scholarly journals Assessing ecological performance thresholds in fire-prone Kakadu National Park, northern Australia

Ecosphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e01856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Jay Evans ◽  
Andrew C. Edwards ◽  
Anthony Simms
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Ecological Performance ◽  
In Fire

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 Spatial Dynamics of Invasive Para Grass on a Monsoonal Floodplain, Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 2090
Author(s):  
Boyden ◽  
Wurm ◽  
Joyce ◽  
Boggs
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Wild Rice ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Gradient Boosting ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Stochastic Gradient Boosting ◽  
The World

African para grass (Urochloa mutica) is an invasive weed that has become prevalent across many important freshwater wetlands of the world. In northern Australia, including the World Heritage landscape of Kakadu National Park (KNP), its dense cover can displace ecologically, genetically and culturally significant species, such as the Australian native rice (Oryza spp.). In regions under management for biodiversity conservation para grass is often beyond eradication. However, its targeted control is also necessary to manage and preserve site-specific wetland values. This requires an understanding of para grass spread-patterns and its potential impacts on valuable native vegetation. We apply a multi-scale approach to examine the spatial dynamics and impact of para grass cover across a 181 km2 floodplain of KNP. First, we measure the overall displacement of different native vegetation communities across the floodplain from 1986 to 2006. Using high spatial resolution satellite imagery in conjunction with historical aerial-photo mapping, we then measure finer-scale, inter-annual, changes between successive dry seasons from 1990 to 2010 (for a 48 km2 focus area); Para grass presence-absence maps from satellite imagery (2002 to 2010) were produced with an object-based machine-learning approach (stochastic gradient boosting). Changes, over time, in mapped para grass areas were then related to maps of depth-habitat and inter-annual fire histories. Para grass invasion and establishment patterns varied greatly in time and space. Wild rice communities were the most frequently invaded, but the establishment and persistence of para grass fluctuated greatly between years, even within previously invaded communities. However, these different patterns were also shown to vary with different depth-habitat and recent fire history. These dynamics have not been previously documented and this understanding presents opportunities for intensive para grass management in areas of high conservation value, such as those occupied by wild rice.

The short-term effects of an extensive and high-intensity fire on vertebrates in the tropical savannas of the central Kimberley, northern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Legge ◽  
Stephen Murphy ◽  
Joanne Heathcote ◽  
Emma Flaxman ◽  
John Augusteyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
High Intensity ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Tropical Savannas ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
In Fire

We report the effects of an extensive (>7000 km2), high-intensity late-dry-season fire in the central Kimberley, Western Australia, on the species richness and abundance of mammals, reptiles and birds. Five weeks after the fire we surveyed 12 sites (six burnt, six unburnt); each pair of sites was closely matched for soil type and vegetation. The species richness and abundance of mammals and reptiles was greater at unburnt sites, especially for mammals (with a 4-fold difference in abundance between burnt and unburnt sites). There was an indication that reptiles immigrated into unburnt patches, but mammals did not. There were also species-specific responses to the fire: Rattus tunneyi and Pseudomys nanus were much more abundant in unburnt sites, whereas Pseudomys delicatulus was caught in equal numbers at burnt and unburnt sites. Diurnal reptiles were more abundant at unburnt sites, but nocturnal reptiles were equally common at burnt and unburnt sites. Avian species richness and overall abundance was similar between burnt and unburnt patches, although a few species showed preferences for one state or the other. The overall high trapping success for mammals (18% across all sites; 28% in unburnt patches) contrasts with the well documented mammal collapse in parts of northern Australia and seems paradoxical given that our study area has experienced the same increase in fire frequency and extent that is often blamed for species collapse. However, our study area has fewer pressures from other sources, including grazing by large herbivores, suggesting that the effects of these pressures, and their interaction with fire, may have been underestimated in previous studies.

A new map of mangroves for Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia, based on stereo aerial photography

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthea L. Mitchell ◽  
Richard M. Lucas ◽  
Brian E. Donnelly ◽  
Kirrilly Pfitzner ◽  
Anthony K. Milne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aerial Photography ◽  
National Park ◽  
Northern Australia

Bacteria in tropical floodplain soils are sensitive to changes in saltwater

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffanie M. Nelson ◽  
Claire Streten ◽  
Karen S. Gibb ◽  
Anthony A. Chariton
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Saltwater Intrusion ◽  
National Park ◽  
Wetland Soils ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Tropical River ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Pyrosequencing ◽  
Freshwater Habitats

Bacterial communities in floodplain and wetland soils cycle elements essential for flora and fauna. The coastal habitats of northern Australia are threatened with increasing saltwater intrusion (SWI) events that will destroy freshwater habitats. The effect of the impending SWI on bacterial communities is unknown. Here, we examined the bacterial communities of a tropical river floodplain located in World Heritage Kakadu National Park. Using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, we measured the baseline bacterial communities from three morphologically distinct regions of the floodplain (lower, upper and backwater swamp), within three zones of the South Alligator River (upstream, cuspate and estuarine funnel or sinuous). Significant differences in the bacterial community were observed at each category of floodplain morphology and river zone. The greatest differences were due to pH and salinity. Large changes in bacterial compositions are predicted to occur with increases in salinity and pH. Saltwater intrusion is predicted to increase substantially in the next decades with sea-level rise, and is likely to cause large and significant changes to the bacterial community with unknown consequences for biogeochemical cycling. Kakadu National Park may benefit from incorporating bacteria into routine studies, because we have shown here that they are sensitive indicators of change, even across small ranges of abiotic variables.

National Parks and Native Peoples in Northern Canada, Alaska, and Northern Australia

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Gardner ◽  
J. G. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Native People ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Native Peoples ◽  
Northern Canada

At the very general level, the aim of this paper is to compare the interaction of national parks and native peoples in Northern Canada (Yukon Territory), Alaska, and the Northern Territory of Australia. Currently these areas are subject to increasing land-use pressures from mining, industrial development, the creation of national parks and related reserves, and native attempts to maintain traditional wildlife and renewable resource use. The study focuses on the interactions between national parks and native peoples on the premise that experiences can be compared and problems encountered in one area but possibly avoided in another.The study begins by briefly describing native land-use issues, land-rights arrangements, and organizations, in the Yukon Territory, central Alaska, and Northern Australia. The national park agencies are described, compared, and shown to differ considerably in institutional character, field of management, control of land, and external links with interest groups such as native peoples. Case-studies of the national parks etc. named Kluane (Yukon), Gates of the Arctic (Alaska), and Kakadu (Northern Territory of Australia), are presented to provide more details on similarities and differences in planning, types of tenure, native subsistence activities, and other factors.In the Yukon Territory, neither the national parks agency nor the native people are highly motivated to interact. In contrast, the park agencies and native people in Alaska and the Northern Territory of Australia recognize mutual benefits from interaction—largely as a result of legislation and policies which encourage cooperation. Native involvement officers now facilitate coordination in the Yukon and Alaska. Park agency native employment programmes are proceeding in all three ‘hinterlands’, while native people can own land on which national parks are established in Alaska and the Australian Northern Territory. Only in Australia are native people known to be directly involved in upperlevel national park management. Potential limitations on native subsistence and associated use of national parks range from moderate to severe, and are only defined clearly in Alaska. Lack of definition leads to confusion in deciding upon native use, while exceedingly precise definition precludes flexibility at the park level.A number of aids to a more mutually satisfactory interaction can be identified. One is motivation, or recognition by both parties that there are advantages to consultation and cooperation. Another, not yet achieved in the Yukon, is a land-claims settlement, stating the legislated rights of native peoples in the ‘hinterlands’ and giving them a land-holding and bargaining status which is comparable with that of government agencies. A third aid is comprehensive systematic and regional planning efforts involving opportunities for informed input from all affected parties. Such planning would provide a forum for consideration of a variety of interests, including national parks and native peoples. Finally, satisfactory interaction on the park site could be assisted by clear yet flexible means of deciding upon acceptable native use of parkland, the conservation of wildlife, and associated economic and cultural factors.

Fire experiments in northern Australia: contributions to ecological understanding and biodiversity conservation in tropical savannas

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Williams ◽  
J. C. Z. Woinarski ◽  
A. N. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Tropical Savannas ◽  
Ecological Understanding ◽  
Manipulative Experiments ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Fire Experiments

The management of fire in savannas has been informed by a strong tradition of fire experiments, especially in Africa. This research tradition is much shorter in the 2 million square kilometres of tropical savannas in northern Australia, but has yielded several natural experiments, and three designed, manipulative, controlled field experiments (hereafter 'manipulative' experiments) of international significance (at Munmarlary, Kapalga and Kidman Springs in the Northern Territory). Here we assess the contributions of experiments, in particular the manipulative experiments, to ecological understanding and biodiversity management in Australia's savannas. Running from 1973 to 1996, the Munmarlary experiment comprised hectare-scale experimental plots with four replicated dry season fire treatments, and was designed to examine interactions between fire, landscape and biodiversity. The Kapalga experiment ran from 1989 to 1995, with a range of fire treatments broadly similar to those at Munmarlary. However, experimental units were 10–20�km2 sub-catchments, making it one of the largest, replicated fire experiments ever conducted. The Kidman Springs experiment focused on grass-layer productivity and composition to meet the needs of the pastoral industry, but also provided an opportunity to examine biodiversity responses to different fire regimes. Methodologically, the experiments have generally focused on phenomena—the responses to different fire treatments of individual taxa—rather than on mechanisms that determine response syndromes. They have highlighted that a range of responses to differences in fire regime is possible, and that no single fire regime can optimise all biodiversity outcomes. For effective conservation of biodiversity in the face of such complexity, conservation goals will need to be made explicit. The existing portfolio of manipulative experiments is incomplete, lacking especially a consideration of some critical savanna taxa and environments, and providing little information on the significance of spatial and temporal variability in fire patterns, especially at small scales. An understanding of fire in Australian savanna landscapes remains inadequate, so there is a continuing need for close partnerships between scientists and conservation managers, with fire management treated as a series of landscape experiments in an adaptive management framework.

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