your site.
4. Refer to managing tree density to find out how to achieve target tree densities using strategic grazing and fire management.

Management actions

This table lists management actions for restoring and maintaining eucalypt woodlands.

Actions that maximise carbon have ‘increase’ in the carbon column; those that conserve wildlife have ‘increase’ in the wildlife column.

Crosses indicate which actions are relevant to which condition states.

Condition states 1 and 2 have been grouped because their management actions are the same.

Clearing and thinning

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
1. Avoid clearing of live trees and shrubs, except in extremely dense stands	Clearing in eucalypt woodlands will generally reduce the rate of carbon gain, decrease the capacity of the vegetation to store carbon, and produce a net carbon loss. Thinning may provide some benefit in extremely dense stands but thinned trees should be retained as debris on site Clearing removes plants and animals, and also removes the food and housing of animals that depend on trees and shrubs Animals which have little or no capacity for dispersal are severely impacted by land clearing	increase	increase	x	x
2. Retain dead standing trees and shrubs, and fallen timber (minimise or avoid collection for firewood, or 'cleaning up')	Dead trees and fallen timber contribute to the amount of carbon stored Dead trees (especially those with hollows) and fallen timber are important for wildlife for shelter and foraging	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
3. Encourage the growth and survival of large trees	Healthy trees are more likely to contain and form hollows, and provide shelter and foraging sites for wildlife. They can take a very long time to replace. Raking litter away from hollow bearing trees can help them survive fires (see #9)	increase	increase	x	x	x	x

Fire

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
4. Prevent and suppress moderate to high severity fires	Moderate to high severity fires result in net carbon loss by consuming the carbon stored in trees, shrubs, dead wood and litter Trees, shrubs, dead wood and litter that would be damaged or destroyed by fire all provide shelter and foraging sites for wildlife	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
5. If grass fuel loads are likely to build up, conduct patchy, low-severity burns, when soil moisture is high, to reduce the risk of moderate to high severity fires	Repeated small fires can reduce the rate of carbon gain by removing small trees and shrubs, but small carbon losses are preferable to potentially larger losses from unplanned wildfire Reduces the risk of fire in the area to be restored (see #4)	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
6. Use grazing management to reduce high fuel loads (this needs to be balanced with establishing and growing woody plants—see #10 below)	Reduces the risk of fire in the area to be restored (see #4)	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
7. Use grazing management or low severity burns, when soil moisture is high, to reduce high fuel loads in the surrounding vegetation if that vegetation includes pasture	Reduces the risk of fire in the area to be restored (see #4)	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
8. Maintain a range of burning practices that create a fine-scale mosaic of fire histories in the landscape, including unburnt areas, and to avoid hot fires, especially late in the dry season	Native species have diverse responses to fire, so a mosaic of low severity burns that are patchy in space and time should help to conserve the greatest number of species		increase	x	x	x	x
9. Rake litter and debris away from the base of large and hollow trees before prescribed burning	Healthy, large trees make a substantial contribution to the amount of carbon stored and hollow trees are essential habitat features for many native wildlife Helps to protect important habitat trees from scorching, and premature death	increase	increase	x	x

Grazing

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
10. Manage grazing to allow tree recruitment (see managing tree density)	Uncontrolled grazing may reduce carbon gain and storage by disturbing tree and shrub growth and establishment, and trampling woody debris and litter Uncontrolled grazing by stock can reduce shelter and food for wildlife by slowing and preventing the recruitment and growth of trees, grasses and understorey shrubs, and by trampling and reducing the amount of litter and fallen timber	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
11. Control macropods and feral animals (e.g. goats, pigs, rabbits) if they are in sufficient densities to prevent the recruitment of native trees and shrubs (see managing tree density)	Uncontrolled grazing may reduce carbon gain and storage by disturbing tree and shrub growth and establishment, and trampling woody debris and litter Uncontrolled grazing by feral and native animals can reduce shelter and food for wildlife by slowing and preventing the recruitment and growth of trees, grasses and understorey shrubs, and by trampling and reducing the amount of litter and fallen timber	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
12. Establish and maintain an intact pasture/ ground layer with appropriate density of perennial (plants that live for more than 2 years) ground layer species	An intact ground layer will reduce erosion and improve water infiltration. This will be beneficial for tree establishment and growth	increase		x	x	x	x
13. Establish and maintain an intact ground layer of native plant species, with appropriate density of perennial ground layer species	A ground layer of native plant species will reduce erosion, improve water infiltration, and will also help to conserve wildlife	increase	increase	x	x	x	x
14. Manage domestic, native and feral herbivores (animals that are adapted to eat plants) to maintain low to moderate levels of grazing pressure	Uncontrolled grazing by domestic, feral and native animals can reduce shelter and food for wildlife by slowing and preventing the recruitment and growth of trees, grasses and understorey shrubs, and by trampling and reducing the amount of litter and fallen timber Providing areas of low to moderate grazing pressure will favour many native plant and animal species that find it difficult to survive in highly-grazed landscapes		increase	x	x	x	x

Site  preparation  and plant  establishment

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
15. Rehabilitate soil in degraded areas by placing large branches and shrubs in long piles along contours	Woody debris placed along contours will reduce water runoff, and trap organic matter and seeds, and provide protected areas for plant establishment	increase	increase		x		x
16. Use slashing or low severity fire, when soil moisture is high, to reduce herbaceous plant cover before direct seeding or tubestock planting	Improves the establishment and growth of woody plants by reducing competition	increase	increase			x	x
17. Revegetate treeless areas with native trees and shrubs using direct seeding or tubestock, when good rains are expected	Establishing and growing woody plants increases the rate and amount of carbon stored A diversity of woody plant species of different sizes and ages provides food and habitat for wildlife	increase	increase			x	x
18. Establish a diversity of tree and shrub species	A diversity of woody plant species of different sizes and ages provides food and habitat for wildlife		increase	x	x	x	x

Competitors  and  predators

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
19. Prevent the introduction and spread of exotic grasses and other serious weeds. Vehicles, machinery, quad bikes and stock can all spread weeds	Exotic pasture species appear to have a negative impact on the richness and diversity of plant species, and the recruitment and growth of many native plant species		increase	x	x	x	x
20. Control buffel grass by slashing or conducting low-severity burns at the end of its growing season (end of the wet season, approximately April), and then applying herbicide when it resprouts. Hand-pulling is also an effective (but highly labour intensive) method of control. Aim to get canopy shading by trees and shrubs for long-term buffel grass control	Exotic pasture species (like buffel grass) appear to have a negative impact on the richness and diversity of plant species, and the recruitment and growth of many native plant species		increase	x	x	x	x
21. Use high grazing pressure by stock to control exotic grasses, once a sufficient number of native trees and shrubs are established	Exotic pasture species appear to have a negative impact on the richness and diversity of plant species, and the recruitment and growth of many native plant species The level of grazing required to control buffel grass may be just as destructive to wildlife as the buffel grass itself. More trials are needed to assess the effectiveness and any negative impacts of this method		?	x	x	x	x
22. Control feral animal species where these are having a negative impact on wildlife	Pigs, cats, foxes and goats are some of the feral species that may threaten native plants and animals through predation, competition and spreading disease Management actions that have adverse effects on wildlife should be avoided if possible, or implemented in stages		increase	x	x	x	x
23. Control weed species where these are having a negative impact on wildlife	Management actions that have adverse effects on wildlife should be avoided if possible, or implemented in stages		increase	x	x	x	x
24. Use habitat modification to reduce the numbers of aggressive honeyeaters (a family of birds, including noisy miners, yellow-throated miners) where these are having a negative impact on wildlife	Miners can have a strong negative influence on the abundance and species richness of other native birds Direct control of miners is not recommended Increasing the density of stems and understorey shrubs, and reducing grazing pressure, should help to discourage miners, and provide a more suitable habitat for small birds		increase	x	x	x	x

Other actions  for wildlife

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
25. Provide nest boxes if hollows are scarce	Tree hollows provide important shelter and foraging sites for wildlife		increase	x	x	x	x
26. Retain and protect large grass tussocks	Large perennial grass tussocks provide important shelter and foraging sites for wildlife		increase	x	x	x	x
27. Retain and protect mistletoe on eucalypts and other woody plant species	Mistletoe provides nectar, berries and nesting sites for many animal species		increase	x	x
28. Retain and protect rocks and rock outcrops	Many animals use rocks or rocky areas for shelter, and some plant species may only be found around rocky areas		increase	x	x	x	x
29. Retain and protect leaf litter (including fallen leaves, bark and twigs)	Many animals use leaf litter for shelter and foraging		increase	x	x	x	x
30. Minimise or avoid the use of insecticides in areas to be restored and prevent spray drift from adjacent areas to protect invertebrates	Invertebrates deserve protection in their own right, but also provide food for other animals, and ecosystem services such as pollination and seed dispersal		increase	x	x	x	x

Other considerations

Action	Benefits and impacts	Carbon	Wildlife	Condition state
				1 & 2	3	4	5
Rainfall will have a large bearing on the success of management actions	Extended dry periods may cause the death of mature trees Try to revegetate with tubestock or by direct seeding only when good rains are expected

Fire severity

This table is reproduced from the planned burn guidelines.

It describes the features of a range of fire severities that may be encountered in open forests and woodlands in Queensland.

(Note: Based on fuel load at 8 t/ha, grasses cured at 90%, Byram fireline intensity at 18,000 kj/kg.)

Fire severity class	Fire intensity (during the fire)		Fire severity (post fire)	Description (loss of biomass)
	Fire intensity (kilowatts per metre—kWm-1)	Average flame height (m)	Average scorch height (m)
Low (L)	< 150	< 0.5	< 2.5	Significant patchiness. Litter retained but charred. Humus layer retained. Nearly all habitat trees, fallen logs, and grass stubble retained. Some scorching of elevated fuels. Little or no canopy scorch.
Moderate (M)	150–500	0.5–1.5	2.5–7.5	Moderate patchiness. Some scorched litter remains. About half the humus layer and grass stubble remain. Most habitat trees and fallen logs retained. Some scorch of elevated fuels. Little or no canopy scorch.
High (H)	500–1000	1.5–3.0	7.5–15.0	Some patchiness. Some humus remains. Some habitat trees and fallen logs affected. At least some canopy scorch in moderate < 20m height canopy, mid stratum burnt completely (or nearly so).
Very high (H)	1000–3000	3.0–10.0	Extensive scorching	All understorey burnt to ash (or nearly so). Most habitat trees and fallen logs affected. Extensive crown scorch.
Extreme (E)	> 3000	> 10.0	Partial or total  defoliation	All understorey burnt to ash (or nearly so). Loss of nearly all habitat trees and fallen logs. Partial or total defoliation.