Fire, drought and productivity as drivers of dead wood biomass in eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia

•Rainfall and live tree basal area important predictors of dead standing trees (DST) and coarse woody debris (CWD).•CWD increased and DST decreased with increasing time since wildfire.•Wood density had opposing effects on CWD and DST.•Increases in DST associated with greater time spent in severe drought.•CWD and DST not affected by fire frequency or presence of timber harvesting.