While some eucalypts are hard to kill, climate change may test the ability of others to survive

Key points

• Large, old eucalypts in wet forests were the most affected by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, according to new research. Those fires followed three dry years and burned roughly seven million hectares across eastern Australia.
• Dry forests on poorer soils fared better, with fewer large trees dying. Some species, including Eucalyptus dalrympleana and Eucalyptus radiata, suffered higher tree death at the dry edge of their range.
• The researchers say forest management may need to account for tree size, climate and fire severity.