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Welcome to 

Fire Ecology and

Biodiversity


School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences | Faculty of Science

University of Melbourne

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27th International Congress for Conservation Biology

10/8/2015

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Holly attended the 27th International Congress for Conservation Biology in France this week to pose (and have a go at answering) the question: does patchy planned fire enhance ecosystem function?

She was among 2,000 attendees from 98 countries at the world’s largest ever conservation meeting, which was held in the middle of beautiful, buzzing Montpellier.


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How does fire affect ecosystem function?

26/5/2015

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Patchy vegetation attracts birds that perform diverse functions
The results of our new paper, available as an Ecological Applications Preprint, suggest that use of patchy fire to break up large expanses of mature vegetation may enhance ecosystem function.
We studied the responses of bird functional diversity to TSF and two direct measures of environmental variation.  Six bird functional traits (body mass, clutch size, food type, foraging behaviour, foraging location and nest form) were used to calculate functional diversity. 

Functional richness was negatively related to TSF, suggesting that recent prescribed fire creates patchy vegetation and provides greater opportunities for species to partition resources. Buff-rumped Thornbill and Superb Fairy-wren were among the seven species more common in young vegetation than old, and all seven species build dome-shaped nests. This nest type offers better camouflage and shelter against predation than more open nests, but we lack a definitive explanation as to why dome-shaped nest-builders prefer younger vegetation.

We suggest that controlled use of patchy prescribed fire to break up large expanses of mature vegetation is likely to help sustain functional diversity. 
Sitters, H., Di Stefano, J., Christie, F., Swan, M. & York, A. (in press). Bird functional diversity decreases with time since disturbance: does patchy prescribed fire enhance ecosystem function? Ecological Applications.
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4 Water Street
Creswick
Victoria 3363

Phone +61 (0)3 5321 4300 or email us

Photos contributed by Holly Sitters, Bronwyn Hradsky, students of the Fire Ecology and Biodiversity Group, and remote cameras.
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