New South Wales' rich biodiversity scorched into oblivion

By GREG ANSLEY

The deserts of ash and black gums stretch endlessly across the low hills around Sydney, through national parks to the far north and deep south, and across thousands of hectares of heath and grassland.

Fires were yesterday still burning in forests on the south coast, and smouldering in areas that will continue to flare for days, perhaps weeks, to come.

For New South Wales, this is a disaster that extends well beyond the human tragedy of homes and businesses lost: the toll on animal and plant life will take months to assess, and may never be fully accounted.

In some parts of the state, wildlife and plant species will vanish forever.

In every area razed by the two-week inferno, the agony is just beginning for animals that will be left without food or water, and vulnerable to disease and predators - foxes, wild cats, dogs - that will move in for easy kills.

Native bush will be invaded by super-competitive rivals, their colonisation helped by hundreds of fire-fighting vehicles carrying alien spore.

As the forests regenerate, more invasions are likely as trail-bike riders, 4WDs and other vehicles make use of the dozens of extra trails hewed out by fire-fighting bulldozers.

In the aftermath of one Victorian fire, researchers discovered 29 exotic species had found their way into a state park.

Soil compacted by bulldozers and trucks may become more vulnerable, eroding further the delicate balance of ecosystems on the brink, and there are fears that even the foams and retardants used to save forests may cause significant damage to plants, streams and pools.

As the Black Christmas fires are mopped up, the most obvious and emotional impact is the loss of wildlife: blackened corpses of wallabies and possums are everywhere.

The Wildlife Information and Rescue Service has so far received more than 200 animals saved from the flames, mainly possums, birds and lizards suffering from smoke inhalation, shock, burns, eye damage and dehydration.

Chief executive Carol MacDougall said most were from the Blue Mountains, where there were more people to rescue them, and that many more would have been killed.

New risks emerged as kangaroos and other animals fled fire-ravaged areas, running under vehicles in an exodus that has already dramatically increased the state's wildlife road toll.

How disastrous the fires have been for the animals that could not escape is yet to be seen.

Studies of earlier fires suggest a grim toll.

The worst impact will be felt among populations of animals living in the crowns of trees, such as koalas and possums, but will be felt by all as the loss of plant life destroys habitat and food sources, disrupting the food chain.

Large, fast-moving kangaroos were largely able to escape the fires. Others, such as wombats and bandicoots, were able to hide in burrows and deep hollows - but now face death from dehydration, starvation and predation.

Ants, the eternal survivors, tend to thrive in the aftermath of fires.

But depending on habitat, food sources and development of their young, others will have suffered heavily, with recovery dependent on the ability of native bush to regenerate.

Studies show that fires were responsible for three out of four bird extinctions since European settlement and that bird populations can be cut by 40 per cent - mainly among canopy-dwelling species - by bushfires.

Local populations of mice and other small mammals have been wiped out and will take years to re-establish.

In that time, other species may have taken over.



While many Australian plants have adapted to fire, some even needing regular burn-offs to release seeds and regenerate, others remain vulnerable - and all can be severely hammered if fires are too frequent.

In the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, there are deep concerns that even though the world's second-oldest national park has suffered less than originally thought, much of its extraordinary biological diversity is at risk.

The park is home to 279 bird species - more than any other similar area in Australia - including rare owls, superb lyrebirds and satin bowerbirds. It is also a migratory home to internationally protected birds such as the great egret and bar-tailed godwit.

Its forests harbour a wide range of mammals, 40 species of reptiles and 30 of amphibians, and one of the state's most important insect populations.

The park's ability to recover is in doubt: with Black Christmas the third major fire in 12 years, the pressure may be too much for some species.

Across New South Wales similar concerns are held for fauna and flora that include more than 50 endangered species of plants and at least 10 species of endangered mammals, such as the eastern quoll, black-striped wallaby, squirrel glider and long-nosed potoroo.

Others now at risk include the feathertail glider, northern brown bandicoot and eastern pygmy possum.

For NSW, the fire's legacy will continue for years.