ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3161-4075
Current Organisations
University of New South Wales - Randwick Campus
,
University of Melbourne
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Environmental Science and Management | Conservation and Biodiversity | Wildlife and Habitat Management | Forestry Fire Management | Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics | Invasive Species Ecology
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Control of Animal Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species in Forest and Woodlands Environments | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments | Forest and Woodlands Land Management |
Related Links
Publications
No detectable impacts of frequent burning on foliar C and N or insect herbivory in an Australian eucalypt forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-07-2009
Edge effects in fire‐prone landscapes: Ecological importance and implications for fauna
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-05-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.4076
Patterns of plant abundances in natural systems: Is there value in modelling both species abundance and distribution?
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/BT11017
Abstract: In plant ecology it is common to use biophysical models to predict species distribution however, spatial quantitative models of plant species remain rare. In practice, occupancy models are often assumed to indicate habitant quality and are used as surrogate abundance models. This study assessed the potential value of quantitative models of plants for ecosystem management applications by assessing patterns of occupancy and abundance within two closely related understorey plant species, Xanthorrhoea australis and X. caespitosa. Vegetation quadrats were surveyed in Eucalyptus woodland and cover-abundances were assessed using a metric pin intersection technique. A zero inflated generalised additive modelling process was used to assess the relationship of species occupancies and cover-abundances to environmental properties. The models were applied to mapped environmental data to create spatial predictions of occupancy and cover-abundance. Both species shared several predictor variables, but differing responses to these variables resulted in mutually exclusive distributions. No significant correlation was observed between occupancy and cover-abundance for X. australis, but strong correlation was evident for X. caespitosa. The strength of the occupancy and abundance relationship was found to differ greatly between the two species and is therefore likely to be species specific. Occupancy models have been used successfully as proxies for habitat quality models of plant species however where occupancy and abundance of plants are driven by different influences occupancy will be a poor surrogate for abundance. Outcomes may be improved if occupancy models are validated for abundance or quantitative models are developed and tested for in idual species.
Predicting continuous variation in forest fuel load using biophysical models: A case study in south-eastern Australia
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1071/WF11087
Abstract: The increasing potential for wildfires in Mediterranean-type landscapes has resulted in pressure to mitigate fire threats. This is typically achieved by strategic reduction of fuel. To prioritise fuel management, it is necessary to understand vegetation dynamics and the relationships between plants and fuel. As the direct measurement of fuel in the field is labour intensive, mapped vegetation classes are typically used as to estimate fuel load. As vegetation properties vary continuously, the error in such estimates can be high. Remotely sensed and biophysical data are commonly used for vegetation classification, but rarely for estimating fuel load. This study investigated how fuel load varied with vegetation composition in an Australian woodland and assessed the potential for using biophysical models to create continuous estimates. Fuel was found to be influenced by species abundance, with some species having a greater contribution to load than others. Fuel was found to be somewhat predictable, with quantities related to fire history and several other biophysical variables. Models were applied to create continuous maps of fuel load these provided a more precise representation of fuel variation than using discrete classes. Improved maps have the potential to facilitate improved prediction of fire behaviour and assist targeted fuel management.
Fire planning for multispecies conservation: Integrating growth stage and fire severity
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
Fuel for thought: Do litter-dwelling invertebrates mediate fine fuel loads in frequently burnt eucalypt forests?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2006
Avian responses to the diversity and configuration of fire age classes and vegetation types across a rainfall gradient
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2014
Planned fires and invertebrate conservation in south east Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-03-2010
Attraction, avoidance or indifference: How fauna respond to edges in fire-prone landscapes
Publisher: Jyvaskyla University Open Science Centre
Date: 24-05-2018
Human-modified habitats facilitate forest-dwelling populations of an invasive predator, Vulpes vulpes
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-12464-7
Abstract: Invasive and over-abundant predators pose a major threat to bio ersity and often benefit from human activities. Effective management requires understanding predator use of human-modified habitats (including resource subsidies and disturbed environments), and in idual variation within populations. We investigated selection for human-modified habitats by invasive red foxes, Vulpes vulpes , within two predominantly forested Australian landscapes. We predicted that foxes would select for human-modified habitats in their range locations and fine-scale movements, but that selection would vary between in iduals. We GPS-tracked 19 foxes for 17–166 days ranges covered 33 to ha. Approximately half the foxes selected for human-modified habitats at the range scale, with some ‘commuting’ more than five kilometres to farmland or townships at night. Two foxes used burnt forest intensively after a prescribed fire. In their fine-scale nocturnal movements, most foxes selected for human-modified habitats such as reservoirs, forest edges and roads, but there was considerable in idual variation. Native fauna in fragmented and disturbed habitats are likely to be exposed to high rates of fox predation, and anthropogenic food resources may subsidise fox populations within the forest interior. Coordinating fox control across land-tenures, targeting specific landscape features, and limiting fox access to anthropogenic resources will be important for bio ersity conservation.
Contrasting responses of small mammals to fire and topographic refugia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-04-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12331
Aboveground‐Belowground Linkages. Biotic Interactions, Ecosystem Processes, and Global Change . R.D.Bardgett & D.A.Wardle . Oxford University Press , Oxford , 2010 . x + 301 pp. Price A $61.95 (paperback), also available in hardback. ISBN 978 0 19 954688 6 .
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-11-2012
Effects of fire on pollinators and pollination
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-04-2016
Insect Sampling in Forest Ecosystems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-01-2006
Frequent fuel-reduction burning: The role of logs and associated leaf litter in the conservation of ant biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2000
Habitat selection by the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) in relation to diel period, food and shelter
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-03-2009
Chapter 5: Fire Suppression and Safety. Evaluating wildfire simulators using historical fire data
Publisher: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra
Date: 2014
Long-term effects of frequent low-intensity burning on the abundance of litter-dwelling invertebrates in coastal blackbutt forests of southeastern Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 1999
Factors influencing above‐ground and soil seed bank vegetation diversity at different scales in a quasi‐Mediterranean ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12649
Spatial Fidelity of Plant, Vertebrate, and Invertebrate Assemblages in Multiple‐Use Forest in Eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-08-1998
Bird functional diversity decreases with time since disturbance: Does patchy prescribed fire enhance ecosystem function?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1890/14-1562
Abstract: Animal species ersity is often associated with time since disturbance, but the effects of disturbances such as fire on functional ersity are unknown. Functional ersity measures the range, abundance, and distribution of trait values in a community, and links changes in species composition with the consequences for ecosystem function. Improved understanding of the relationship between time since fire (TSF) and functional ersity is critical given that the frequency of both prescribed fire and wildfire is expected to increase. To address this knowledge gap, we examined responses of avian functional ersity to TSF and two direct measures of environmental heterogeneity, plant ersity, and structural heterogeneity. We surveyed birds across a 70-year chronosequence spanning four vegetation types in southeast Australia. Six bird functional traits were used to derive four functional ersity indices (richness, evenness, ergence, and dispersion) and the effects of TSF, plant ersity and structural heterogeneity on species richness and the functional ersity indices were examined using mixed models. We used a regression tree method to identify traits associated with species more common in young vegetation. Functional richness and dispersion were negatively associated with TSF in all vegetation types, suggesting that recent prescribed fire generates heterogeneous vegetation and provides greater opportunities for resource partitioning. Species richness was not significantly associated with TSF, and is probably an unreliable surrogate for functional ersity in fire-prone systems. A positive, relationship between functional evenness and structural heterogeneity was comnon to all vegetation types, suggesting that fine-scale (tens of meters) structural variation can enhance ecosystem function. Species more common in young vegetation were primarily linked by their specialist diets, indicating that ecosystem services such as seed dispersal and insect control are enhanced in more recently burnt vegetation. We suggest that patchy prescribed fire sustains functional ersity, and that controlled use of patchy fire to break up large expanses of mature vegetation will enhance ecosystem function.
Ground‐dwelling mammal diversity responds positively to productivity and habitat heterogeneity in a fire‐prone region
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.3248
Combining optimization and simulation modelling to measure the cumulative impacts of prescribed fire and wildfire on vegetation species diversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-12-2018
Fire, landscape change and models of small mammal habitat suitability at multiple spatial scales
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-12-2010
Independent effects of drought and shade on growth, biomass allocation and leaf morphology of a flammable perennial grass Tetrarrhena juncea R.Br
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-06-2021
Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1781
Interactions between timber harvesting and swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor): Space use, density and browsing impact
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2007
Fire Regimes and Environmental Gradients Shape Bird, Mammal and Plant Distributions in Temperate Forests
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2017
DOI: 10.1002/BES2.1322
Identifying performance indicators of the effects of forest management on ground-active arthropod biodiversity using hierarchical partitioning and partial canonical correspondence analysis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2000
Fire management for biodiversity conservation: Key research questions and our capacity to answer them
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2010
Spatial fidelity of plant, vertebrate, and invertebrate assemblages in multiple-use forest in eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-08-1998
Global climate change and litter decomposition: More frequent fire slows decomposition and increases the functional importance of invertebrates
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-11-2009
Do multiple fires interact to affect vegetation structure in temperate eucalypt forests?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-10-2016
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1399
Abstract: Fire plays an important role in structuring vegetation in fire-prone regions worldwide. Progress has been made towards documenting the effects of in idual fire events and fire regimes on vegetation structure less is known of how different fire history attributes (e.g., time since fire, fire frequency) interact to affect vegetation. Using the temperate eucalypt foothill forests of southeastern Australia as a case study system, we examine two hypotheses about such interactions: (1) post-fire vegetation succession (e.g., time-since-fire effects) is influenced by other fire regime attributes and (2) the severity of the most recent fire overrides the effect of preceding fires on vegetation structure. Empirical data on vegetation structure were collected from 540 sites distributed across central and eastern Victoria, Australia. Linear mixed models were used to examine these hypotheses and determine the relative influence of fire and environmental attributes on vegetation structure. Fire history measures, particularly time since fire, affected several vegetation attributes including ground and canopy strata others such as low and sub-canopy vegetation were more strongly influenced by environmental characteristics like rainfall. There was little support for the hypothesis that post-fire succession is influenced by fire history attributes other than time since fire only canopy regeneration was influenced by another variable (fire type, representing severity). Our capacity to detect an overriding effect of the severity of the most recent fire was limited by a consistently weak effect of preceding fires on vegetation structure. Overall, results suggest the primary way that fire affects vegetation structure in foothill forests is via attributes of the most recent fire, both its severity and time since its occurrence other attributes of fire regimes (e.g., fire interval, frequency) have less influence. The strong effect of environmental drivers, such as rainfall and topography, on many structural features show that foothill forest vegetation is also influenced by factors outside human control. While fire is amenable to human management, results suggest that at broad scales, structural attributes of these forests are relatively resilient to the effects of current fire regimes. Nonetheless, the potential for more frequent severe fires at short intervals, associated with a changing climate and/or fire management, warrant further consideration.
Detecting mammals in heterogeneous landscapes: Implications for biodiversity monitoring and management
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-12-2014
Impacts of frequent burning on live tree carbon biomass and demography in post-harvest regrowth forest
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-04-2014
DOI: 10.3390/F5040802
Environmental factors associated with the abundance of forest wiregrass (Tetrarrhena juncea), a flammable understorey grass in productive forests
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1071/BT19112
Abstract: When flammable plant species become dominant they can influence the flammability of the entire vegetation community. Therefore, it is important to understand the environmental factors affecting the abundance of such species. These factors can include disturbances such as fire, which can promote the dominance of flammable grasses causing a positive feedback of flammability (grass–fire cycle). We examined the potential factors influencing the abundance of a flammable grass found in the understoreys of forests in south-east Australia, the forest wiregrass (Tetrarrhena juncea R.Br.). When wiregrass is abundant, its structural characteristics can increase the risk of wildfire ignition and causes fire to burn more intensely. We measured the cover of wiregrass in 126 sites in mountain ash forests in Victoria, Australia. Generalised additive models were developed to predict cover using climatic and site factors. The best models were selected using an information theoretic approach. The statistically significant factors associated with wiregrass cover were annual precipitation, canopy cover, disturbance type, net solar radiation, precipitation seasonality and time since disturbance. Canopy cover and net solar radiation were the top contributors in explaining wiregrass cover variability. Wiregrass cover was predicted to be high in recently disturbed areas where canopy cover was sparse, light levels high and precipitation low. Our findings suggest that in areas with wiregrass, disturbances such as fire that reduce canopy cover can promote wiregrass dominance, which may, in turn, increase forest flammability.
Diet of the silky mouse (Pseudomys apodemoides) and the heath rat (P. shortridgei) in a post-fire environment
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1071/WF13168
Abstract: Understanding the ecological effects of fire is important for bio ersity conservation in flammable ecosystems. To this end we quantified the winter and spring diet of silky mice (Pseudomys apodemoides) and heath rats (P. shortridgei) at 20 woodland sites ranging from 2 to 55 years post-fire. We tested the hypothesis that diets would differ (shift) between very recently burnt (2–3 years old) and mature (≥17 years old) parts of the landscape. Analyses based on faecal material collected in winter (June) and spring (October) demonstrated that both species ate a broad range of foods, but the diets of silky mice and heath rats differed substantially with respect to monocot, seed and invertebrates. Seasonal changes in diet were also observed. Silky mice demonstrated a distinct diet shift, with fewer flowers and more seeds consumed at very recently burnt sites compared with mature sites. A distinct diet shift was not observed for heath rats as they ate substantial quantities of monocots and forbs regardless of time since fire. However, they did demonstrate a seasonally dependent diet shift with respect to flowers: in winter, more flowers were eaten at very recently burnt sites but in spring more flowers were eaten at mature sites. In line with the diet shift hypothesis, silky mice altered their diet to take advantage of food groups (principally seeds) more readily available shortly after fire. Heath rats did not shift their diet to the same degree, but a focus on food groups (such as monocots and forbs) that are accessible across the time-since-fire spectrum may facilitate rapid post-fire recolonisation by this species.
Predicting faunal fire responses in heterogeneous landscapes: The role of habitat structure
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2015
DOI: 10.1890/14-1533.1
Abstract: Predicting the effects of fire on biota is important for bio ersity conservation in fire-prone landscapes. Time since fire is often used to predict the occurrence of fauna, yet for many species, it is a surrogate variable and it is temporal change in resource availability to which animals actually respond. Therefore prediction of fire-fauna relationships will be uncertain if time since fire is not strongly related to resources. In this study, we used a space-for-time substitution across a large erse landscape to investigate interrelationships between the occurrence of ground-dwelling mammals, time since fire, and structural resources. We predicted that much variation in habitat structure would remain unexplained by time since fire and that habitat structure would predict species' occurrence better than time since fire. In line with predictions, we found that time since fire was moderately correlated with habitat structure yet was a poor surrogate for mammal occurrence. Variables representing habitat structure were better predictors of occurrence than time since fire for all species considered. Our results suggest that time since fire is unlikely to be a useful surrogate for ground-dwelling mammals in heterogeneous landscapes. Faunal conservation in fire-prone landscapes will benefit from a combined understanding of fauna-resource relationships and the ways in which fire (including planned fires and wildfires) alters the spatial and temporal distribution of faunal resources.
Fire, landscape pattern and biodiversity: Using fire for conservation in a south-eastern Australian ecosystem
Publisher: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra
Date: 2018
Associations between occupancy and habitat structure can predict avian responses to disturbance: Implications for conservation management
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
An instructional workflow for using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to quantify vegetation structure for wildlife studies
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2023
How do heterogeneity in vegetation types and post-fire age-classes contribute to plant diversity at the landscape scale?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2015
Defining vegetation age class distributions for multispecies conservation in fire-prone landscapes
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2013
Long-term effects of frequent low-intensity burning on ant communities in coastal blackbutt forests of southeastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2000
Morphological variation in the dentition and skull of the Australian ghost bat, Macroderma gigas (Microchiroptera: Megadermatidae)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1990
DOI: 10.1071/ZO9900263
Abstract: Morphological variation in the dentition and some cranial characters of the Australian ghost bat, Macroderma gigas, is reviewed by means of univariate and multivariate analyses. Specimens examined are drawn from existing populations across northern Australia also included for parts of this study are mummified remains from southern central South Australia and late Pleistocene subfossil specimens from south-western Western Australia. No clear-cut geographic pattern in morphological variation in M. gigas is indicated by multivariate anlysis (i.e. principal components analysis), although there is some evidence for clinal variation from univariate analysis (i.e. Scheffe's multiple-comparions procedure). Northern Australian ghost bats (with the exception of north-eastern Australian in ~duals) tend to be smaller than their southern counterparts. Sexual dimorphism appears to be low. Independent patterns of covariation among characters are extracted by principal components analysis: cheek tooth widths cluster separately from lengths lengths and widths of the same teeth cluster separately from those of occluding teeth and cranial measurements cluster separately from tooth measurements. Patterns in the data suggest that the number of characters needed to be examined in future morphometric studies of the vulnerable ghost bat can be significantly reduced.
Resolving conflicts in fire management using decision theory: asset-protection versus biodiversity conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2010
Impacts of grazing and burning on spider assemblages in dry eucalypt forests of north-eastern New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2003
Using eDNA metabarcoding to understand the effect of fire on the diet of small mammals in a woodland ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.9457
Abstract: Food acquisition is a fundamental process that drives animal distribution and abundance, influencing how species respond to changing environments. Disturbances such as fire create significant shifts in available dietary resources, yet, for many species, we lack basic information about what they eat, let alone how they respond to a changing resource base. In order to create effective management strategies, faunal conservation in flammable landscapes requires a greater understanding of what animals eat and how this change following a fire. What animals eat in postfire environments has received little attention due to the time‐consuming methodologies and low‐resolution identification of food taxa. Recently, molecular techniques have been developed to identify food DNA in scats, making it possible to identify animal diets with enhanced resolution. The primary aim of this study was to utilize eDNA metabarcoding to obtain an improved understanding of the diet of three native Australian small mammal species: yellow‐footed antechinus ( Antechinus flavipes ), heath mouse ( Pseudomys shortridgei ), and bush rat ( Rattus fuscipes ). Specifically, we sought to understand the difference in the overall diet of the three species and how diet changed over time after fire. Yellow‐footed antechinus diets mostly consisted of moths, and plants belonging to myrtles and legume families while bush rats consumed legumes, myrtles, rushes, and beetles. Heath mouse diet was dominated by rushes. All three species shifted their diets over time after fire, with most pronounced shifts in the bush rats and least for heath mice. Identifying critical food resources for native animals will allow conservation managers to consider the effect of fire management actions on these resources and help conserve the species that use them.
Survey design for precise fire management conservation targets:
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-12-2018
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.1624
Abstract: Common goals of ecological fire management are to sustain bio ersity and minimize extinction risk. A novel approach to achieving these goals determines the relative proportions of vegetation growth stages (equivalent to successional stages, which are categorical representations of time since fire) that maximize a bio ersity index. The method combines data describing species abundances in each growth stage with numerical optimization to define an optimal growth-stage structure that provides a conservation-based operational target for managers. However, conservation targets derived from growth-stage optimization are likely to depend critically on choices regarding input data. There is growing interest in the use of growth-stage optimization as a basis for fire management, thus understanding of how input data influence the outputs is crucial. Simulated data sets provide a flexible platform for systematically varying aspects of survey design and species inclusions. We used artificial data with known properties, and a case-study data set from southeastern Australia, to examine the influence of (1) survey design (total number of sites and their distribution among growth stages) and (2) species inclusions (total number of species and their level of specialization) on the precision of conservation targets. Based on our findings, we recommend that survey designs for precise estimates would ideally involve at least 80 sites, and include at least 80 species. Greater numbers of sites and species will yield increasingly reliable results, but fewer might be sufficient in some circumstances. An even distribution of sites among growth stages was less important than the total number of sites, and omission of species is unlikely to have a major influence on results as long as several species specialize on each growth stage. We highlight the importance of examining the responses of in idual species to growth stage before feeding survey data into the growth-stage optimization black box, and advocate use of a res ling procedure to determine the precision of results. Collectively, our findings form a reproducible guide to designing ecological surveys that yield precise conservation targets through growth-stage optimization, and ultimately help sustain bio ersity in fire-prone systems.
Fly and wasp diversity responds to elements of both the visible and invisible fire mosaic
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/WF16189
Abstract: It is increasingly recognised that fire management for bio ersity conservation must account for two kinds of landscape mosaics: 1) the ‘visible’ mosaic of post-fire age classes as it relates to organism responses to the most recent fire events and 2) the ‘invisible’ mosaic of inter-fire intervals, frequencies and other components of the fire regime as they relate to the cumulative effects of multiple fires. Patch mosaic burning (PMB) aims to create landscape mosaics of fire ages to cater for the needs of a ersity of species differing in their age class preferences, but empirical studies often fail to detect a link between species richness and the visible mosaic. Empirical studies of cumulative effects have so far related species richness to the fire regimes of s le locations rather than the invisible mosaic, within which s le locations are embedded. Invertebrate responses to landscape fire mosaics are particularly poorly understood, so we investigated relationships between fire history heterogeneity and fly and wasp species richness. We find support for the PMB paradigm and the notion the invisible mosaic influences species richness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical test of the invisible mosaic’s influence on animal communities.
Bayesian networks elucidate interactions between fire and other drivers of terrestrial fauna distributions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1926
Fire effects on pollination in a sexually deceptive orchid
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/WF15172
Abstract: Research into the effectiveness of prescribed fire in managing pollination has only recently begun. The effects of fire on pollination have not been explored in sexually deceptive systems. Further, the potential for multiple effects operating at different spatial scales has not been explored in any pollination system despite multiscale effects on pollination observed in agricultural landscapes. We observed the frequency of pollinator visitation to flowers of sexually deceptive Caladenia tentaculata and related it to the post-fire age class of the vegetation at local and landscape scales. We also related the number of the pollinator’s putative larval hosts (scarab beetles) captured at these sites to age class. At the local scale (i.e. the s le location), visitation was highest in recently burnt sites. At the landscape scale, positive associations were observed between (1) putative pollinator hosts and vegetation burnt 36–50 years ago, and (2) pollinator visitation and vegetation burnt ≥50 years ago. Local- and landscape-scale effects on visitation were synergistic, such that visitation was greatest when fire age was heterogeneous within pollinator foraging range.
Fungi and fire in Australian ecosystems: a review of current knowledge, management implications and future directions
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/BT10059
Abstract: Fungi are essential components of all ecosystems in roles including symbiotic partners, decomposers and nutrient cyclers and as a source of food for vertebrates and invertebrates. Fire changes the environment in which fungi live by affecting soil structure, nutrient availability, organic and inorganic substrates and other biotic components with which fungi interact, particularly mycophagous animals. We review the literature on fire and fungi in Australia, collating studies that include sites with different time since fire or different fire regimes. The studies used a variety of methods for survey and identification of fungi and focussed on different groups of fungi, with an emphasis on fruit-bodies of epigeal macrofungi and a lack of studies on microfungi in soil or plant tissues. There was a lack of replication of fire treatment effects in some studies. Nevertheless, most studies reported some consequence of fire on the fungal community. Studies on fire and fungi were concentrated in eucalypt forest in south-west and south-eastern Australia, and were lacking for ecosystems such as grasslands and tropical savannahs. The effects of fire on fungi are highly variable and depend on factors such as soil and vegetation type and variation in fire intensity and history, including the length of time between fires. There is a post-fire flush of fruit-bodies of pyrophilous macrofungi, but there are also fungi that prefer long unburnt vegetation. The few studies that tested the effect of fire regimes in relation to the intervals between burns did not yield consistent results. The functional roles of fungi in ecosystems and the interactions of fire with these functions are explained and discussed. Responses of fungi to fire are reviewed for each fungal trophic group, and also in relation to interactions between fungi and vertebrates and invertebrates. Recommendations are made to include monitoring of fungi in large-scale fire management research programs and to integrate the use of morphological and molecular methods of identification. Preliminary results suggest that fire mosaics promote heterogeneity in the fungal community. Management of substrates could assist in preserving fungal ersity in the absence of specific information on fungi.
Habitat use at fire edges: Does animal activity follow temporal patterns of habitat change?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
Recognising fuzzy vegetation pattern: The spatial prediction of floristically defined fuzzy communities using species distribution modelling methods
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-05-2014
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.12092
Managing multiple species or communities? Considering variation in plant species abundances in response to fire interval, frequency and time since fire in a heathy Eucalyptus woodland
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-0880
Understanding the effects of fire on invertebrates in Australian temperate and sub-tropical forests: The value of long-term experiments
Publisher: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2017.020
Lack of soil seedbank change with time since fire: Relevance to seed supply after prescribed burns
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/WF15013
Abstract: Soil seedbanks play a key role in the post-fire recruitment of many plant species. Seedbank ersity can be influenced by spatial variability (e.g. geographic location), environmental variability (e.g. soils) and temporal disturbance heterogeneity (e.g. time since fire, TSF) across the landscape. Unlike for aboveground vegetation, relationships between these factors and soil seedbank ersity remain largely unknown. Partitioning the influence of spatial and environmental variability from that of TSF, and explaining how these factors interact with seedbank ersity, will assist conservation managers in their application of prescribed burning. We germinated soil seedbank s les from sites ranging from 1 to 75 years since fire in a heathy-woodland ecosystem across the Otway Ranges in Victoria, Australia. We also measured spatial and environmental variability across sites to partition the influence of these variables and TSF on propagules available for recruitment. We found weak positive relationships between seedbank richness and TSF however, these relationships varied across the landscape. We found composition did not change considerably over time, suggesting, in this ecosystem, pre-fire age is not strongly influencing propagules available for recruitment post-fire. Our results suggest that spatial and environmental variability influence seedbank composition more than TSF.
Bird diversity increases after patchy prescribed fire: Implications from a before-After control-impact study
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/WF14123
Abstract: Increasingly, patchy prescribed fire of low severity is used by land managers to mitigate wildfire risk, but there are relatively few experimental studies on the effects of low-severity fire on fauna. We used a before–after control–impact experiment to examine avian responses to prescribed fire at two scales in topographically variable, tall-open eucalypt forest in south-east Australia. We surveyed birds at control and impact areas twice before and twice after fire, and applied mixed models to investigate responses of avian turnover, richness and the occurrence of selected species. Approximately half of the impact area was burnt and topographic variation generated a finger-like configuration of burnt patches on ridges and unburnt patches in gullies. Our findings at the smaller scale (0.8 ha) indicated that the fire resulted in increased bird ersity because a patchwork of burnt and unburnt areas provided a mosaic of distinct successional states in which different species occurred. Additionally, we found that the effect of fire on species richness and occurrence was a function of the presence of unburnt topographic refuges. In contrast, we found no compelling evidence to suggest that birds responded to the fire at the larger scale (400 ha). We conclude that application of low-severity fire in a patchy manner enhanced avian ersity and facilitated the persistence of the birds detected in pre-fire surveys. Although the levels of patchiness required to sustain erse taxa warrant further study, our findings highlight the importance of formally incorporating patchiness into prescribed burning for the ecologically sensitive management of contemporary landscapes.
Fire, food and sexual deception in the neighbourhood of some Australian orchids
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-11-2017
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12464
Sampling downed coarse woody debris in fire-prone eucalypt woodlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2010
Climate and recent fire history affect fuel loads in Eucalyptus forests: Implications for fire management in a changing climate
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2010
The response of cerambycid beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) to long-term fire frequency regimes in subtropical eucalypt forest
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-02-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.12702
Prescribed burning: how can it work to conserve the things we value?
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 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 bio ersity 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.
Opposing responses of bird functional diversity to vegetation structural diversity in wet and dry forest
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-10-2016
Assessment of the diversity and abundance of terrestrial mangrove arthropods in southern New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2002
Habitat characteristics of a threatened arboreal marsupial and its resource use in a degraded landscape: the brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa tapoatafa) in central Victoria, Australia
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/WR16104
Abstract: Context Habitat loss and degradation has contributed significantly to the decline of many species worldwide. To address this loss, we first require a comprehensive understanding of habitat requirements and resource-use patterns of the species under threat. Aims The study aimed to quantify variation in the habitat of a species threatened by habitat loss and degradation, the brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa tapoatafa), by measuring several physical characteristics of trees and ground cover, as well as to determine potential foraging resource preferences using abundance data from a long-term monitoring study. Methods Phascogale monitoring surveys were conducted over a 13-year period from 2000 to 2012. Habitat variables characterising tree communities, ground cover and coarse woody debris were used to develop explanatory models of phascogale abundance at the site scale. Tree species preference by foraging phascogales was evaluated by comparing usage (trees on which they were captured) and availability. Key results The highest overall animal abundance was at sites characterised by associations of red stringybark, red box, grey box and broad-leaved and narrow-leaved peppermints. At these sites, red stringybark and grey box trees were of small diameter and tended to have small hollows. These sites also had low average tree height, low grass and/or herb and shrub cover and low volumes of coarse woody debris. From a resource-use perspective, phascogales foraged preferentially on certain species of Eucalyptus. Conclusions Our study suggests that phascogale abundance is highly spatially and temporally variable, most likely as a response to heterogeneity in habitat and foraging resources operating at a range of spatial scales. Implications This study has provided new information concerning spatial patterns of phascogale abundance and resource use within a forested area in central Victoria that has been subjected to multiple disturbances. Currently, the composition and age structure of tree communities and ground habitats are a response to severe disturbance due to past mining and harvesting activities. Successful conservation of this threatened species could be enhanced through active management of this forest to maintain the ongoing supply of nesting hollows and foraging resources.
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Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP160100584
Start Date: 12-2016
End Date: 12-2022
Amount: $360,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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Start Date: 05-2019
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $439,000.00
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