Logging of wet forest in Victoria was partially to blame for the severity of the Black Saturday bush fires.
Researchers from Australian National University lead by Professor Lindenmayer found that high severity fires leading to the whole canopy to burn were less frequent in trees more than 40 years old. Re-growth forests are more tightly packed and have a drier understory canopy than established wet forests leading to a greater risk of high severity fires, particularly when they are more than 10 years old.
This research could inform logging policy. Professor Lindenmayer made a recommendation to stop logging within 5-10kms of a town to protect residents and help prevent another catastrophe like Black Saturday.
Read more at Australian National University