Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires

Nature, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 635(8040), С. 898 - 905

Опубликована: Ноя. 13, 2024

With large wildfires becoming more frequent1,2, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is discover interactions among fire-regime components, drought land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented3,4 2019–2020 Australian burnt than 10 million hectares5, prompting major investment in monitoring. Collated data include responses of 2,000 taxa, providing an unparalleled opportunity quantify affect biodiversity. We reveal that the largest effects on plants animals were areas with frequent or recent past fires within extensively areas. Areas at high severity, outside protected under extreme also had larger effects. included declines increases after fire, rainforests by mammals. Our results implicate species interactions, dispersal extent situ survival as mechanisms underlying fire responses. Building resilience into these ecosystems depends reducing recurrence, including rapid suppression frequently burnt. Defending wet ecosystems, expanding considering localized could contribute. While countermeasures can help mitigate impacts megafires, reversing anthropogenic climate change remains urgent broad-scale solution. Data collected from taxa provide biodiversity, revealing

Язык: Английский

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Trends and Gaps in Prescribed Burning Research

Environmental Management, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Янв. 31, 2025

Язык: Английский

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When Active Management of high conservation value forests may erode biodiversity and damage ecosystems

Biological Conservation, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 305, С. 111071 - 111071

Опубликована: Март 6, 2025

Язык: Английский

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Paleobotany reframes the fiery debate on Australia's rainforest edges

New Phytologist, Год журнала: 2024, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Ноя. 27, 2024

Summary The tall eucalypt forests (TEFs) of the Australian tropics are often portrayed as threatened by ‘invasive’ neighboring rainforests, requiring ‘protective’ burning. This framing overlooks that rainforests have suffered twice historical losses TEFs and ignores ecological paleobiological significance rainforest margins. Early Eocene fossils from Argentina show biodiverse with abundant Eucalyptus existed > 50 million years ago (Ma) in West Gondwana, shaped nonfire disturbance factors such landslides volcanic flows. Humid environments eucalypts were also present eastern Australia over much Cenozoic. dominance fire‐adapted appears to be geologically recent is linked Neogene C 4 grassland expansion, Pleistocene climate cycles, human activity. We suggest characterizing adversarial results misinterpreting evolutionary history expansion‐contraction dynamics a single humid forest system, whose features now heavily modified activities. resulting management practices damage outstanding World Heritage values carbon storage affected areas thus impacts far beyond Australia. fossil evidence shows margins preserve ancient, still evolving, globally significant interactions should prioritized for restoration research.

Язык: Английский

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From Firestick to Satellites: Technological Advancement and Indigenous Cultural Practice in Managing Forest Fires in Australia

The Historic Environment Policy & Practice, Год журнала: 2024, Номер unknown, С. 1 - 24

Опубликована: Ноя. 24, 2024

Язык: Английский

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