Prescribed Burning in Australian Fire Control

McArthur, Andrew G

doi:10.1080/00049158.1966.10675391

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Ideally, these fires occur at low intensities so that they do not burn the lower forest canopy and re-growth, but are hot enough to maintain a spread through the leaf litter, small woody debris and standing fuel (e.g. grasses, understorey shrubs and dry bark on trees) (McArthur, 1966;Cheney et al, 1992). Within commercial forests, frequent low intensity burns are associated with significantly lower costs than occasional but more destructive wildfires.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patchiness of prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll eucalypt forests in South-eastern Australia

Penman

Kavanagh

Binns³

et al. 2007

Forest Ecology and Management

102

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patchiness of prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll eucalypt forests in South-eastern Australia

Penman

Kavanagh

Binns³

et al. 2007

Forest Ecology and Management

102

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“…The method uses low-intensity fires to reduce fuel loads in strategic areas in an attempt to reduce the intensity and rate of spread of future wildfires (e.g., McArthur, 1966;Gould et al, 2007). There is some evidence that where wildfires encounter patches recently burnt by a prescribed fire there is an increased probability of control (Rawson et al, 1985;Underwood et al, 1985;Grant and Wouters, 1993;Fernandes and Botelho, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and recent fire history affect fuel loads in Eucalyptus forests: Implications for fire management in a changing climate

Penman¹,

York²

2010

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…burns that are beneficial for some ecological communities or single species), although these are far less commonly implemented. Generally, prescribed burns are low-intensity fires that are hot enough to spread throughout the burn area and consume a significant proportion of the leaf litter, small woody debris and standing fuel without causing significant damage to the canopy (McArthur 1966;Cheney et al 1992). In order to achieve this, prescribed burning is generally conducted in the cooler months when weather conditions are more conducive for fire control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil temperatures during autumn prescribed burning: implications for the germination of fire responsive species?

Penman

Towerton

2008

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Prescribed fire is a widely applied management tool in native forests. There have been concerns raised about the ecological impacts of prescribed fire on native flora. One aspect of the debate is the extent towhich prescribed fire heats the soil to levels reported to trigger germination in the soil seed banks.We used Thermochrons to test soil temperatures at 2 and 5 cm in prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll forests. Soil temperatures during the burns were generally low (<40•C) with less than 5% of sites being exposed to temperatures necessary for the germination of fire-dependent shrub species. High temperatures were associated with high fuel consumption and large woody debris. This information suggests that prescribed fires, carried out according to standard practices, in these forests are unlikely to trigger germination in the majority of the soil-stored seed banks. If ecological burns in these forests are aimed at promoting populations of senescing obligate seeder species, they need to be hotter than standard practice if they are to achieve their objectives, although we acknowledge that there are inherent risks associated with hotter burns. Abstract. Prescribed fire is a widely applied management tool in native forests. There have been concerns raised about the ecological impacts of prescribed fire on native flora. One aspect of the debate is the extent to which prescribed fire heats the soil to levels reported to trigger germination in the soil seed banks. We used Thermochrons to test soil temperatures at 2 and 5 cm in prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll forests. Soil temperatures during the burns were generally low (<40 • C) with less than 5% of sites being exposed to temperatures necessary for the germination of fire-dependent shrub species. High temperatures were associated with high fuel consumption and large woody debris. This information suggests that prescribed fires, carried out according to standard practices, in these forests are unlikely to trigger germination in the majority of the soil-stored seed banks. If ecological burns in these forests are aimed at promoting populations of senescing obligate seeder species, they need to be hotter than standard practice if they are to achieve their objectives, although we acknowledge that there are inherent risks associated with hotter burns.

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Prescribed Burning in Australian Fire Control

Cited by 29 publications

References 1 publication

Patchiness of prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll eucalypt forests in South-eastern Australia

Patchiness of prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll eucalypt forests in South-eastern Australia

Climate and recent fire history affect fuel loads in Eucalyptus forests: Implications for fire management in a changing climate

Soil temperatures during autumn prescribed burning: implications for the germination of fire responsive species?

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