Prescribed burning: how can it work to conserve the things we value?

T. D. Penman; F. J. Christie; A. N. Andersen; R. A. Bradstock; G. J. Cary; M. K. Henderson; O. Price; C. Tran; G. M. Wardle; R. J. Williams; A. York

doi:10.1071/wf09131

journal article Sep 01, 2011

Prescribed burning: how can it work to conserve the things we value?

T. D. Penman F. J. Christie A. N. Andersen R. A. Bradstock G. J. Cary M. K. Henderson O. Price C. Tran

G. M. Wardle R. J. Williams A. York

International Journal of Wildland Fire Vol. 20 No. 6 pp. 721-733 · CSIRO Publishing

View at Publisher Save 10.1071/wf09131

Abstract

Prescribed burning is a commonly applied management tool, and there has been considerable debate over the efficacy of its application. We review data relating to the effectiveness of prescribed burning in Australia. Specifically, we address two questions: (1) to what extent can fuel reduction burning reduce the risk of loss of human life and economic assets posed from wildfires? (2) To what extent can prescribed burning be used to reduce the risk of biodiversity loss? Data suggest that prescribed burning can achieve a reduction in the extent of wildfires; however, at such levels, the result is an overall increase in the total area of the landscape burnt. Simulation modelling indicates that fuel reduction has less influence than weather on the extent of unplanned fire. The need to incorporate ecological values into prescribed burning programmes is becoming increasingly important. Insufficient data are available to determine if existing programs have been successful. There are numerous factors that prevent the implementation of better prescribed burning practices; most relate to a lack of clearly defined, measurable objectives. An adaptive risk management framework combined with enhanced partnerships between scientists and fire-management agencies is necessary to ensure that ecological and fuel reduction objectives are achieved.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

158

[1]

Agee "Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments." Forest Ecology and Management (2005) 10.1016/j.foreco.2005.01.034

[2]

Andersen "Cross-cultural conflicts in fire management in northern Australia: not so black and white." Conservation Ecology (1999) 10.5751/es-00093-030106

[3]

[4]

Andersen "Fire frequency and biodiversity conservation in Australian tropical savannas: implications from the Kapalga fire experiment." Austral Ecology (2005) 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2005.01441.x

[5]

Andrew "Frequent fuel-reduction burning: the role of logs and associated leaf litter in the conservation of ant biodiversity." Austral Ecology (2000) 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2000.01015.x

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Bell "Turner review no. 1 – the process of germination in Australian species." Australian Journal of Botany (1999) 10.1071/bt98007

[10]

Bell "Perceptions of prescribed burning in a local forest community in Victoria, Australia." Environmental Management (2006) 10.1007/s00267-005-0290-3

[11]

[12]

Birk "Recurrent fires and fuel accumulation in even-aged blackbutt eucalyptus–pilularis forests." Forest Ecology and Management (1989) 10.1016/0378-1127(89)90056-x

[13]

Boer "Long-term impacts of prescribed burning on regional extent and incidence of wildfires – evidence from fifty years of active fire management in SW Australian forests." Forest Ecology and Management (2009) 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.005

[14]

[15]

Bond "The global distribution of ecosystems in a world without fire." New Phytologist (2005) 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01252.x

[16]

Bowman "The impact of Aboriginal landscape burning on the Australian biota." New Phytologist (1998) 10.1046/j.1469-8137.1998.00289.x

[17]

Bowman "Wildfire smoke, fire management, and human health." EcoHealth (2005) 10.1007/s10393-004-0149-8

[18]

Bradstock "Effects of large fires on biodiversity in south-eastern Australia: disaster or template for diversity?" International Journal of Wildland Fire (2008) 10.1071/wf07153

[19]

Bradstock "Soil temperatures during experimental bushfires in relation to fire intensity: consequences for legume germination and fire management in south-eastern Australia." Journal of Applied Ecology (1995) 10.2307/2404417

[20]

Bradstock "Simulation of the effect of season of fire on post-fire seedling emergence of two banksia species based on long-term rainfall records." Australian Journal of Botany (1992) 10.1071/bt9920075

[21]

Bradstock "Living with fire and biodiversity at the urban edge: in search of a sustainable solution to the human protection problem in southern Australia." Journal of Mediterranean Ecology (2001)

[22]

Bradstock "An application of plant functional types to fire management in a conservation reserve in south-eastern Australia." Journal of Vegetation Science (2003) 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2003.tb02160.x

[23]

[24]

Bradstock "Simulation of the effect of spatial and temporal variation in fire regimes on the population viability of a Banksia species." Conservation Biology (1996) 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10030776.x

[25]

Bradstock "Effects of high-frequency fire on floristic composition and abundance in a fire-prone heathland near Sydney." Australian Journal of Botany (1997) 10.1071/bt96083

[26]

Bradstock "Spatially explicit simulation of the effect of prescribed burning on fire regimes and plant extinctions in shrublands typical of south-eastern Australia." Biological Conservation (1998) 10.1016/s0006-3207(97)00170-5

[27]

[28]

Bradstock "Which mosaic? A landscape ecological approach for evaluating interactions between fire regimes, habitat and animals." Wildlife Research (2005) 10.1071/wr02114

[29]

[30]

Bradstock "Effects of weather, fuel and terrain on fire severity in topographically diverse landscapes of south-eastern Australia." Landscape Ecology (2010) 10.1007/s10980-009-9443-8

[31]

[32]

Brennan "Fuel for thought: do litter-dwelling invertebrates mediate fine fuel loads in frequently burnt eucalypt forests?" Forest Ecology and Management (2006) 10.1016/j.foreco.2006.08.214

[33]

Brereton "Enhanced greenhouse climate change and its potential effect on selected fauna of south-eastern Australia: a trend analysis." Biological Conservation (1995) 10.1016/0006-3207(94)00016-j

[34]

Brockett "A patch mosaic burning system for conservation areas in southern African savannas." International Journal of Wildland Fire (2001) 10.1071/wf01024

[35]

Brooks "Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes." Bioscience (2004) 10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0677:eoiapo]2.0.co;2

[36]

Brunson "Badly burned? Effects of an escaped prescribed burn on social acceptability of wildland fuels treatments." Journal of Forestry (2005) 10.1093/jof/103.3.134

[37]

Burrows "Linking fire ecology and fire management in south-west Australian forest landscapes." Forest Ecology and Management (2008) 10.1016/j.foreco.2008.01.009

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

Cary "Effects of fire frequency on plant species composition of sandstone communities in the Sydney region: combinations of inter-fire intervals." Australian Journal of Ecology (1995) 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1995.tb00558.x

[42]

Cary "Comparison of the sensitivity of landscape–fire-succession models to variation in terrain, fuel pattern, climate and weather." Landscape Ecology (2006) 10.1007/s10980-005-7302-9

[43]

Cary "Relative importance of fuel management, ignition management and weather for area burned: evidence from five landscape-fire-succession models." International Journal of Wildland Fire (2009) 10.1071/wf07085

[44]

Catling "The distribution and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals in relation to time since wildfire and vegetation structure in south-eastern Australia." Wildlife Research (2001) 10.1071/wr00041

[45]

[46]

Cheney "Can forestry manage bushfires in the future?" Australian Forestry (2008) 10.1080/00049158.2020.12089339

[47]

Christie "No detectable impact of frequent fire on foliar N or C and invertebrate herbivory in an Australian eucalypt forest." Applied Vegetation Science (2009) 10.1111/j.1654-109x.2009.01033.x

[48]

Clarke "Catering for the needs of fauna in fire management: science or just wishful thinking?" Wildlife Research (2008) 10.1071/wr07137

[49]

Clarke "Landscape patterns of woody plant response to crown fire: disturbance and productivity influence sprouting ability" Journal of Ecology (2005) 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.00971.x

[50]

Cocke "Forest change on a steep mountain gradient after extended fire exclusion: San Francisco Peaks, Arizona, USA." Journal of Applied Ecology (2005) 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01077.x

Showing 50 of 158 references

Cited By

226

Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires

Don A. Driscoll, Kristina J. Macdonald · 2024

Nature

Comprehensive Examination of the Determinants of Damage to Houses in Two Wildfires in Eastern Australia in 2013

Owen F. Price, Joshua Whittaker · 2021

Fire

Tamm review: The effects of prescribed fire on wildfire regimes and impacts: A framework for comparison

Molly E. Hunter, Marcos D. Robles · 2020

Forest Ecology and Management

Metrics

226

Citations

158

References

Details

Published: Sep 01, 2011
Vol/Issue: 20(6)
Pages: 721-733

Authors

T

T. D. Penman

AForest Science Centre, NSW Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 100, Beecroft, NSW 2119, Australia.; BBushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.; CCentre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, Institute of Conservation Biology and Management, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.; JCorresponding author:

F

F. J. Christie

BBushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.; DDepartment of Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Water Street, Creswick, VIC 3363, Australia.

A

A. N. Andersen

BBushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.; ECSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, PMB 44 Winnellie, NT 0822, Australia.

R

R. A. Bradstock

BBushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.; CCentre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, Institute of Conservation Biology and Management, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

G

G. J. Cary

BBushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.; FFenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

M

M. K. Henderson

GState Herbarium and Bioknowledge SA, Information, Science and Technology, Department for Environment and Heritage, PO Box 1047, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

O

O. Price

CCentre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, Institute of Conservation Biology and Management, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

C

C. Tran

HGriffith School of Environment, Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Australia.

G

G. M. Wardle

IInstitute of Wildlife Research and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

R

R. J. Williams

ECSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, PMB 44 Winnellie, NT 0822, Australia.

A

A. York

BBushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia.; DDepartment of Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Water Street, Creswick, VIC 3363, Australia.

Cite This Article

T. D. Penman, F. J. Christie, A. N. Andersen, et al. (2011). Prescribed burning: how can it work to conserve the things we value?. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 20(6), 721-733. https://doi.org/10.1071/wf09131

Prescribed burning: how can it work to conserve the things we value?

You May Also Like