Fire and Other Emergencies

Ecological fire regimes

How do we know what is an ecologically appropriate fire regime?

Fire regimes (frequency, intensity, season, extent, type) have historically been determined by the incidence of bushfires plus the effect of indigenous burning practices, and vary over the landscape. In the current context, fire regimes are determined by bushfires and planned burning by fire agencies to protect life, property and the environment. Little is known of indigenous burning practices in Victoria and comprehensive information on the extent and intensity of fires has only been collected in the last few decades. However, an effective way of determining an ecologically appropriate regime is to look at the life history characteristics of the plants and animals that make up a community. These characteristics have enabled the species to coexist with a fire regime over tens of thousands of years and should reflect what the species can tolerate. Certain characteristics of species are particularly important when looking at the effects of fire. These characters are called the 'vital attributes' of the species. They include the method of recovery following fire and characteristics of seed dispersal. Through analysis of the vital attributes of all species at a location, it is possible to determine the most sensitive species (Key Fire Response Species) and to set the fire regime to ensure these species, along with the less sensitive species, can repopulate the area. The Tolerable Fire Interval is the time after the species reaches reproductive maturity and before the time of senescence [old age] when reproduction ceases. This is determined by the attributes of a species. If a fire occurs before or after these stages, it may prevent recovery of the species at a site, at least in the short term. Fire agencies collect vital attribute information so that our knowledge of species response to fire improves over time. To ensure that planned fire regimes are appropriate, sites are monitored with an emphasis on monitoring of key fire response species.

Further information

Information sheets

Fire and biodiversity in Victoria (PDF - 290 Kb)

Effects of Fire on Victorian Bushland Environments (PDF - 397 Kb)

Fire and biodiversity in Victoria's parks and forests (PDF - 595 Kb)

Using Fire to Manage our Parks and Forests (PDF - 365 Kb)

Books

Guidelines and Procedures for Ecological Burning on Public Land in Victoria 2004 (PDF - 591 Kb)

Links

• Research Report 73 - Underpinnings of fire management for biodiversity conservation in reserves
• Research Report 74 - Flora Monitoring Protocols