Project leader Alan Andersen, CSIRO
The vast majority of Australian bushfires occur in the tropical
north. The Aboriginal tradition of landscape burning continues
there, with prescribed fire the key landscape management tool
across the vast conservation estates. Half or more of the monsoonal
tall grass landscapes of north-western Australia are burnt each
year.
This project at the Territory Wildlife Park, near Darwin is
unique to Australia. It features an experiment for fire research,
integrated with the delivery of public information and education
programs. Eighteen hectare-sized plots, will be subject to one of
six fire regimes. Established research activities cover fuel
dynamics, fire behaviour, soil biology and ecological function,
grass and tree dynamics, the role of herbivory in vegetation
recovery, invertebrate biodiversity, and the population dynamics of
small lizards.
Bushfire CRC is working with traditional Aboriginal owners in
Kakadu National Park, to examine the cultural benefits of
Aboriginal fire management. This unique project establishes a
significant model for integrating Indigenous and Western knowledge
systems in the conservation of biodiversity and traditional
resource use. At a community level this is enhancing cultural
benefits of biodiversity through the application and study of
Aboriginal burning techniques, improve fire management protocols
for biodiversity conservation and increase public awareness about
the role of fire in northern Australia.
Project Leader: Dr Alan Andersen, CSIRO, Ph: (08) 8944 8431
