CSIRO is using expertise in rangeland and savanna fire ecology to inform and help improve the use of fire for managing the landscape.
Overview
Fire in the Australian landscape is a fact of life and, depending on where it occurs, can be viewed either as a destructive agent to be feared or as an important tool for landscape management.
The vast majority of bushfires in Australia occur in the savanna landscapes of the tropical north, where bushfire issues relate primarily to landscape management rather than protection of life and property.
The Australian Aboriginal tradition of landscape burning continues strongly in northern Australia, and fire has been adopted as a key landscape management tool across the vast conservation estates of the north.
Fire is used to manage:
-
natural habitats for biodiversity conservation
-
native pastures for cattle production
-
the control of invasive plants.
CSIRO's research expertise in fire ecology and management is providing the science needed for improving landscape management in rangelands and tropical savannas.
However, there is still more to learn about the ecological effects of different types of fire.
CSIRO's research expertise in fire ecology and management is providing the science needed for improving landscape management in the rangeland and tropical savanna regions of Australia.
Applying our expertise
CSIRO is applying scientific expertise in several fire research projects in the rangelands and savannas of Australia.
Our areas of focus include:
-
fire behaviour
-
the effects of fire on vegetation structure and carbon dynamics
-
the use of fire in managing woody weeds and other invasive plants
-
the role of fire in pasture management.
CSIRO in Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory, is leading the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre's (CRC) Burning for Biodiversity project in northern Australia.
This project aims to:
-
enhance our understanding of the effects of different fire regimes on:
-
biodiversity
-
ecological function
-
carbon storage
-
improve fire management protocols for biodiversity conservation, including more effective engagement with Aboriginal people
-
increase public awareness and understanding of the role of fire in northern Australia through a new fire research and education facility at the Territory Wildlife Park near Darwin, in partnership with:
-
examine the biodiversity and cultural benefits of Aboriginal fire management as it is re-applied to floodplains associated with the South Alligator River in collaboration with:
-
expand the recently developed partnership with the Western Australia’s Department of Environment and Conservation to develop a major fire research and monitoring program in the Kimberley district.
CSIRO in Alice Springs is also working with the Desert Knowledge CRC to develop a fire and vegetation management plan for Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park.
In Townsville, a collaborative project between CSIRO, the Burdekin Dry Tropics Board and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is comparing the effects of different fire and grazing regimes on the invasive wetland weed Para grass, using the Townsville Town Common as a test site.
In the Gulf region of Queensland, CSIRO scientists are involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of the use of fire to control woody weed vegetation.
Read about Carbon dynamics in Australia’s tropical north.
Site Map | Legal Notice and Disclaimer | Privacy | Copyright | Last updated: 3 December 2007
