Forests & Woodlands News

A diversity of fire regimes, including low-intensity mosaic burning, is increasing plant diversity in the foothill forests of the Otways, according to research by the University of Melbourne.

The Resilient Forests project was established in 2023 to trial new approaches to climate adaptation planning, with the foothill forests of the Otways selected as a pilot landscape.

In 2025, we set out to develop a detailed Adaptation Pathway that could guide long-term planning for the Otways foothill forests - incorporating Traditional Owner obligations, new ecological research, expert opinion, and insights from stakeholder engagement into a structured set of options for future management.