Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
| 1. What is fire ecology? Fire ecology is the component of fire management that involves the study of fire and its interaction with the natural environment. 2. Why is fire ecology important in Australia? Australia, and Victoria in particular, is one of the most fire prone environments on Earth. Fire is a complex phenomenon that presents ongoing management challenges to humans to both protect life and property as well as maintain ecosystem function and biodiversity. Clearly, if fire is to be controlled on the one hand and used to meet natural resource management objectives on the other, it needs to be approached and understood within both an asset protection and an ecological framework. 3. What happens to the animals and plants during fire? Most of our native plants and animals have evolved to survive fire events and some have even developed specialised relationships with fire. Animals survive the fire by fleeing (e.g. birds) or by taking refuge underground (e.g. some mammals, reptiles) or in unburnt patches of vegetation in wet gullies and leeward slopes. While some individuals will die, most populations will recover over time. However, of concern are species that are not well adapted to fire or generally at risk from the disturbance caused by fire. These include threatened species and species that inhabit ecosystems that are rarely subject to fire (e.g. rainforests, alpine bogs). Underground stems, roots and tubers of plants are protected by the insulating properties of the soil. Above ground parts may be consumed by the fire. Many fire-adapted species protect their seeds in thick woody fruits, which open immediately following the fire event. Other species respond to the heat and chemicals produced by the fire which initiate growth and flowering. Plants that are not well adapted to fire may die as may some individual plants that are severely burnt. Other plants may survive in sites protected from the most severe fire behaviour, such as in rocky areas and wet gullies. |  |
4. What happens to the plants and animals after fire?
Fire is a common natural event in most of the wildlife habitats of south-eastern Australia and most species have adaptations that enable them to recover after fire.
Most Australian native plants have developed mechanisms that enable them to survive bushfire. These include the capacity to reshoot from underground stems and buds protected by bark, and woody capsules to protect seed from the flames. Some plants are even dependent on fire to regenerate and grow. Of concern are ecosystems, such as rainforest, and species, such as the Ash eucalypts that are seed dependent regenerators, that are not well adapted to survive fire.
The period immediately following a fire is an excellent opportunity for many plant seeds to germinate and grow due to the enhanced light and nutrients, and reduced competition. Typically, recovery of plants is visible within just a few weeks of a fire event.
As plants begin to regenerate, animals will return to take advantage of the resources available with the altered habitat (e.g. resprouting vegetation, fungi, seeds, animal carcasses). Burnt out trees and logs provide new habitats for animals. Recently burnt vegetation provides ideal habitat conditions for some animals, e.g. Silky Mouse.
5. How does fire change the natural environment?
Our current natural environment is the outcome of thousands of years of fire. Bushfire can significantly alter the environment by changing the age, structure and composition of vegetation. This changes the type of habitat the vegetation provides and thus influences wildlife.
The degree of impact is determined by several factors: the type of vegetation present, the intensity of the fire and the amount of time since the vegetation has been burnt previously.
6. What is planned burning?
Planned burning involves the controlled setting of fires during periods of lower fire risk. Each planned burn is carried out to achieve one or more aims: these include:
- managing the amount of fuel (fuel reduction burning or asset protection burning)
- flora and fauna management (ecological burning)
- commercial forest management associated with re-establishment of harvested forests.
7. What is a fire regime?
The frequency (interval between fires), intensity, season, extent and type of fire make up the fire regime. Fire regimes arise from the pattern of these characteristics and vary across the landscape. They are important determinants of what species can survive at a site.
8. What is an ecologically appropriate fire regime and why is it important?
An ecologically appropriate fire regime is one that is at the intervals, and at the intensities, seasons and scales that lie within the ecological and physiological tolerances of native flora and fauna. Ecologically appropriate fire regimes allow for species, and the ecosystems of which they are part, to persist. Inappropriate Fire Regimes Causing Disruption to Sustainable Ecosystem Processes and Resultant Loss to Biodiversity is listed as a Potentially Threatening Process under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
9. How can planned fire be used to protect human and biodiversity assets?
The impact of fires on human and biodiversity assets can be managed by influencing the fire regime. One means of achieving this is by modifying the fuels available for a fire. The main tool available to land managers for modifying fuels is planned burning.
Planned fire is applied in different ways across the landscape, depending on what values the land manager is aiming to protect. These can be multiple values such as residential areas, timber and biodiversity.