Spatially-explicit simulation of the effect of prescribed burning on fire regimes and plant extinctions in shrublands typical of south-eastern Australia

Bradstock, Ross A.; Bedward, Michael; Kenny, Belinda; Scott, Jeannie A.J.

doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(97)00170-5

Cited by 86 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Therefore, to have a substantial effect on unplanned fire area, a very considerable proportion of the landscape would need to be treated. This conclusion has been reached by several previous modelling studies based on well-established fire spread equations, both in Australia (Bradstock et al 1998a(Bradstock et al , 1998bKing et al 2006King et al , 2008 and elsewhere (Pinol et al 2005;Cary et al 2009). …”

Section: <0001supporting

confidence: 53%

The effect of fuel age on the spread of fire in sclerophyll forest in the Sydney region of Australia

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Bradstock

2010

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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We investigated the effect of fuel age on the truncation of spread of unplanned fires using a set of 1473 patches in the Sydney region of Australia. Twenty-two percent of patches derived from prescribed fire experienced a subsequent unplanned fire within 5 years, compared with 42% of patches derived from unplanned fires. Among those encounters, the subsequent unplanned fire stopped at the leading edge of 18% of prescribed patches and 11% of unplanned patches. In comparison, the subsequent fire stopped somewhere in the patch for 44% of both prescribed and unplanned fires. Overall, there was a 10% chance that a prescribed burn patch would experience an unplanned fire that stops within the patch. Statistical modelling revealed that the presence of a road barrier was the best predictor of the likelihood of stopping on the leading edge, but fuel age and weather also had an influence. Stopping on the trailing edge was less influenced by the variables analysed. In extreme weather, even 1-year-old patches have a low likelihood of stopping unplanned fires. Fuel age had little influence on the spread of unplanned fires. Consequently, prescribed fires will be most effective when sited at the urban interface where resultant reduced unplanned fire intensity will be a benefit. Abstract. We investigated the effect of fuel age on the truncation of spread of unplanned fires using a set of 1473 patches in the Sydney region of Australia. Twenty-two percent of patches derived from prescribed fire experienced a subsequent unplanned fire within 5 years, compared with 42% of patches derived from unplanned fires. Among those encounters, the subsequent unplanned fire stopped at the leading edge of 18% of prescribed patches and 11% of unplanned patches. In comparison, the subsequent fire stopped somewhere in the patch for 44% of both prescribed and unplanned fires. Overall, there was a 10% chance that a prescribed burn patch would experience an unplanned fire that stops within the patch. Statistical modelling revealed that the presence of a road barrier was the best predictor of the likelihood of stopping on the leading edge, but fuel age and weather also had an influence. Stopping on the trailing edge was less influenced by the variables analysed. In extreme weather, even 1-year-old patches have a low likelihood of stopping unplanned fires. Fuel age had little influence on the spread of unplanned fires. Consequently, prescribed fires will be most effective when sited at the urban interface where resultant reduced unplanned fire intensity will be a benefit.Additional keywords: bushfire risk, fire management, prescribed burning.

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Section: <0001supporting

confidence: 53%

The effect of fuel age on the spread of fire in sclerophyll forest in the Sydney region of Australia

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Bradstock

2010

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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“…McIntyre & Lavorel, 2001, Pausas et al, 2004 and theoretical approaches (e.g. Bond et al, 2005, Bradstock et al, 1998. However, neither these studies nor our own account for vegetation dynamics.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Improving plant functional groups for dynamic models of biodiversity: at the crossroads between functional and community ecology

Boulangeat

Philippe

Abdulhak

et al. 2012

Global Change Biology

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The pace of on-going climate change calls for reliable plant biodiversity scenarios. Traditional dynamic vegetation models use plant functional types that are summarized to such an extent that they become meaningless for biodiversity scenarios. Hybrid dynamic vegetation models of intermediate complexity (hybrid-DVMs) have recently been developed to address this issue. These models, at the crossroads between phenomenological and process-based models, are able to involve an intermediate number of well-chosen plant functional groups (PFGs). The challenge is to build meaningful PFGs that are representative of plant biodiversity, and consistent with the parameters and processes of hybrid-DVMs. Here, we propose and test a framework based on few selected traits to define a limited number of PFGs, which are both representative of the diversity (functional and taxonomic) of the flora in the Ecrins National Park, and adapted to hybrid-DVMs. This new classification scheme, together with recent advances in vegetation modeling, constitutes a step forward for mechanistic biodiversity modeling.

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“…Fire patchiness is an important ecological component of savanna fire regimes because unburned patches can influence a variety of processes, including local extinction of and recolonisation by relative immobile fauna and poorly seed-dispersed flora (Prada 2001, Russell-Smith et al 2002b, Parr and Chown 2003, Price et al 2003. While little studied, understanding fire patchiness has significant implications for biodiversity conservation and ecologically sustainable fire management in fire-probe systems (Bradstock et al 1998, Ooi et al 2006, Parr and Andersen 2006, Driscoll et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…heterogeneity of fuel type, topography, drainage lines), firebehaviour, weather, or it may be stochastic, regarded as being caused by chance, if their place of occurrence in successive fires is unpredictable . These unburned patches provide refuge for relatively immobile animals and fire-sensitive plants, becoming an important source for the propagation of seeds, especially when an area is burnt so frequently that local extinction of obligate-seeder plant species can occur (Bradstock et al 1998, Edwards et al 2001, Burrows and Wardell-Johnson 2003, Panzer 2003. Fire patchiness also has implications for watershed hydrology, soil stability, and may be applied strategically to reduce the risk of hazardous wildfires (Bradstock et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Implications of Fine-Scale Fire Patchiness and Severity in Tropical Savannas of Northern Australia

et al. 2015

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Understanding fine-scale fire patchiness has significant implications for ecological processes and biodiversity conservation. It can affect local extinction of and recolonisation by relatively immobile fauna and poorly seeddispersed flora in fire-affected areas. This study assesses fine-scale fire patchiness and severity, and associated implications for biodiversity, in north Australian tropical savanna systems. We used line transects to sample burning patterns of ground layer vegetation in different seasons and vegetation structure types, within the perimeter of 35 fires that occurred between 2009 and 2011. We evaluated two main fire characteristics: patchiness (patch density and mean patch length) and severity (inferred from char and scorch heights, and char and ash proportions). The mean burned area of ground vegetation was 83% in the early dry season (EDS: May to July) and 93% in the late dry season (LDS: August to November). LDS fires were less patchy (smaller and fewer unburned patches), and had higher fire severity (higher mean char and scorch heights, and twice the proportion of ash) than EDS fires. Fire patchiness varied among vegetation types, declining under more open canopy structure. The relationship between burned area and fire severity depended on season, being strongly correlated in the EDS and uncorrelated in the LDS. Simulations performed to understand the implications of patchiness on the population dynamics of fire-interval sensitive plant species showed that small amounts of patchiness substantially enhance survival. Our results indicate that the ecological impacts of high frequency fires on fire-sensitive regional biodiversity elements are likely to be lower than has been predicted from remotely sensed studies that are based on assumptions of homogeneous burning. interval-sensitive plant species showed that small amounts of patchiness substantially enhance survival. Our results indicate that the ecological impacts of high frequency fires on fire-sensitive regional biodiversity elements are likely to be lower than has been predicted based on assumptions of homogeneous burning derived from remotely sensed studies.

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Spatially-explicit simulation of the effect of prescribed burning on fire regimes and plant extinctions in shrublands typical of south-eastern Australia

Cited by 86 publications

References 23 publications

The effect of fuel age on the spread of fire in sclerophyll forest in the Sydney region of Australia

The effect of fuel age on the spread of fire in sclerophyll forest in the Sydney region of Australia

Improving plant functional groups for dynamic models of biodiversity: at the crossroads between functional and community ecology

Ecological Implications of Fine-Scale Fire Patchiness and Severity in Tropical Savannas of Northern Australia

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