Back in 2003, western Canberra
was ravaged by bushfire. One of the most heavily damaged areas was the Mt. Stromlo
observatory and surrounding pine plantations. The pines were mostly P. radiata,
a coastal California species which grows very
well in Australia-
with 2 growth whorls per year, each up to a meter. A small corner of this
plantation was P. ponderosa, however.
This
Western US mountain species is a slower
growing, longer lived species, and is better adapted to survive fire. The fire
break provided by the Mt Stromlo access road allowed one stand of ponderosa to
survive, and in the aftermath of the fire, the surviving ponderosas reseeded.
That 15 year old regrowth has been putting on some extraordinary growth rates.
Bike for scale.
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