Fire and fauna Prof Mike Clarke Department of Zoology
I recently read on a blog site on the web, that I oppose planned burning of any kind. This was a revelation to me, as I had never held such a position, nor spoken to the supposedly omniscient blogger! At the outset of this talk I want to make it perfectly clear I am not opposed to fuel reduction burning to protect life and property. But protection of human life and property is not the topic of my talk tonight. Tonight I want to focus on planned burning that is done with the explicit aim of protecting or enhancing wildlife habitat within a landscape.
New: Aust Magpie, Flame Robin, Superb Fairy-wren, G. Currawong L. Kookaburra, White-naped Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote Missing: Eastern Whipbird, Pilotbird, Satin Flycatcher, Eastern Yellow Robin
Lowland forest results Tonight I am going to present some very preliminary findings for 3 habitats for which we had pre-burn bird survey data from surveys done in 96/97. As you will see from the graph, before the 2005 fire we’d recorded a total of 24 species across our five survey sites. In the 4.5 years since the fire 15 of those species have recolonised the sites and one might assume that given a long enough gap before the next fire, most of the species we expect to see in this habitat will return. But note that of the species we’ve recorded in this habitat type, 8 are new to it – shown by the green block. This means 9 species are still yet to be recorded back on the sites. New species to the site include: Aust Magpie, Flame Robin, Superb Fairy-wren, G. Currawong L. Kookaburra, White-naped Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote Currently missing species include: Eastern Whipbird, Pilotbird, Satin Flycatcher, Eastern Yellow Robin
Summer 1999 – prior to 2005 fire
May 2005 1 month after fire Regeneration of Macalaster Creek We know many Australian plants are capable of astonishingly rapid recovery after fire
June 2005 2 months later
Jan 06 9 months later
Jan 2009 3.75 years later
Jan 2011 – 5.8 years
Average area burnt per year (ha)
Scope: Prescribed Burning
Average burning per year over previous 35 years (1.7% per annum)
Burning 5% per year
If we compare these historical figures with the amount of prescribed burning now recommended for treatment, the end result is quite concerning. Just have a look at this graph which shows the historical amounts of burning in the Murray mallee region since the early 1970s. Here we have the average amount of burning (in ha) per year, which is 1.7% of the landscape per annum. And here, we can compare just what burning at 5% of the LMU each year would look like. This would represent historically unprecedented levels, with an area up to an equivalent of all of mallee vegetation potentially treated every 20 years.
Save Biodiversity!
“Don’t it always seem to go, That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot…” Joni Mitchell 1970
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