Savanna burning for biodiversity: Fire management for faunal conservation in Australian tropical savannas

Although biomass burning of savannas is recognised as a major global source of greenhouse gas emissions, quantification remains problematic with resulting regional emissions estimates often differing markedly. Here we undertake a critical assessment of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) savanna burning emissions methodology. We describe the methodology developed for, and results and associated uncertainties derived from, a landscape-scale emissions abatement project in fire-prone western Arnhem Land, northern Australia. The methodology incorporates (i) detailed fire history and vegetation structure and fuels type mapping derived from satellite imagery; (ii) field-based assessments of fuel load accumulation, burning efficiencies (patchiness, combustion efficiency, ash retention) and N : C composition; and (iii) application of standard, regionally derived emission factors. Importantly, this refined methodology differs from the NGGI by incorporation of fire seasonality and severity components, and substantial improvements in baseline data. We consider how the application of a fire management program aimed at shifting the seasonality of burning (from one currently dominated by extensive late dry season wildfires to one where strategic fire management is undertaken earlier in the year) can provide significant project-based emissions abatement. The approach has wider application to fire-prone savanna systems dominated by anthropogenic sources of ignition.

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Assessing the value of ecosystem services delivered by prescribed fire management in Australian tropical savannas

Ecosystem Services ◽

10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101343 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 101343

Author(s):

Kamaljit K Sangha ◽

Jay Evans ◽

Andrew Edwards ◽

Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽

Rohan Fisher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Prescribed Fire ◽

Fire Management ◽

Tropical Savannas

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Fire management business in Australia's tropical savannas: Lighting the way for a new ecosystem services model for the north?

Ecological Management & Restoration ◽

10.1111/emr.12201 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 4-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jeremy Russell-Smith

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Fire Management ◽

Tropical Savannas ◽

The North ◽

The Way

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The distribution and conservation status of Carpentarian grasswrens (Amytornis dorotheae), with reference to prevailing fire patterns

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc15021 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 291 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Graham N. Harrington ◽

Stephen A. Murphy

Keyword(s):

Prescribed Burning ◽

Fire Management ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Population Decline ◽

Northern Territory ◽

Tropical Savannas ◽

Area Of Occupancy ◽

Fire Patterns ◽

Population Restoration

The Carpentarian grasswren (Amytornis dorotheae) is a small, shy passerine patchily distributed through Triodia systems in the central and southern parts of Australia’s tropical savannas. Population decline has been reported in the Northern Territory, presumably due to mismanaged fire. The species is considered Endangered in the Northern Territory and Near Threatened in Queensland, but it is not listed Federally. Here, we present the results of over 3000 surveys conducted between 2008 and 2013. We show that Carpentarian grasswrens are divided into four populations, although the northernmost one (Borroloola) now appears to be extinct. The Area of Occupancy for the southernmost population appears to have declined by 28%, while only small numbers of isolated birds now occur at the two intervening populations. Our data suggest that the four populations appear to be at different stages on an extinction pathway, from population decline, to fragmentation and isolation, to extinction, and this seems to be related to worsening fire patterns as one moves northwards. We suggest that the Carpentarian grasswren be listed as Vulnerable at the State and Federal level, and that urgent investment in long-term regional fire management using prescribed burning is required to reverse the declines in the extant populations. For the presumed extinct Borroloola population, restoration will probably need to involve translocation coupled with effective fire management.

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Does fire limit tree biomass in Australian savannas?

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf14092 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Brett P. Murphy ◽

Adam C. Liedloff ◽

Garry D. Cook

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Model ◽

Upper Bound ◽

Water Availability ◽

Fire Management ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Tropical Savannas ◽

Tree Biomass ◽

Tree Layer ◽

Recruitment Bottleneck ◽

In Fire

Processes allowing coexistence of trees and grasses in tropical savannas have long intrigued ecologists. Early theories focused on climatic controls, but a conceptual model has emerged suggesting that savanna trees are subject to a fire-mediated recruitment bottleneck, with frequent fires preventing recruitment of saplings into the tree layer and maintaining biomass well below its climate-determined upper bound. We propose that this conceptual model has been overemphasised in northern Australia, where tree abundance is more strongly controlled by water availability. The dominant trees, eucalypts, have a remarkable capacity to grow through the ‘fire trap’ to reach fire-resistant sizes. This fire tolerance makes eucalypts relatively unresponsive to management-imposed reductions in fire frequency and intensity. Other trees in these savannas are typically more fire sensitive and respond positively to such management. There are suggestions that savanna fire management could lead to increases in woody biomass, but we contend that if tree biomass is strongly limited by water availability, then potential increases in tree biomass are relatively limited, at least in relation to the dominant eucalypt component. There is potential to increase the biomass of the more fire-sensitive non-eucalypts, but the upper bound of non-eucalypt tree biomass in these eucalypt-dominated systems remains poorly understood.

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Indigenous Knowledge and Seasonal Calendar Inform Adaptive Savanna Burning in Northern Australia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12030995 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 995 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michelle McKemey ◽

Emilie Ens ◽

Yugul Mangi Rangers ◽

Oliver Costello ◽

Nick Reid

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Fire Management ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Wild Food ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Management Planning ◽

Savanna Burning ◽

Greenhouse Gas Abatement

Indigenous fire management is experiencing a resurgence worldwide. Northern Australia is the world leader in Indigenous savanna burning, delivering social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits. In 2016, a greenhouse gas abatement fire program commenced in the savannas of south-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, managed by the Indigenous Yugul Mangi rangers. We undertook participatory action research and semi-structured interviews with rangers and Elders during 2016 and 2019 to investigate Indigenous knowledge and obtain local feedback about fire management. Results indicated that Indigenous rangers effectively use cross-cultural science (including local and Traditional Ecological Knowledge alongside western science) to manage fire. Fire management is a key driver in the production of bush tucker (wild food) resources and impacts other cultural and ecological values. A need for increased education and awareness about Indigenous burning was consistently emphasized. To address this, the project participants developed the Yugul Mangi Faiya En Sisen Kelenda (Yugul Mangi Fire and Seasons Calendar) that drew on Indigenous knowledge of seasonal biocultural indicators to guide the rangers’ fire management planning. The calendar has potential for application in fire management planning, intergenerational transfer of Indigenous knowledge and locally driven adaptive fire management.

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Interactions among threats affect conservation management outcomes: Livestock grazing removes the benefits of fire management for small mammals in Australian tropical savannas

Conservation Science and Practice ◽

10.1111/csp2.52 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (7) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Sarah Legge ◽

James G. Smith ◽

Alex James ◽

Katherine D. Tuft ◽

Terry Webb ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Small Mammals ◽

Fire Management ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Tropical Savannas

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Contemporary Aboriginal savanna burning projects in Arnhem Land: a regional description and analysis of the fire management aspirations of Traditional Owners

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf18152 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 371 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jennifer Ansell ◽

Jay Evans ◽

Adjumarllarl Rangers ◽

Arafura Swamp Rangers ◽

Djelk Rangers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Management ◽

Fire Management ◽

Aboriginal People ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Carbon Abatement ◽

Management Planning ◽

Arnhem Land ◽

Savanna Burning ◽

Land Management Planning

The growth of the carbon industry in Australia over the last decade has seen an increase in the number of eligible offsets projects utilising the savanna burning methods in northern Australia. Many of these projects are operated by Aboriginal people on Aboriginal lands utilising local Aboriginal knowledge and customary burning practice. The present paper reviews existing land management planning documents to describe the aspirations of Traditional Owners in relation to fire management at a regional scale in Arnhem Land. Available data collected in the course of savanna burning operations are then utilised to examine the extent to which the savanna burning projects are meeting these goals. There were six clear goals in relation to fire management within the planning documents across Arnhem Land. Traditional Owners want to: (1) continue the healthy fire management of their country; (2) see fewer wildfires; (3) protect biodiversity; (4) protect culturally important sites; (5) maintain and transfer knowledge; and (6) create a carbon abatement. The results from this paper suggest that although the savanna burning projects are annually variable, these goals are being met. Importantly, the present paper clearly communicates a description of contemporary fire management from the perspective of Traditional Owners at a broad regional scale.

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