Fire regimes, fire-sensitive vegetation and fire management of the sandstone Arnhem Plateau, monsoonal northern Australia

AbstractFire is an essential component of tropical savannas, driving key ecological feedbacks and functions. Indigenous manipulation of fire has been practiced for tens of millennia in Australian savannas, and there is a renewed interest in understanding the effects of anthropogenic burning on savanna systems. However, separating the impacts of natural and human fire regimes on millennial timescales remains difficult. Here we show using palynological and isotope geochemical proxy records from a rare permanent water body in Northern Australia that vegetation, climate, and fire dynamics were intimately linked over the early to mid-Holocene. As the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) intensified during the late Holocene, a decoupling occurred between fire intensity and frequency, landscape vegetation, and the source of vegetation burnt. We infer from this decoupling, that indigenous fire management began or intensified at around 3 cal kyr BP, possibly as a response to ENSO related climate variability. Indigenous fire management reduced fire intensity and targeted understory tropical grasses, enabling woody thickening to continue in a drying climate.

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A reconstruction of the recent fire regimes of Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, using remote sensing

Fire Ecology ◽

10.1186/s42408-020-00090-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Willem A. Nieman ◽

Brian W. van Wilgen ◽

Alison J. Leslie

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Fire Management ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Dry Season ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Local Evidence ◽

Hot Dry Season ◽

Wildlife Reserve

Abstract Background Fire is an important process that shapes the structure and functioning of African savanna ecosystems, and managers of savanna protected areas use fire to achieve ecosystem goals. Developing appropriate fire management policies should be based on an understanding of the determinants, features, and effects of prevailing fire regimes, but this information is rarely available. In this study, we report on the use of remote sensing to develop a spatially explicit dataset on past fire regimes in Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, between 2001 and 2019. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images were used to evaluate the recent fire regime for two distinct vegetation types in Majete Wildlife Reserve, namely savanna and miombo. Additionally, a comparison was made between MODIS and Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) images by separately evaluating selected aspects of the fire regime between 2012 and 2019. Results Mean fire return intervals were four and six years for miombo and savanna vegetation, respectively, but the distribution of fire return intervals was skewed, with a large proportion of the area burning annually or biennially, and a smaller proportion experiencing much longer fire return intervals. Variation in inter-annual rainfall also resulted in longer fire return intervals during cycles of below-average rainfall. Fires were concentrated in the hot-dry season despite a management intent to restrict burning to the cool-dry season. Mean fire intensities were generally low, but many individual fires had intensities of 14 to 18 times higher than the mean, especially in the hot-dry season. The VIIRS sensors detected many fires that were overlooked by the MODIS sensors, as images were collected at a finer scale. Conclusions Remote sensing has provided a useful basis for reconstructing the recent fire regime of Majete Wildlife Reserve, and has highlighted a current mismatch between intended fire management goals and actual trends. Managers should re-evaluate fire policies based on our findings, setting clearly defined targets for the different vegetation types and introducing flexibility to accommodate natural variation in rainfall cycles. Local evidence of the links between fires and ecological outcomes will require further research to improve fire planning.

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Fire Management of Rangelands in the Kimberley Low-Rainfall Zone: a Review.

The Rangeland Journal ◽

10.1071/rj9990039 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 39 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

AB Craig

Keyword(s):

Fire History ◽

Fire Management ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Fire Behaviour ◽

General Management ◽

Noaa Avhrr ◽

Local Experience ◽

Definition Of

This paper examines a range of environmental, research and practical issues affecting fire management of pastoral lands in the southern part of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Although spinifex grasslands dominate most leases, smaller areas of more productive pastures are crucially important to many enterprises. There is a lack of local documentation of burning practices during traditional Aboriginal occupation; general features of the fire regime at that time can be suggested on the basis of information from other inland areas. Definition of current tire regimes is improving through interpretation of NOAA-AVHRR satellite imagery. Irregular extensive wildfires appear to dominate, although this should be confirmed by further accumulation, validation and analysis of fire history data. While these fires cause ma,jor difficulties. controlled burn~ng is a necessary part of station management. Although general management guidelines have been published. local research into tire-grazing effects has been very limited. For spinifex pastures, reconimendations are generally consistent with those applying elsewhere in northern Australia. They favour periodic burning of mature spinifex late in the year, before or shortly after the arrival of the first rains, with deferment of grazing. At that time. days of high fire danger may still be expected and prediction of fire behaviour is critical to burning decisions. Early dry-season burning is also required for creating protective tire breaks and to prepare for burning later in the year. Further development of tools for predicting fire behaviour, suited to the discontinuous fuels characteristic of the area, would be warranted. A range of questions concerning the timing and spatial pattern of burning, control of post-fire grazing, and the economics of fire management, should be addressed as resources permit. This can be done through a combination of opportunistic studies, modelling and documentation of local experience. The development of an expert system should be considered to assist in planning and conducting burning activities. Key words: Kimberley, fire regimes, fire management, pastoralism, spinifex

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Ecological thresholds and the status of fire-sensitive vegetation in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia: implications for management

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf08008 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 127 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Andrew C. Edwards ◽

Jeremy Russell-Smith

Keyword(s):

National Parks ◽

Fire History ◽

Fire Management ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Study Region ◽

Ecological Thresholds ◽

Arnhem Land ◽

The Status

The paper examines the application of the ecological thresholds concept to fire management issues concerning fire-sensitive vegetation types associated with the remote, biodiversity-rich, sandstone Arnhem Plateau, in western Arnhem Land, monsoonal northern Australia. In the absence of detailed assessments of fire regime impacts on component biota such as exist for adjoining Nitmiluk and World Heritage Kakadu National Parks, the paper builds on validated 16-year fire history and vegetation structural mapping products derived principally from Landsat-scale imagery, to apply critical ecological thresholds criteria as defined by fire regime parameters for assessing the status of fire-sensitive habitat and species elements. Assembled data indicate that the 24 000 km2 study region today experiences fire regimes characterised generally by high annual frequencies (mean = 36.6%) of large (>10 km2) fires that occur mostly in the late dry season under severe fire-weather conditions. Collectively, such conditions substantially exceed defined ecological thresholds for significant proportions of fire-sensitive indicator rain forest and heath vegetation types, and the long-lived obligate seeder conifer tree species, Callitris intratropica. Thresholds criteria are recognised as an effective tool for informing ecological fire management in a variety of geographic settings.

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Fire Management in Mount Kenya: A Case Study of Gathiuru Forest Station

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9080481 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 481 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kevin Nyongesa ◽

Harald Vacik

Keyword(s):

Fire Management ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Economic Effects ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Resource Managers ◽

Management Approaches

This paper proposes an Integrated Fire Management (IFM) framework that can be used to support communities and resource managers in finding effective and efficient approaches to prevent damaging fires, as well as to maintain desirable fire regimes in Kenya. Designing and implementing an IFM approach in Kenya calls for a systematic understanding of the various uses of fire and the underlying perceptions and traditional ecological knowledge of the local people. The proposed IFM framework allows different stakeholders to evaluate the risks posed by fires and balance them with their beneficial ecological and economic effects making it easier for them to develop effective fire management approaches. A case study of the proposed IFM framework was conducted in Gathiuru Forest, which that is part of the larger Mt. Kenya Forest Ecosystem. Focus group discussions were held with key resource persons, primary and secondary data on socio-economic activities was studied, fire and weather records were analysed and the current fire management plans were consulted. Questionnaires were used to assess how the IFM is implemented in the Gathiuru Forest Station. The results show that the proposed IFM framework is scalable and can be applied in places with fire-dependent ecosystems as well as in places with fire-sensitive ecosystems in Kenya. The effectiveness of the proposed IFM framework depends on the active participation, formulation and implementation of the IFM activities by the main stakeholder groups (Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and the Community Forest Associations (CFA). The proposed IFM framework helps in implementing cost-effective approaches to prevent damaging fires and maintain desirable fire regimes in Kenya.

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

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt99210 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 58 (4) ◽

pp. 300 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

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.

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The sum of small parts: changing landscape fire regimes across multiple small landholdings in north-western Australia with collaborative fire management

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf21118 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Wysong ◽

Sarah Legge ◽

Alex Clark ◽

Stefan Maier ◽

Bardi Jawi Rangers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Fire Management ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Small Parts ◽

North Western

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

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi9050333 ◽

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.

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Optimal Fire Regimes for Soil Carbon Storage in Tropical Savannas of Northern Australia

Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s10021-011-9428-8 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 503-518 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Anna E. Richards ◽

Garry D. Cook ◽

Brian T. Lynch

Keyword(s):

Soil Carbon ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Soil Carbon Storage ◽

Tropical Savannas

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Carbon projects and Indigenous land in northern Australia

The Rangeland Journal ◽

10.1071/rj13128 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 389 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jeremy Dore ◽

Christine Michael ◽

Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽

Maureen Tehan ◽

Lisa Caripis

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Greenhouse Gases ◽

Land Tenure ◽

Fire Management ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Northern Territory ◽

Emissions Reduction ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Native Title ◽

Indigenous Land

Land activities contribute ~18% of total greenhouse gas emissions produced in Australia. To help reduce these emissions, the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) was implemented in 2011 to encourage land projects, which reduce the production of greenhouse gases and/or sequester carbon in the land. Prospective projects include savanna fire management and rangelands management, which have high relevance in northern Australia where Indigenous landholding is strong. This paper explores the land-tenure requirements necessary for these kinds of carbon projects to be approved by the Clean Energy Regulator. It provides an introduction to the CFI before discussing the land tenure requirements in the states of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia with respect to both emissions reduction and carbon sequestration projects. Potential issues with the current framework are highlighted, especially in relation to native title.

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