Shackle Road Self Guided Drive - Stop 8 - SA

  Marker,Sign

Position

DEG: -35.810619 136.771194
DMS: 35º 48' 38.23" S 136º 46' 16.3" E
UTM: 53 H 6035609mN 660022mE
Altitude: 298m

Description

Address & Contact

Shackle Road
Phone: N/A
Email: N/A
Web: N/A

Information

Stop 8 - Wildfires
Take a few moments to look back over the way you have come. The vista provides a wonderful overview of the extent of the park. While enjoying the view, ponder on the management issues facing park managers today. One of the most challenging and perhaps the most controversial is fire.
Fire is a natural occurrence on Kangaroo Island and many plants and animal species have evolved to live with it. Lightning strikes are responsible for the majority of wildfires within this park. Kangaroo Island’s native flora has evolved to depend on fire to reproduce. Some species need heat to crack open their hard seed capsules; some need chemicals in the smoke to kick-start epicormic buds that grow beneath their bark; others need heat to stimulate regrowth from underground lignotubers. Fire also clears the undergrowth and allows dormant plants to emerge into the sunlight.
Banksias (Banksia marginate and B. ornate) are large shrubs found in this area, which have biologically adapted to thrive in a fire-prone environment. They have tough, woody fruits sealed with fire-proof resin that stops the seeds from falling into the fire. Banksia seedpods have a winged seed separator that prevents seeds from falling onto the ground until after rain.
Their seeds get a great start to life by floating into newly watered, fertile soil away from competition with other seedlings.
Banksias take about eight to nine years to reach maturity. Therefore fires that occur before new seed set, can eliminate species, providing a competitive advantage to other faster growing species.
Like plant species, animals, including birds and invertebrates also need different fire regimes. The needs of animals differ according to the habitat they prefer and their diet. Some mammal species, such as the Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), favour frequent fires and repopulate a burnt site rapidly, taking advantage of the exposed nutritious food supply. However, bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) favour a longer fire frequency because the area takes longer to provide a suitable habitat for them
The Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni), found only on Kangaroo Island, may prefer vegetation which has been burnt at different times by fires of varying intensities, creating a mosaic effect.
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Wildflowers

Weather

Closest Weather Station

Cape Borda at 22/01:00pm CDT
Distance from Shackle Road Self Guided Drive - Stop 8 16.97km W
TemperatureFeels LikeRel. HumidityDew PointPressureRainfallWind DirectionWind SpeedGusts
29.3°C25.5°C38%13.5°C1014.2hPa0.0mmNE26km/hr
14knots
35km/hr
19knots

Closest Climatic Station

Stenhouse Bay
Distance from Shackle Road Self Guided Drive - Stop 8 60.94km N
 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean Max. °C25.024.923.220.918.516.315.516.218.119.822.023.1
Mean Min. °C16.717.115.914.012.010.19.19.310.311.613.715.0
Mean Rain mm12.915.322.927.251.573.164.958.645.430.722.017.0

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