Category: Wildfire

600 delegates gather at the Biodiversity Across the Borders Conference

16/6/2019

Congratulations to Sandra, Simeon and Rachel for their engaging oral and poster presentations, and to Matt for his role as MC in the fire ecology session.

The biennial Biodiversity Across the Borders Conference is hosted by Federation University, only a stone's throw from us in Mt Helen, south of Ballarat. This year's conference theme was Climate Change and Future Landscapes, and provided an excellent opportunity to share emerging applied research among a broad audience comprising natural resource managers, the research community and conservation enthusiasts.

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How might fire influence vegetation diversity over the next 60 years?

16/1/2019

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In our new paper , which formed part of Matt Chick's PhD, we used a landscape succession and disturbance simulation model to estimate changes in vegetation diversity under alternative scenarios of planned fire and wildfire over a 60-year period.

We surveyed vegetation diversity among different post-fire growth stages in heathy woodland, and used optimisation to determine the proportions of growth stages that would maximise species diversity. Pairing optimisation with the simulation model allowed us to identify the cumulative effects of different fire-regime scenarios on vegetation diversity.

The best scenario for vegetation diversity was 5% prescribed burning per year (with and without wildfire) which resulted in diversity values close to the theoretical maximum. Trends across the 60 years showed that wildfire depressed diversity and subsequent prescribed fire drove recovery within 15 years. The largest threat to vegetation diversity was the absence of fire.

Our method provides a flexible platform for developing long‐term fire management strategies that seek to balance human safety and biodiversity conservation.

Find out more: Chick, M., York, A., Sitters, H., Di Stefano, J. & Nitschke, C. (in press). The cumulative impacts of prescribed burning and wildfire on vegetation diversity. Journal of Applied Ecology.

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Please join us in Casterton for our information day!

10/7/2018

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Fire & Fragmentation Project Information Day

Casterton Town Hall, 67 Henty Street
Tuesday 7 August, 10:30-15:30
Morning tea and lunch provided

Our Information Day will be an opportunity to:

hear about our current work and plans, and
discuss priorities for fire research, conservation and management in the region and further afield.

Find a provisional program below, and please RSVP by Monday 30 July.

We look forward to seeing you!

Click here to rsvp

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Congratulations to Kirsten Langmaid on completing her Masters research project!

29/6/2017

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Kirsten worked with Kate in the Central Highlands to investigate the responses of Mountain Bobucks (Trichosurus cunninghami) to fire. She measured the home range sizes of animals fitted with GPS collars, and examined the response of home range size to fire severity and vegetation diversity.

She found that home ranges were smaller in areas burnt by high-severity fire in 2009 than in long-unburnt areas. Smaller home ranges reflect high quality habitat, and it's likely that regenerating acacia in burnt areas provides bobucks with an abundant food supply. Within areas burnt by high-severity fire, there was a positive relationship between home range size and vegetation-type diversity, indicating that riparian vegetation is particularly resource-rich.

These results will help researchers and land mangers better understand the implications of changing fire regimes for bobuck populations.

Well done Kirsten, and thanks to Julio, Kate and Kirsten for the photos!

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Possum Magic in the Central Highlands

23/1/2017

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Kate and a team of volunteers have recently returned from several weeks of field work out in the forests of the Central Highlands, where they have been attempting to catch Mountain Brushtail Possums (Bobucks) as part of Kate’s PhD research.

This study aims to understand how fire affects resource use and movement patterns of the possums at sites burnt during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Kate is particularly keen to understand if this species alters its movement patterns and energy use between areas of differing burn severities.

For this project Kate has built her own GPS collars, which contain: a VHF for relocating the possums, a GPS to record horizontal movement patterns, an altimeter to measure changes in height, as well as a three-axis accelerometer to measure energy use. This device will enable us to look at resource selection and movement patterns in three-dimensions, across a range of different burn severities.

If you’d like to volunteer to come along on an upcoming field trip with Kate, please get in touch with her by email.

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Opportunity for a masters/honours project on fire and flying insects

29/11/2016

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We have an exciting opportunity for a masters or honours student to examine how fire influences the ecology of flying insects in the Otway Ranges.

Flying insects (e.g. butterflies, moths, beetles, flies) are an important part of forest ecosystems. They contribute to ecosystem function through services such as pollination, provide a large food resource for vertebrate fauna, and are interesting in their own right.

This project is part of a larger study examining fire impacts on fauna, with all fieldwork and project costs covered.

If you are interested please contact Alan York.

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Out with Smokey Bear and in with Nature's Phoenix

30/7/2015

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In Australia, fire is viewed as both an ecological disaster and a source of natural disturbance, but in many other regions public attitudes are overwhelmingly fire-phobic.

Public opinion in the United States has been shaped by Smokey Bear, a fictitious character created in 1944 to raise awareness of correct campfire etiquette. Smokey’s mantra is “remember, ONLY YOU can prevent forest fires”, which has fostered a lively culture of fire suppression. Command-and-control attitudes towards fire have become pervasive, to the detriment of ecological communities.

We’ve contributed to a new book which provides the first global synthesis of the ecological benefits of high- and mixed-severity fire. The book includes case studies from around the world, and we describe the Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of southeast Australia, where large fires are infrequent and intense. Unlike many eucalypt species, Mountain Ash is considered fire-sensitive because it’s killed by severe fire. However, its regeneration is dependent on high-intensity fire, which desiccates seed capsules and releases up to 14 million seeds per hectare.

The book advocates a paradigm shift that replaces Smokey Bear with nature’s phoenix. According to Greek mythology, the phoenix is a long-lived bird which is repeatedly consumed by flames and reborn.

Buy the book on Amazon, and find out more via an interview with editors Dominick DellaSala and Chad Hanson.

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Welcome to

Fire Ecology and

Biodiversity

600 delegates gather at the Biodiversity Across the Borders Conference

How might fire influence vegetation diversity over the next 60 years?

Please join us in Casterton for our information day!

Fire & Fragmentation Project Information Day

Congratulations to Kirsten Langmaid on completing her Masters research project!

Possum Magic in the Central Highlands

Opportunity for a masters/honours project on fire and flying insects

Out with Smokey Bear and in with Nature's Phoenix

Author

Archives

Categories

Links

Where to find us

University of Melbourne
4 Water Street
Creswick
Victoria 3363

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

Welcome to Fire Ecology andBiodiversity

600 delegates gather at the Biodiversity Across the Borders Conference

How might fire influence vegetation diversity over the next 60 years?

Please join us in Casterton for our information day!

Fire & Fragmentation Project Information Day

Congratulations to Kirsten Langmaid on completing her Masters research project!

Possum Magic in the Central Highlands

Opportunity for a masters/honours project on fire and flying insects

Out with Smokey Bear and in with Nature's Phoenix

Author

Archives

Categories

Links

Where to find usUniversity of Melbourne4 Water StreetCreswickVictoria 3363Phone +61 (0)3 5321 4300 or email us

Welcome to

Fire Ecology and

Biodiversity

Where to find us

University of Melbourne
4 Water Street
Creswick
Victoria 3363

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