Monitoring the impacts of fire regimes on vegetation in northern Australia: an example from Kakadu National Park

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Edwards ◽  
Rod Kennett ◽  
Owen Price ◽  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Greg Spiers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Life Form ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Ground Layer ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

We describe the rationale, methodology and preliminary results from a major monitoring program in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. The program aims to assess fire regimes, their impacts upon biodiversity, and the consequences and efficacy of fire management. The program comprises two complementary elements—mapping of fire histories based upon interpretation of satellite imagery, and assessment of vegetation at a large series of permanent monitoring plots. The program commenced formally in 1995, at which time establishment and baseline sampling of vegetation in 134 plots was conducted, with re-sampling proposed at 5-year intervals up to 2010. The monitoring program has an estimated annual cost of about $A140�000 (around 1% of the total annual budget of the Park). Over the period 1995–2000, the mean annual extent of burning was 40.3%, a marginal reduction in extent from the previous 15 years, particularly for late dry season fires in lowland habitats. From the baseline (1995) and subsequent re-sampling (2000) of the vegetation plots, 963 plant taxa have been recorded. The power of the program to detect change in the frequency or abundance of individual species was poor, especially for ground-layer species, largely because of typically substantial variability in abundance across plots and sampling events, and because of the high proportion of species recorded from few samples. Notwithstanding this constraint, five tree species (of 47 recorded from sufficient samples to test), nine shrub species (from 121) and 27 ground-layer species (from 111) showed significant change in abundance between the baseline and subsequent sampling. However when species were grouped into strata and life-form categories, major changes were evident over this 5�year period, particularly with increases in cover of trees and shrubs. Such changes were related to a range of environmental and fire regime parameters of the plots, with increase in woody cover but reduction in cover and species richness of herbs in those plots experiencing lower frequency of fires.

Fire regimes and interval-sensitive vegetation in semiarid Gregory National Park, northern Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Cameron P. Yates ◽  
Chris Brock ◽  
Vanessa C. Westcott
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Juvenile Period ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Fine Fuels ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

Few data are available concerning contemporary fire regimes and the responses of fire interval-sensitive vegetation types in semiarid woodland savanna landscapes of northern Australia. For a 10 300 km2 semiarid portion of Gregory National Park, in the present paper we describe (1) components of the contemporary fire regime for 1998–2008, on the basis of assessments derived from Landsat and MODIS imagery, (2) for the same period, the population dynamics, and characteristic fine-fuel loads associated with Acacia shirleyi Maiden (lancewood), an obligate seeder tree species occurring in dense monodominant stands, and (3) the fire responses of woody species, and fine-fuel dynamics, sampled in 41 plots comprising shrubby open-woodland over spinifex hummock grassland. While rain-year (July–June) rainfall was consistently reliable over the study period, annual fire extent fluctuated markedly, with an average of 29% being fire affected, mostly in the latter part of the year under relatively harsh fire-climate conditions. Collectively, such conditions facilitated short fire-return intervals, with 30% of the study area experiencing a repeat fire within 1 year, and 80% experiencing a repeat fire within 3 years. Fine fuels associated with the interior of lancewood thickets were characteristically small (<1 t ha–1). Fine fuels dominated by spinifex (Triodia spp.) were found to accumulate at rates equivalent to those observed under higher-rainfall conditions. Stand boundaries of A. shirleyi faired poorly under prevailing fire regimes over the study period; in 16 plots, juvenile density declined 62%, and adult stem density and basal area declined by 53% and 40%, respectively. Although the maturation (primary juvenile) period of A. shirleyi is incompletely known, assembled growth rate and phenology data indicated that it is typically >10 years. Of 133 woody species sampled, all trees (n = 26), with the exception of A. shirleyi, were resprouters, and 58% of all shrub species (n = 105) were obligate seeders, with observed primary juvenile periods <5 years. Assembled data generally supported observations made from other northern Australian studies concerning the responses of fire-sensitive woody taxa in rugged, sandstone-derived landscapes, and illustrated the enormous challenges facing ecologically sustainable fire management in such settings. Contemporary fire regimes of Gregory National Park are not ecologically sustainable.

scholarly journals Small mammals decline with increasing fire extent in northern Australia: evidence from long-term monitoring in Kakadu National Park

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Lawes ◽  
Brett P. Murphy ◽  
Alaric Fisher ◽  
John C. Z. Woinarski ◽  
Andrew C. Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Fire Size ◽  
Burnt Area ◽  
Fire Extent

Small mammal (<2 kg) numbers have declined dramatically in northern Australia in recent decades. Fire regimes, characterised by frequent, extensive, late-season wildfires, are implicated in this decline. Here, we compare the effect of fire extent, in conjunction with fire frequency, season and spatial heterogeneity (patchiness) of the burnt area, on mammal declines in Kakadu National Park over a recent decadal period. Fire extent – an index incorporating fire size and fire frequency – was the best predictor of mammal declines, and was superior to the proportion of the surrounding area burnt and fire patchiness. Point-based fire frequency, a commonly used index for characterising fire effects, was a weak predictor of declines. Small-scale burns affected small mammals least of all. Crucially, the most important aspects of fire regimes that are associated with declines are spatial ones; extensive fires (at scales larger than the home ranges of small mammals) are the most detrimental, indicating that small mammals may not easily escape the effects of large and less patchy fires. Notwithstanding considerable management effort, the current fire regime in this large conservation reserve is detrimental to the native mammal fauna, and more targeted management is required to reduce fire size.

Monitoring indicates rapid and severe decline of native small mammals in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 116 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Z. Woinarski ◽  
M. Armstrong ◽  
K. Brennan ◽  
A. Fisher ◽  
A. D. Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
National Park ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Mammal Fauna

Context. Australia has a lamentable history of mammal extinctions. Until recently, the mammal fauna of northern Australia was presumed to have been spared such loss, and to be relatively intact and stable. However, several recent studies have suggested that this mammal fauna may be undergoing some decline, so a targeted monitoring program was established in northern Australia’s largest and best-resourced conservation reserve. Aims. The present study aims to detect change in the native small-mammal fauna of Kakadu National Park, in the monsoonal tropics of northern Australia, over the period of 1996–2009, through an extensive monitoring program, and to consider factors that may have contributed to any observed change. Methods. The small-mammal fauna was sampled in a consistent manner across a set of plots established to represent the environmental variation and fire regimes of Kakadu. Fifteen plots were sampled three times, 121 plots sampled twice and 39 plots once. Resampling was typically at 5-yearly intervals. Analysis used regression (of abundance against date), and Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests to assess change. For resampled plots, change in abundance of mammals was related to fire frequency in the between-sampling period. Key results. A total of 25 small mammal species was recorded. Plot-level species richness and total abundance decreased significantly, by 54% and 71%, respectively, over the course of the study. The abundance of 10 species declined significantly, whereas no species increased in abundance significantly. The number of ‘empty’ plots increased from 13% in 1996 to 55% in 2009. For 136 plots sampled in 2001–04 and again in 2007–09, species richness declined by 65% and the total number of individuals declined by 75%. Across plots, the extent of decline increased with increasing frequency of fire. The most marked declines were for northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus, fawn antechinus, Antechinus bellus, northern brown bandicoot, Isoodon macrourus, common brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, and pale field-rat, Rattus tunneyi. Conclusions. The native mammal fauna of Kakadu National Park is in rapid and severe decline. The cause(s) of this decline are not entirely clear, and may vary among species. The most plausible causes are too frequent fire, predation by feral cats and invasion by cane toads (affecting particularly one native mammal species). Implications. The present study has demonstrated a major decline in a key conservation reserve, suggesting that the mammal fauna of northern Australia may now be undergoing a decline comparable to the losses previously occurring elsewhere in Australia. These results suggest that there is a major and urgent conservation imperative to more precisely identify, and more effectively manage, the threats to this mammal fauna.

Monitoring indicates greater resilience for birds than for mammals in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Z. Woinarski ◽  
A. Fisher ◽  
M. Armstrong ◽  
K. Brennan ◽  
A. D. Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Bird Abundance

Context A previous study reported major declines for native mammal species from Kakadu National Park, over the period 2001–09. The extent to which this result may be symptomatic of more pervasive biodiversity decline was unknown. Aims Our primary aim was to describe trends in the abundance of birds in Kakadu over the period 2001–09. We assessed whether any change in bird abundance was related to the arrival of invading cane toads (Rhinella marina), and to fire regimes. Methods Birds were monitored at 136 1-ha plots in Kakadu, during the period 2001–04 and again in 2007–09. This program complemented sampling of the same plots over the same period for native mammals. Key results In contrast to the decline reported for native mammals, the richness and total abundance of birds increased over this period, and far more individual bird species increased than decreased. Fire history in the between-sampling period had little influence on trends for individual species. Interpretation of the overall positive trends for bird species in Kakadu over this period should be tempered by recognition that most of the threatened bird species present in Kakadu were unrecorded in this monitoring program, and the two threatened species for which there were sufficient records to assess trends – partridge pigeon (Geophaps smithii) and white-throated grass-wren (Amytornis woodwardi) – both declined significantly. Conclusions The current decline of the mammal fauna in this region is not reflected in trends for the region’s bird fauna. Some of the observed changes (mostly increases) in the abundance of bird species may be due to the arrival of cane toads, and some may be due to local or regional-scale climatic variation or variation in the amount of flowering. The present study provides no assurance about threatened bird species, given that most were inadequately recorded in the study (perhaps because their decline pre-dated the present study). Implications These contrasting trends between mammals and birds demonstrate the need for biodiversity monitoring programs to be broadly based. The declines of two threatened bird species over this period indicate the need for more management focus for these species.

Fire regimes and vegetation sensitivity analysis: an example from Bradshaw Station, monsoonal northern Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Yates ◽  
Jeremy Russell-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Sensitive Species ◽  
Obligate Seeder ◽  
Return Interval ◽  
Noaa Avhrr

The fire-prone savannas of northern Australia comprise a matrix of mostly fire-resilient vegetation types, with embedded fire-sensitive species and communities particularly in rugged sandstone habitats. This paper addresses the assessment of fire-sensitivity at the landscape scale, drawing on detailed fire history and vegetation data assembled for one large property of 9100�km2, Bradshaw Station in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia. We describe (1) the contemporary fire regime for Bradshaw Station for a 10 year period; (2) the distribution and status of 'fire sensitive' vegetation; and (3) an assessment of fire-sensitivity at the landscape scale. Fire-sensitive species (FSS) were defined as obligate seeder species with minimum maturation periods of at least 3 years. The recent fire history for Bradshaw Station was derived from the interpretation of fine resolution Landsat MSS and Landsat TM imagery, supplemented with mapping from coarse resolution NOAA-AVHRR imagery where cloud had obstructed the use of Landsat images late in the fire season (typically October–November). Validation assessments of fire mapping accuracy were conducted in 1998 and 1999. On average 40% of Bradshaw burnt annually with about half of this, 22%, occurring after August (Late Dry Season LDS), and 65% of the property burnt 4 or more times, over the 10 year period; 89% of Bradshaw Station had a minimum fire return interval of less than 3 years in the study period. The derived fire seasonality, frequency and return interval data were assessed with respect to landscape units (landsystems). The largest landsystem, Pinkerton (51%, mostly sandstone) was burnt 41% on average, with about 70% burnt four times or more, over the 10 year period. Assessment of the fire-sensitivity of individual species was undertaken with reference to data assembled for 345 vegetation plots, herbarium records, and an aerial survey of the distribution of the long-lived obligate-seeder tree species Callitris intratropica. A unique list of 1310 plant species was attributed with regenerative characteristics (i.e. habit, perenniality, resprouting capability, time to seed maturation). The great majority of FSS species were restricted to rugged sandstone landforms. The approach has wider application for assessing landscape fire-sensitivity and associated landscape health in savanna landscapes in northern Australia, and elsewhere.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Fire Regimes and Stand Dynamics in Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) Communities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 123-128
Author(s):  
William Romme ◽  
James Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Grizzly Bear ◽  
Pinus Albicaulis ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Greater Yellowstone

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a keystone species of upper subalpine ecosystems (Tomback et al. 2001), and is especially important in the high-elevation ecosystems of the northern Rocky Mountains (Arno and Hoff 1989). Its seeds are an essential food source for the endangered grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), particularly in the autumn, prior to winter denning (Mattson and Jonkel 1990, Mattson and Reinhart 1990, Mattson et al. 1992). In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), biologists have concluded that the fate of grizzlies is intrinsically linked to the health of the whitebark pine communities found in and around Yellowstone National Park (YNP) (Mattson and Merrill 2002). Over the past century, however, whitebark pine has severely declined throughout much of its range as a result of an introduced fungus, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) (Hoff and Hagle 1990, Smith and Hoffman 2000, McDonald and Hoff 2001), native pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) infestations (Bartos and Gibson 1990, Kendall and Keane 2001), and, perhaps in some locations, successional replacement related to fire exclusion and fire suppression (Amo 2001). The most common historical whitebark pine ftre regimes are "stand-replacement", and "mixed­ severity" regimes (Morgan et al. 1994, Arno 2000, Arno and Allison-Bunnell2002). In the GYE, mixed-severity ftre regimes have been documented in whitebark pine forests in the Shoshone National forest NW of Cody, WY (Morgan and Bunting 1990), and in NE Yellowstone National Park (Barrett 1994). In Western Montana and Idaho, mixed fire regimes have been documented in whitebark pine communities in the Bob Marshall Wilderness (Keane et al. 1994), Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (Brown et al. 1994), and the West Bighole Range (Murray et al.1998). Mattson and Reinhart (1990) found a stand­replacing fire regime on the Mount Washburn Massif, within Yellowstone National Park.

scholarly journals Visualizing When, Where, and How Fires Happen in U.S. Parks and Protected Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 333
Author(s):  
Nicole C. Inglis ◽  
Jelena Vukomanovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Park Service

Fire management in protected areas faces mounting obstacles as climate change alters disturbance regimes, resources are diverted to fighting wildfires, and more people live along the boundaries of parks. Evidence-based prescribed fire management and improved communication with stakeholders is vital to reducing fire risk while maintaining public trust. Numerous national fire databases document when and where natural, prescribed, and human-caused fires have occurred on public lands in the United States. However, these databases are incongruous and non-standardized, making it difficult to visualize spatiotemporal patterns of fire and engage stakeholders in decision-making. We created interactive decision analytics (“VISTAFiRe”) that transform fire history data into clear visualizations of the spatial and temporal dimensions of fire and its management. We demonstrate the utility of our approach using Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park as examples of protected areas experiencing fire regime change between 1980 and 2017. Our open source visualizations may be applied to any data from the National Park Service Wildland Fire Events Geodatabase, with flexibility to communicate shifts in fire regimes over time, such as the type of ignition, duration and magnitude, and changes in seasonal occurrence. Application of the tool to Everglades and Big Cypress revealed that natural wildfires are occurring earlier in the wildfire season, while human-caused and prescribed wildfires are becoming less and more common, respectively. These new avenues of stakeholder communication are allowing the National Park Service to devise research plans to prepare for environmental change, guide resource allocation, and support decision-making in a clear and timely manner.

Fire regimes of the piñon–juniper woodlands of Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains, west Texas, USA

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1236-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.M. Poulos ◽  
R.G. Gatewood ◽  
A.E. Camp
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Big Bend National Park ◽  
Fire Scar ◽  
West Texas ◽  
Big Bend ◽  
Davis Mountains

While piñon woodlands cover much of arid North America, surprisingly little is known about the role of fire in maintaining piñon forest structure and species composition. The lack of region-specific fire regime data for piñon–juniper woodlands presents a roadblock to managers striving to implement process-based management. This study characterized piñon–juniper fire regimes and forest stand dynamics in Big Bend National Park (BIBE) and the Davis Mountains Preserve of the Nature Conservancy (DMTNC) in west Texas. Mean fire return intervals were 36.5 and 11.2 years for BIBE and DMTNC, respectively. Point fire return intervals were 150 years at BIBE and 75 years at DMTNC. Tree regeneration in west Texas piñon–juniper woodlands occurred historically during favorable climatic conditions following fire years. The presence of multiple fire scars on our fire-scar samples and the multicohort stands of piñon suggested that low intensity fires were common. This study represents one of the few fire-scar-based fire regime studies for piñon–juniper woodlands. Our results differ from other studies in less topographically dissected landscapes that have identified stand-replacing fire as the dominant fire regime for piñon–juniper woodlands. This suggests that mixed-severity fire regimes are typical across southwestern piñon forests, and that topography is an important influence on fire frequency and intensity.

scholarly journals Fire History of the Lamar River Drainage, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

1989 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 169-173
Author(s):  
Stephen Barrett ◽  
Stephen Arno
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
River Drainage ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
History Of

This study's goal is to document the fire history of the Lamar River drainage, southeast of Soda Butte Creek in the Absaroka Mountains of northeastern Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Elsewhere in YNP investigators have documented very long-interval fire regimes for lodgepole pine forests occurring on rhyolitic derived soils (Romme 1982, Romme and Despain 1989) and short-interval fire regimes for the Douglas-fir/grassland types (Houston 1973). No fire regime information was available for lodgepole pine forests on andesitic derived soils, such as in the Lamar drainage. This study will provide managers with a more complete understanding of YNP natural fire history, and the data will supplement the park's Geographic Information System (GIS) data base. Moreover, most of the study area was severely burned in 1988 and historical tree ring data soon will be lost to attrition of potential sample trees.

Fire history in ponderosa pine landscapes of Grand Canyon National Park: is it reliable enough for management and restoration?

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 433 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Grand Canyon National Park ◽  
High Severity ◽  
The Impact

Reconstructing fire regimes of the past can provide a valuable frame of reference for understanding the impact of human land uses on contemporary fire and forest structure, but methods for reconstructing past fire regimes are under re-evaluation. In the present article, a common method of characterizing surface fire regimes, using composite fire intervals from fire scars, is shown to significantly underestimate the length of the fire rotation and population mean fire interval in Grand Canyon landscapes where these parameters are known. Also, the evidence and interpretation that past high-severity fire was uncommon in ponderosa pine landscapes in Grand Canyon National Park are challenged. Together, these two concerns mean that an alternative characterization of the fire regime, which has very different implications, cannot be excluded. Management aimed at lowering fire risk, as a means of restoration, does not presently have a sound scientific basis, if it uses the composite fire interval as a measure of the fire regime or is based on fire history research that lacks adequate analysis of past high-severity fire.

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