Green firebreaks reduce risks

Low flammability plants can help protect your home from wildfires.

As another fire season ends, now is the time to start thinking of how to prepare your property for future fire seasons.

Property owners can do many things to help prevent wildfires.

A key action is to create defensible space, a carefully managed area around houses or structures where flammable materials are removed or minimised.

An important component of defensible space is the planting of low flammability species.

THE SCIENCE OF LOW FLAMMABILITY PLANTINGS

Many decades of scientific testing have shown that while there is no such thing as a fireproof plant, some plant species burn less well than others.

Recently there has been renewed research into plant flammability, including in New Zealand.

A standard approach is to burn 70cm-long shoots (on a device called a ‘‘plant BBQ’’), which allows the testing of many species relatively quickly.

This approach has been validated against other methods, such as the expert opinion of fire managers. advance. First, identify which low flammability species are suitable for your area.

Key resources on this can be found at checkitsalright.nz.

Low flammability plants in New Zealand include native tree and shrub species such as Griselinia littoralis (kapuka, broadleaf), Pseudopanax arboreus (five-finger), Coprosma robusta (karamu), and Aristotelia serrata (makomako, wineberry).

For instance, planting a broadleaf hedge along your property could be a good way to help reduce fire spread.

Next, source these plants from a local nursery, realising you may need to order stock a year in advance. Ideally, use plants grown from local seed stock as these will be best suited to your local environment. Finally, plant them when soil moisture is at its highest, often May-August.

Remember it will be several years before certain plants are large enough to help protect your home from fire, and they need ongoing watering and maintenance, such as removal of any dead leaves and branches.

Low flammability plantings can help protect your home from fire but are best used as part of a wider range of fire prevention measures.

This article is published in association with Fire and Emergency NZ as part of a commercial arrangement between them and Stuff.