Can animal dispersal inform fire management for species conservation? This project aims to improve fire management for environmental outcomes in northern Australia. It will address a key knowledge gap in our understanding of the effects of fire on biodiversity, relating to the spatial pattern of fire in the landscape. This is important because changing patterns of fire are not only a risk to humans but have major effects on our environment. This project will involve researchers, environmental ma ....Can animal dispersal inform fire management for species conservation? This project aims to improve fire management for environmental outcomes in northern Australia. It will address a key knowledge gap in our understanding of the effects of fire on biodiversity, relating to the spatial pattern of fire in the landscape. This is important because changing patterns of fire are not only a risk to humans but have major effects on our environment. This project will involve researchers, environmental managers and indigenous land owners to design better fire management strategies for biodiversity. The key benefits include new knowledge and tools to better manage fire and address one of our major environmental challenges, the decline of native wildlife in northern Australia.Read moreRead less
Bringing back Australia's lost woodland biodiversity: towards strategic multi-species reintroductions. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction of any continent on the planet. This has reduced biodiversity and compromised many important ecological processes. What is the best way to re-build depauperate mammal communities with multi-species reintroductions? What effects do multi-species reintroductions have on recipient ecosystems? This project aims to explore these questions by reintr ....Bringing back Australia's lost woodland biodiversity: towards strategic multi-species reintroductions. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction of any continent on the planet. This has reduced biodiversity and compromised many important ecological processes. What is the best way to re-build depauperate mammal communities with multi-species reintroductions? What effects do multi-species reintroductions have on recipient ecosystems? This project aims to explore these questions by reintroducing three mammal species to a critically endangered temperate woodland: a carnivore (the eastern quoll), an insectivore (yellow-footed antechinus), and a herbivore (the eastern chestnut mouse). Results from this sequenced multi-species reintroduction experiment will have broad applicability to ecosystem restoration in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals c ....Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals can be reliably aged, and population structures are very sensitive to fire regimes: saplings only establish if unburnt for 10 years. This research is expected to provide the first direct test of the hypothesis that Aboriginal people maintained fine-grained fire mosaics in savannas, and inform bushfire policy debates.Read moreRead less
Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity co ....Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity conservation by enabling more effective allocation of limited conservation resources.Read moreRead less
Up in smoke and out to sea? Carbon, water and land use change in savanna. This project aims to improve our understanding of carbon cycling in natural and transformed savannas. It seeks to resolve a large discrepancy in savanna carbon sink size as measured by flux towers compared to long-term direct measures of carbon stock change. This would improve our fundamental understanding of carbon balances (gains/losses) and residence times in these dynamic ecosystems. The long-term impacts of these land ....Up in smoke and out to sea? Carbon, water and land use change in savanna. This project aims to improve our understanding of carbon cycling in natural and transformed savannas. It seeks to resolve a large discrepancy in savanna carbon sink size as measured by flux towers compared to long-term direct measures of carbon stock change. This would improve our fundamental understanding of carbon balances (gains/losses) and residence times in these dynamic ecosystems. The long-term impacts of these land use changes on carbon storage are poorly understood, therefore this new knowledge is vital in determining the viability of 'carbon farming' in these landscapes. More accurate information would guide improved land management given the intensification of land use, weed invasion and fire regime change in northern Australia.Read moreRead less
Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas. This project aims to examine the decline in granivorous finches across north Australia and test the hypothesis that an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, associated with tracking grass seed availability over larger spatial scales, is the cause. The project also aims to evaluate how fire affects rangeland functioning, particularly grass diversity, to improve fire management of tropical savannas in northern Australia. This project ....Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas. This project aims to examine the decline in granivorous finches across north Australia and test the hypothesis that an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, associated with tracking grass seed availability over larger spatial scales, is the cause. The project also aims to evaluate how fire affects rangeland functioning, particularly grass diversity, to improve fire management of tropical savannas in northern Australia. This project will provide new tools and technologies that will monitor mobile small vertebrates. Expected outcomes will improve the understanding of tropical savanna functioning and fire management. The research aligns with ‘savanna burning’ methodologies and carbon sequestration goals in north Australia.
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Impacts of global environmental change on biodiversity of tropical savannas. This project aims to predict the biodiversity consequences of a global trend of increasing woody cover in tropical savannas. Believed to be driven by a combination of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, climate change and management actions including fire suppression and cattle grazing. Expected outcomes are the integration of a range of modelling approaches to predict long-term impacts of environmental change on sa ....Impacts of global environmental change on biodiversity of tropical savannas. This project aims to predict the biodiversity consequences of a global trend of increasing woody cover in tropical savannas. Believed to be driven by a combination of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, climate change and management actions including fire suppression and cattle grazing. Expected outcomes are the integration of a range of modelling approaches to predict long-term impacts of environmental change on savanna biodiversity and the identification of land-use and management strategies to best mitigate these impacts. Likely benefits are an improved understanding of trade-offs between alternative land-uses in the savannas, including biodiversity conservation, fire management for carbon credits, and cattle grazing.Read moreRead less
Arresting declines of arboreal mammals in the tropical savannas. This project aims to evaluate the hypothesis that arboreal species are limited by the abundance of tree hollows, and that historical increases in the frequency of intense fires may be reducing hollow abundance. Northern Australia’s mammals are in severe decline, and arboreal species are among those that have fared worst. There is abundant anecdotal evidence that a decline in hollow abundance is the cause. Working with the Western A ....Arresting declines of arboreal mammals in the tropical savannas. This project aims to evaluate the hypothesis that arboreal species are limited by the abundance of tree hollows, and that historical increases in the frequency of intense fires may be reducing hollow abundance. Northern Australia’s mammals are in severe decline, and arboreal species are among those that have fared worst. There is abundant anecdotal evidence that a decline in hollow abundance is the cause. Working with the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife in the Kimberley, the last region on the Australian mainland with an intact mammal fauna, the project aims to explore management options for increasing the availability of hollow denning sites for arboreal mammals (e.g. fire management, artificial nest boxes), and evaluate the likely impact of such actions on mammal populations across northern Australia.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100434
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,114.00
Summary
What fire regimes can maintain biodiversity in northern Australia's savannah landscapes, and how do we implement them? Inappropriate fire regimes (the frequency, intensity and size of bushfires) are causing ongoing declines in Australia's biodiversity, yet we have little understanding of the fire regimes that should be implemented. Focussing on Kakadu National Park in northern Australia, this project will develop optimal fire management strategies for conserving biodiversity.