Eucalypts are in the dominant position they are today because of man. Repeated Aboriginal burning over thousands of years suppressed other species while allowing eucalypts to proliferate.
Eucalypts benefit from fire, and because they are so flammable, they also encourage fire. There's evidence that the introduction of eucalypts to places like Portugal and Spain have made fires worse there.
People often say "the Australian bush needs fire, and is mostly fire-tolerant". Well that's because the species that don't need fire and don't benefit from fire have dwindled significantly due to the above-mentioned human burning.
On my farm I plant a lot of kurrajong - it is a native species that is fire retardant, so it reduces the risk of bushfire, it gives better shade than eucalypts, and it has the added benefit of being handy stock feed in drought.
