Large fires in Australian alpine landscapes: their part in the historical fire regime and their impacts on alpine biodiversity

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Williams ◽  
Carl-Henrik Wahren ◽  
Arn D. Tolsma ◽  
Glenn M. Sanecki ◽  
Warwick A. Papst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regime ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Fire Monitoring ◽  
Core Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Large Fires ◽  
Using Data

The fires of summer 2003 in south-eastern Australia burnt tens of thousands of hectares of treeless alpine landscape. Here, we examine the environmental impact of these fires, using data from the Bogong High Plains area of Victoria, and the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. Historical and biophysical evidence suggests that in Australian alpine environments, extensive fires occur only in periods of extended regional drought, and when severe local fire weather coincides with multiple ignitions in the surrounding montane forests. Dendrochronological evidence indicates that large fires have occurred approximately every 50–100 years over the past 400 years. Post-fire monitoring of vegetation in grasslands and heathlands indicates that most alpine species regenerate rapidly after fire, with >90% of species present 1 year after fire. Some keystone species in some plant communities, however, had not regenerated after 3 years. The responses of alpine fauna to the 2003 fires were variable. The core habitat (closed heathland) of several vulnerable small mammals was extensively burnt. Some mammals experienced substantial falls in populations, others experienced substantial increases. Unburnt patches of vegetation are critical to faunal recovery from fire. There was, however, no evidence of local extinction. We conclude that infrequent extensive fires are a feature of alpine Australia. For both the flora and fauna, there is no quantitative evidence that the 2003 fires were an ecological disaster, and we conclude that the flora and fauna of alpine Australia are highly resilient to infrequent, large, intense fires.

Extensive range contraction predicted under climate warming for a gliding mammal in north-eastern Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Fathimah Handayani ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Darren McHugh ◽  
Nicole Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Climate Warming ◽  
New South ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Core Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Wet Tropics ◽  
Future Warming ◽  
Petaurus Australis

We used MaxEnt to model the current distribution of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) and to predict the likely shift in the species’ future distribution under climate-warming scenarios in the Wet Tropics (WT) Bioregion in north Queensland and in the South-eastern Queensland (SEQld) Bioregion, which encompasses south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. Bioclimatic layers were used to generate models from 57 independent records in the WT and 428 records in SEQld. The modelled distribution of core habitat under current climate showed a good fit to the data, encompassing 91% and 88% of the records in each area, respectively. Modelling of future warming scenarios suggests that large contractions in distribution could occur in both bioregions. In the WT, 98% of core habitat is predicted to be lost under low warming (1°C increase) and 100% under high warming (2−3°C increase) by 2070. In SEQld, 80% of core habitat is predicted to be lost under low warming and 90% under high warming by 2070. These results suggest that this species is highly vulnerable to climate warming and highlight the importance of focusing conservation efforts at the bioregional scale. There is also a need to identify potential thermal refuges and ensure habitat connectivity.

The Subgeneric Composition of Eucalypt Forest Stands in a Region of South-Eastern Australia

1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
MP Austin ◽  
RB Cunningham ◽  
JT Wood
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecology ◽  
New South ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Reverse Situation ◽  
Using Data

Pryor's rule that mixed stands of eucalypt forest consist of species from different subgeneric groups was tested statistically using data from a vegetation survey of part of the South Coast of New South Wales. The plot data were stratified by environmental regions, and expressed in terms of the subgeneric combinations of the two most abundant tree species. The categories recognized were the eucalypt subgenera Monocalyptus, Symphyomyrtus and Corymbia, plus Angophora and others. The results suggest that: (a) subgenera are characteristic of certain environmental regions; (b) combinations of subgenera are not random; (c) a modification of Pryor's rule is applicable to three of the four regions studied; and (d) in addition, certain combinations of subgenera occur more frequently than expected by chance, e.g. Monocalyptus occurs as the most abundant species, with Symphomyrtus as subordinate, more frequently than the reverse situation. The results accord with recent reviews of eucalypt forest ecology but there are many plots with a composition of three species from the same subgenus. Biological explanations for Pryor's rule must also take account of these exceptions and the tendency for Symphyomyrtus species to be subdominant to Monocalyptus in the coastal region.

Post-fire recruitment and resprouting of a threatened montane eucalypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Heidi Zimmer ◽  
Jan Allen ◽  
Rob Smith ◽  
Rebecca Gibson ◽  
Tony Auld
Keyword(s):  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
New South ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Short Interval ◽  
Fire Event ◽  
High Severity ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
One Year

Changing climate is predicted to result in increased frequency and size of wildfires in south-eastern Australia. With increasing area burnt there is increased potential for entire species distributions to be burnt in a single fire event. This is particularly the case for range-restricted threatened species. Eucalyptus canobolensis (L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill) J.T.Hunter is restricted to Mount Canobolas, New South Wales, Australia. In 2018, the majority of the E. canobolensis population was burnt by wildfire. One-year post-fire, we measured recruitment, resprouting and mortality of E. canobolensis. At higher fire severities, smaller trees were more likely to resprout from their bases only, as their stems were killed (i.e. ‘top kill’). Seedling regeneration only occurred in burnt plots. Our study demonstrates that E. canobolensis has a fire response typical of many eucalypts, characterised by seedling recruitment and larger trees resprouting epicormically, even after high-severity fire. Nevertheless, E. canobolensis response to repeat and short-interval fire remains unknown, and smaller trees appear to be vulnerable to top kill. Although much of Australia’s flora can respond to fire, this response is likely to be challenged as fire extents increase, especially if this is combined with increasing fire severity and/or frequency. These changes to the fire regime are a particular threat to species with restricted distributions.

Fire, humans and climate as drivers of environmental change on Broughton Island, New South Wales, Australia

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1528-1539
Author(s):  
Scott D. Mooney ◽  
Geoffrey Hope ◽  
Dylan Horne ◽  
Johan Kamminga ◽  
Alan N. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regime ◽  
New South ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arboreal Pollen ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Obvious Feature

In Australia, the drivers of precolonial fire regimes remain contentious, with some advocating an anthropogenic-dominated regime, and others highlighting the importance of climate, climatic variability or alternatively some nexus between climate and human activity. Here, we explore the inter-relationships between fire, humans and vegetation using macroscopic charcoal, archaeology and palynology over the last ~5430 cal. year BP from Broughton Island, a small, near-shore island located in eastern Australia. We find a clear link between fire and the reduction of arboreal pollen and rainforest indicators on the island, especially at ~4.0 ka and in the last ~1000 years. Similarities with comparable palaeoenvironmental records of fire in the region and a record of strong El Niño (dry, fire-prone) events supports the contention that climate was a significant influence on the fire regimes of Broughton Island. However, two periods of enhanced fire activity, at ~4000 years BP and ~<600 years BP have weaker links to climate, and perhaps reflect anthropogenic activity. Changes to the fire regime in the last ~600 years corresponds with the earliest evidence of Indigenous archaeology on the island, and coincides with implications that Polynesian people were present in the region. After the mid-Twentieth Century a human-dominated fire regime is also an obvious feature of the reconstructed fire record on Broughton Island.

Phylogeography of the Australian sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps): evidence for a new divergent lineage in eastern Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansoureh Malekian ◽  
Steven J. B. Cooper ◽  
Susan M. Carthew
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Nuclear Gene ◽  
Population Subdivision ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sugar Glider ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Mtdna Diversity ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Petaurus Breviceps

The sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) shows considerable variation in external morphology and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity across its distribution in New Guinea and Australia. Here we investigate the phylogeography of P. breviceps in Australia using data from two mitochondrial genes (ND2 and ND4) and a nuclear gene (ω-globin). Phylogenetic analyses revealed the existence of two divergent mtDNA clades that are distributed over distinct geographical regions, one from coastal New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland and a second over the remaining distributional range of the species in Australia. The two groups generally had distinct ω-globin haplotypes that differed by one or two mutational steps. Analyses of Molecular Variation further supported the presence of at least two populations, accounting for 84.8% of the total mtDNA variation and 44% of the ω-globin variation. The general concordance of phylogeographic and population analyses suggests that population subdivision, possibly resulting from the combined influences of aridification after the Pliocene and uplift of the Great Dividing Range has impacted the evolution of P. breviceps. Our results also show that the geographical distribution of the two evolutionary lineages does not correspond with the distribution of the current morphological subspecies and we further propose that they be considered as separate Evolutionarily Significant Units for the purposes of conservation management.

Physical Modelling of Leaf Scorch Height From Prescribed Fires in Young Eucalyptus Sieberi Regrowth Forests in South-Eastern Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
JS Gould ◽  
I Knight ◽  
AL Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Environment ◽  
New South ◽  
Physical Modelling ◽  
Prescribed Fires ◽  
Axially Symmetric ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Regrowth Forest

Information on weather, fuel and fire behaviour were recorded on 56 experimental prescribed fires in young coastal silvertop ash (Eucalyptus sieberi) regrowth forest in south-east New South Wales, Australia. The thermal environment above the fire was measured in 14 of those fires. Existing plume models, based on the assumption of a uniformly burning line fire, were found to under-predict the temperature of the air rising into the canopy. An axially symmetric plume model, based on the observation that fires burning in non-uniform fuels are not uniformly burning line fires, was developed using standard plume rise equations. This model, called the Sporadic Axial Model (SAM), was calibrated using data from one fire. This model can be used to predict scorch height from known ambient temperature and Byram's fire line intensity. The SAM model suggests that scorch height will be greater for prescribed fires burnt under calm conditions than prescribed fires of the same intensity burnt under stronger wind conditions.

The distribution and habitat requirements of the great barred frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten M. Parris
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Habitat Requirements ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Climatic Range ◽  
Using Data

The great barred frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus) is a common, ground-dwelling frog from the forests of eastern Australia, with a wide geographic distribution extending from mid-east Queensland to southern New South Wales. This paper presents a quantitative assessment of the distribution and habitat requirements of M. fasciolatus, using data collected during a stratified survey across its geographic and environmental range. I found M. fasciolatus at 55 of 124 sites, and in all areas of forest surveyed except for Girraween National Park in Queensland and the southern highlands of New South Wales. I detected 42 other species of frogs during the survey, including the introduced cane toad (Bufo marinus). Statistical habitat modelling indicated that in forests within its climatic range, M. fasciolatus was most likely to occur in wetter forests (wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest), in areas with lower precipitation and intermediate temperatures in the warmest (summer) quarter of the year. When present at a site, the number of individuals of M. fasciolatus detected during a survey (a measure of relative abundance) was predicted to decrease with increasing summer precipitation. This frog survey represents one of the largest ever undertaken in Australia, with a study area of 125�000 km2, and 124 survey sites in 21 State Forests and nine National Parks. Field data collected during the study and the resulting habitat models provide a baseline against which future changes in the distribution or abundance of M. fasciolatus may be assessed.

Alpine and Subalpine Wetland Vegetation on the Bogong High Plains, South-eastern Australia

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-H. Wahren ◽  
R. J. Williams ◽  
W. A. Papst
Keyword(s):  
Soil Depth ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Wetland Vegetation ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Drainage Channels ◽  
Floristic Variation ◽  
Steep Slopes

The botanical composition and structure of wetland vegetation from seven sites in the alpine and subalpine tracts of the Bogong High Plains was sampled in 1995 and 1996. Sites were in the vicinity of Mts Nelse, Cope and Fainter. Sampling was based on contiguous 1-m2 quadrats along transects 20−70 m long across each wetland. Samples were ordinated using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Floristic variation was assessed both within selected individual wetlands, and between wetlands from different regions. The relationship between the ordinations and environmental variables such as soil surface texture, soil depth and the amount of bare ground was tested by fitting vectors. Three dominant vegetation assemblages were identified. Closed heath, of hygrophyllous, scleromorphic shrubs such as Richea continentis and Baeckea gunniana, the rush Empodisma minus and the moss Sphagnum cristatum occurred on the deeper peats. Low open heath of Epacris glacialis and Danthonia nivicola occurred on shallow peats. Herbfields of Caltha introloba and Oreobolus pumilio occurred on stony pavements in two different physiographic situations&horbar;on relatively steep slopes (10−20°) at the head of wetlands, and on flat ground (slope < 2°), below the head of wetlands. The pavements on the steeper sites appeared to be associated with periglacial features such as solifluction lobes and terraces. Those on the flatter ground appeared to have been derived more recently. Wetlands in the Mt Cope region consisted of closed heath, low open heath and pavement herbfield in various proportions. Wetlands on Mt Fainter, which are subject to heavy trampling by cattle, were in a degraded condition, with a low cover of major hygrophyllous mosses and shrubs, and a high cover of introduced species. Long-ungrazed wetlands in a 50-year exclosure at Rocky Valley had high cover of closed heath, no pavements, numerous ponds and virtually no entrenched drainage channels or exposed peat. The Caltha herbfields are significant features nationally, both floristically and geomorphologically. Alpine and subalpine wetlands have been listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and continued grazing by cattle is not compatible with the conservation objectives for this alpine vegetation type.

Grain protein responses to nitrogen applied to wheat growing on a red earth

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 735 ◽  
Author(s):  
JF Angus ◽  
RA Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Ammonium Nitrate ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Grain Protein ◽  
Fertilizer N ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Red Earth ◽  
Subsequent Crop ◽  
Urea Ammonium Nitrate

Dryland wheat was fertilized with ammonium nitrate or liquid urea-ammonium nitrate at the time of sowing or about 3 months later (generally at the terminal-spikelet stage) on a well-drained site near Harden on the south-west slopes of New South Wales. The experiments continued from the second to the fifth year (1981-1984) of the cropping phase of a crop-pasture rotation. The maximum agronomic efficiencies for yield in the four consecutive years were 19, 4, 23 and 25 kg grain per kg of applied nitrogen (N). The three large responses were obtained in wetter than average seasons and the small response was obtained during drought. In the last three years of the study the yield response to nitrogen at the terminal-spikelet stage was found to be close to but slightly less than that for N applied at sowing. In those years the agronomic efficiencies for the late-applied N were 0, 22 and 22. The apparent recovery of fertilizer N in the above-ground parts of the crop at maturity was up to 70% of the fertilizer applied in the year of sowing, and, after the drought during which there was little uptake of fertilizer N, up to 62% by the subsequent crop. The fertilizer efficiencies in the non-drought years were higher than generally reported in south-eastern Australia, and indicate potential for profitable delayed application of N fertilizer to wheat. Grain-protein responses were variable from year to year and are discussed against a simple theoretical background of the amount of N applied and grain-yield response.

Evidence of High Sea Level during Isotope Stage 5c in Queensland, Australia

1985 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Pickett ◽  
C. H. Thompson ◽  
R. A. Kelley ◽  
D. Roman
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
New South ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Coastal Dunes ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
High Dune

Thirty-nine species of scleractinian corals have been recovered from under a high dune on the western (mainland) side of North Stradbroke Island, eastern Australia. The corals are associated with thin intertidal sediments and their good condition implies burial in situ and preservation in a saturated zone. Most likely this occurred as the coast prograded and a large dune advanced into the littoral zone, burying intertidal sediments and coral. The species assemblage indicates a sheltered environment but one open to the ocean without wide fluctuations in salinity. Three species yielded a mean 230Th/234U age of 105,000 yr B.P. which is significantly younger than the nearest Pleistocene corals at Evans Head, New South Wales. The corals provide evidence of a sea stand near present sea level during isotope Stage 5c, which is considerably higher than previously suggested for this period. Their good condition implies that the overlying parabolic dune is of comparable age and formed during that high stand of sea level. Also, the isotope age provides a maximum period for the development of giant podzols in the podzol chronosequences on coastal dunes in southern Queensland.

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