Dr MICHELA MARIANI MICHELA.MARIANI@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor
Disruption of cultural burning promotes shrub encroachment and unprecedented wildfires
Mariani, Michela; Connor, Simon E.; Theuerkauf, Martin; Herbert, Annika; Kuneš, Petr; Bowman, David; Fletcher, Michael-Shawn; Head, Lesley; Kershaw, A. Peter; Haberle, Simon G.; Stevenson, Janelle; Adeleye, Matthew; Cadd, Haidee; Hopf, Feli; Briles, Christy
Authors
Simon E. Connor
Martin Theuerkauf
Annika Herbert
Petr Kuneš
David Bowman
Michael-Shawn Fletcher
Lesley Head
A. Peter Kershaw
Simon G. Haberle
Janelle Stevenson
Matthew Adeleye
Haidee Cadd
Feli Hopf
Christy Briles
Abstract
Recent catastrophic fires in Australia and North America have raised broad-scale questions about how the cessation of Indigenous burning practices has impacted fuel accumulation and structure. For sustainable coexistence with fire, a better understanding of the ancient nexus between humans and flammable landscapes is needed. We used novel palaeoecological modeling and charcoal compilations to reassess evidence for changes in land cover and fire activity, focusing on southeast Australia before and after British colonization. Here, we provide what we believe is the first quantitative evidence that the region’s forests and woodlands contained fewer shrubs and more grass before colonization. Changes in vegetation, fuel structures, and connectivity followed different trajectories in different vegetation types. The pattern is best explained by the disruption of Indigenous vegetation management caused by European settlement. Combined with climate-change impacts on fire weather and drought, the widespread absence of Indigenous fire management practices likely preconditioned fire-prone regions for wildfires of unprecedented extent.
Citation
Mariani, M., Connor, S. E., Theuerkauf, M., Herbert, A., Kuneš, P., Bowman, D., …Briles, C. (2022). Disruption of cultural burning promotes shrub encroachment and unprecedented wildfires. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 20(5), 292-300. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2395
Journal Article Type | Review |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jun 9, 2021 |
Online Publication Date | Feb 15, 2022 |
Publication Date | 2022-06 |
Deposit Date | Jun 25, 2021 |
Publicly Available Date | Feb 15, 2022 |
Journal | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |
Print ISSN | 1540-9295 |
Electronic ISSN | 1540-9309 |
Publisher | Ecological Society of America |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 20 |
Issue | 5 |
Pages | 292-300 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2395 |
Keywords | Ecology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5723721 |
Publisher URL | https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2395 |
Files
Mariani Et Al. REVEALSing Australia V10 FrontEcoEnvir Rev2 Final
(1.6 Mb)
PDF
Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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