9.2.2. How to take care of dieback

Do not panic if you have trees affected by dieback, as retain dieback-affected trees may still recover. Even dead trees are valuable for wildlife, especially old ones with hollows.
Affected trees can be saved with methods such as pollarding (cutting off the major branches and allowing the tree to re-sprout) or, depending on the cause of dieback, injecting systemic insecticide.
Retain and encourage new juvenile eucalypts by never ploughing, applying herbicide or sowing exotic pasture around existing trees or in other areas where juvenile trees are common. Keep these areas as native pasture and exclude livestock.
Protect bushland across the landscape by linking remnant areas and retaining areas larger than 20 hectares as habitat for a range of bird species. These will help control insects and maintain ecosystem function.
It might not seem important, but in all cases the quality of the ground cover around trees is a critical factor in preventing dieback. It not only determines the health of isolated trees, but also affects their ability to regenerate.
If the ground cover is dominated by native species, then older trees will more easily recover and regenerate. If the ground cover is weedy, or dominated by introduced grasses, recovery and regeneration will be difficult to promote.
Weeds and vigorous introduced grasses like phalaris intercept a lot of soil moisture before it can be taken up by trees, placing the tree under stress. These introduced grasses develop a dense sward, which suppresses tree regeneration.
Temporary fencing is one of the best solutions for managing isolated trees to ‘give them a break’ and to encourage growth and regeneration. The fenced areas should be twice the size of the tree canopy. After two or three years, young seedlings may have grown above browse height. The fence can then be moved to another remnant tree area.