This project is investigating the spatial and temporal dynamics
of wildfire in the shrublands and woodlands of the Lake Johnston
region in southern Western Australia. This region has been subject
to only minimal intervention for fire management; hence, the fire
history of the region remains relatively unaltered (at least since
the 1940s) and provides us with a unique opportunity to observe
‘natural’ fire patterns, which have been readily
altered elsewhere.
We have developed a fire history database for the Lake Johnston
region by digitising visible fire scars from remotely sensed
imagery. This database includes information on the location,
spatial extent, and date of all fires that have occurred in the
region since 1940. We have validated this database and confirmed
the date of historical fires by assessing the age-class structure
and distribution of ‘fire-sensitive’ native conifers
(Callitris spp.) using dendrochronological techniques.
The fire history database is now being used to investigate:
1.
Drivers and constraints of fire
regimes (e.g. landscape features, vegetation types, previous fire
scars and weather patterns), and
2.
The role of fire in shaping the
distribution of vegetation types and structure of eucalypt
woodlands in the Lake Johnston region.
This research is providing critical data and information for the
appropriate management of fire in semi-arid landscapes in
Australia.
Alison recently presented a talk on her findings to date
titled “Reconstructing the fire history of an unmanaged
semi-arid landscape using remote sensing and dendrochronological
techniques” at the Ecological Society of Australia Annual
Conference held in Perth in November 2007 and was awarded the
“Australian Flora Foundation award for best oral paper
presentation by a student”.
Project Link: B 1.1
Managing fires in forested landscapes in south west Western
Australia
Project Link: B 4.2
Multi-scale patterns in ecological processes and fire regime
impacts
