Fire Ecology and Recovery
For millennia, fire has been a natural feature of many Australian environments, and a major driver of vegetation change. Some vegetation communities are well adapted to, and benefit from, regular fire, while other vegetation communities exist only because they are rarely burnt. Similarly, the effects of fire on fauna may be positive or negative, and direct or indirect, depending heavily on the scale and intensity of the burn.
Fire also has the potential to cause changes in aquatic ecosystems, particularly when a large volume of post-fire sediment is washed into rivers and streams. Large-scale fires in our alpine region have been historically infrequent, but two major fires have now occurred within four years. However, the ability of alpine vegetation and fauna to recover from fires in such rapid succession is relatively unknown.
Research into the responses of flora and fauna to fire, both planned and unplanned, and from a wide range of ecosystems, will increase our knowledge of the effects and role of fire management in those ecosystems. See the DSE Fire ecology pages for more general information on fire ecology and other DSE fire research.
Key projects (with details below)
Key projects (in other themes)
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Fire Ecology Retrospective Study: Looking Back to Learn for the Future |
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The foothill forests of Victoria are the State’s most extensive and are subject to great variation in fire regimes. The complex nature of the interactions between fire and biodiversity means that there is much to learn to continually improve fire management. The ARI fire ecology retrospective study aims to assess how past fires have influenced the present occurrence and abundance of plants and animals in foothill forests. This knowledge will contribute to the wise planning of prescribed burns. Key fire variables that are being investigated include time since last fire, type of last fire (wild or planned), fire frequency (number of fires recorded since 1970) and fire patchiness. New and existing data on vegetation, birds, bats and other mammals, and on fuel hazard, are being analysed and modelled to address key questions for policy and management. For example, by comparing biodiversity data at multiple sites burnt in recent years with sites not burnt for many years, we can determine the importance of maintaining a range of fire age-classes in the landscape. In addition, comparing landscapes with patchy or more widespread fires allows us to assess the advantages and disadvantages of developing fine-scaled mosaics of fire age through planned burns. Pilot studies have been completed in the Grampians National Park and Bunyip State Park. More recently we have been working in East Gippsland and the north-east, on 22 landscapes (20 km square) each with sites in nine fire regimes (combinations of time since fire and fire frequency). Some of these landscapes were established in conjunction with DSE's Hawkeye monitoring project. The combined data are currently being analysed. The retrospective project is funded by the DSE Fire Division through its Landscape Fire and Environmental Monitoring Program. |
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New Survey Methods and Fire Effects on Rare Crayfish in Gippsland |
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Burrowing crayfish are principally subterranean and spiny crayfish are cryptic and occupy complex in-stream habitat. Consequently, both are difficult to survey and information about their distribution at the local scale is uncertain. Accurate knowledge about species distributions underpins good management decisions. The crayfish fauna in Gippsland is diverse including both freshwater spiny crayfish (genus: Euastacus) and burrowing crayfish (genus: Engaeus), of which ten species are listed as threatened. Five of these species occur within areas affected by the 2009 wildfires. This project, which is funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments ‘Rebuilding Together – Statewide Bushfire Recovery plan’, resulted in the development of more effective survey methods for these crayfish. Trials were conducted in burnt and unburnt regions to determine possible effects of fire on the crayfish. Burrowing crayfish trials involved the development of novel, non-destructive sampling techniques and spiny crayfish sampling trials used traps and multiple pass electrofishing. Burrowing crayfish trials of two trap designs, one a slight modification of previously developed design, revealed that the modified trap was more effective at capturing crayfish. Spiny crayfish sampling trials demonstrated that two electrofishing passes were required to maximise chances of detection in a short time frame. The new survey techniques will significantly improve the accuracy of assessments associated with future disturbances, minimise the need for destructive sampling and lead to more effective management of both genera in forested and urban landscapes. The following fact sheet is available: Fire impacts on burrowing and spiny crayfish January 2011
For more information contact: phil.papas@dse.vic.gov.au or david.bryant@dse.vic.gov.au |
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Assisting Land Managers in Prioritising Post-Fire Weed Management |
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The Biosecurity Strategy for Victoria – implementation plan 2010 to 2013 is the first stage of the transition to a new biosecurity system in Victoria. The plan outlines the Victorian Government’s key current programs and flags its future directions in this critical area. In decreasing level of importance weed management is focussed on the following: (1) no new weeds, (2) elimination/eradication, (3) containment, (4) asset protection. The Post-fire Weeds Triage project was funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments ‘Rebuilding Together – Statewide Bushfire Recovery plan’. It resulted in the Post-fire Weeds Triage Manual which complements the Guidelines and Procedures for Managing Environmental Weeds on public land (PDF), The Post-fire Weeds Triage Manual presents a decision key to prioritise post-fire weed management. The decision key incorporates considerations such as weed ecology and post-fire response, weed populations at local, regional and statewide-scales, and the likelihood of successful eradication or containment. A practical innovation was the grouping of the 1500+ weed species in Victoria into 19 broad weed groups such as brambles, succulents, thistles etc. The manual contains a very handy appendix with general information about post-fire weed management. Many local experts from the Alexandra, Bairnsdale, Ballarat, Bendigo, Foster, Horsham, Ovens and Woori Yallock regions contributed their knowledge to this project and their help is gratefully acknowledged. The Post-fire Weeds Triage Manual will assist those managing the distribution of funding for post-fire weed-related projects. It will assist prioritisation of projects, including the acquisition of future resources, based on target weed species. For more information contact: david.cheal@dse.vic.gov.au |
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Monitoring Impacts of Burning on Endangered Grassy Ecosystems |
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| Knowledge about the responses of biodiversity to fire is essential for good management of our natural assets. Fire is used as a management tool to reduce biomass and consequently fuel loads in those grasslands where grazing is prohibited. Regular reductions of biomass are known to increase the number, representation and types of plants in an area. The challenge is working out the intensity and frequency of burning that will result in positive outcomes for target plants or animals. For example we would want to increase native forbs (herbaceous wildflowers) but not introduced weedy species. The Gippsland Plains Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Associated Native Grassland is a critically endangered ecological community and is listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It currently occupies less than 5% of its pre-1750 distribution, on the Gippsland Plain in eastern Victoria. Remnants exist on private land, roadsides and in reserves. Some of the threats to this community are weed invasion and inappropriate fire, grazing and mowing regimes Long-term monitoring of the impact of regular burning on grassland integrity is rare. In 2001, ten remnants of the critically endangered grassland and grassy woodland were chosen in east Gippsland rail reserves. Three 10 metre by 10 metre sampling areas (quadrats) were assessed in each remnant. Since 2001 two quadrats at each site have been burnt approximately every 3 years and one has remained unburnt as a control. In spring 2010, ARI scientists worked in partnership with regional DSE staff to re-monitor these sites. Data were collected on vegetation attributes such as species abundance and representation, as well as structural dimensions. Comparison of the vegetation results from the burnt and unburnt quadrats will inform us about the impact of the planned management regime on the grasslands. A key question is ‘Does burning every three years produce the desired results?’ The data will inform us about whether or not we need to adjust the adaptive management plan for these critically endangered grasslands. Future monitoring is the next step. For more information contact: claire.moxham@dse.vic.gov.au Page Top |
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Macquarie Perch Recovery in King Parrot Creek after the 2009 Bushfires |
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The Macquarie Perch (Macquaria australasica) is a native freshwater fish which is listed as threatened in Victoria and endangered at the national level. In Victoria, only a small number of fragmented populations now exist, mainly in cool, rocky, fast flowing streams within relatively undisturbed upland catchments. One such population exists at King Parrot Creek, in the Goulburn Broken Catchment in northern Victoria, which has been regularly monitored by ARI for several years. During extensive bushfires in early 2009, several sections of the creek were burnt to the water’s edge resulting in a significant loss of riparian vegetation. |
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Towards a Process for Integrating the Needs of Fauna into Fire Planning |
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How faunal species persist in a landscape following fire is largely unknown but it is possible to infer species’ responses based on their life history traits, the biological legacies following fire and the development of vegetation over time. ARI has completed a project to provide information that can be used in planning burns on public land throughout Victoria, and to monitor the impacts of those fires on fauna and its habitat. |
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Alpine Mossbed Assessment and Rehabilitation |
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| Alpine mossbeds, also known as bogs or peatlands, are rare in Australia, being mostly restricted to the highlands in the south-east corner of the mainland, and in Tasmania. They occur in areas of impeded drainage with the water table constantly at, or near, the soil surface, where a thick mat of peat moss (Sphagnum) and other species leads to the slow accumulation of peat. Due to their high conservation value, alpine mossbeds are listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Mossbeds are sensitive to fire and other disturbance, but most on the mainland have been burnt in the past decade, with particularly large areas being burnt in 2003 and 2007, and those at Lake Mountain being burnt in 2009. The Baw Baw plateau now remains the only part of alpine Victoria that has not been burnt at least once since 2003. Recovery of mossbeds will be slow, and many that have been burnt, particularly those that have experienced multiple fires or a long history of grazing, will require active management, without which they may not fully recover. Since 2004, ARI researchers have been assessing mossbeds across the entire Victorian high country to determine their management needs. These include post-fire rehabilitation (including revegetation, erosion control and blocking of drainage lines to help retain water), weed control and feral animal control. Grey Sallow willow (Salix cinerea) has the capacity to fundamentally change the structure and hydrological functions of mossbeds, while trampling and pugging by feral horses can lead to substantial areas of bare ground and mud. Management needs differ by region, but common threats to mossbeds include climate change and increased rates of fire. ARI are also working with Parks Victoria to develop remote sensing techniques, which will allow long-term monitoring (at a landscape scale) of the extent and condition of this important vegetation type. For more information contact: arn.tolsma@dse.vic.gov.au Page Top |
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