Abstract
AbstractAimTo quantify the impact of the 2019–2020 megafires on Australian plant diversity by assessing burnt area across 26,062 species ranges and the effects of fire history on recovery potential. Further, to exemplify a strategic approach to prioritizing plant species affected by fire for recovery actions and conservation planning at a national scale.LocationAustralia.MethodsWe combine data on geographic range, fire extent, response traits and fire history to assess the proportion of species ranges burnt in both the 2019–2020 fires and the past.ResultsAcross Australia, suitable habitat for 69% of all plant species was burnt (17,197 species) by the 2019–2020 fires and herbarium specimens confirm the presence of 9,092 of these species across the fire extent since 1950. Burnt ranges include those of 587 plants listed as threatened under national legislation (44% of Australia's threatened plants). A total of 3,998 of the 17,197 fire‐affected species are known to resprout after fire, but at least 2,928 must complete their entire life cycle—from germinant to reproducing adult—prior to subsequent fires, as they are killed by fire. Data on previous fires show that, for 257 species, the historical intervals between fire events across their range are likely too short to allow regeneration. For a further 411 species, future fires during recovery will increase extinction risk as current populations are dominated by immature individuals.Main conclusionMany Australian plant species have strategies to persist under certain fire regimes, and will recover given time, suitable conditions and low exposure to threats. However, short fire intervals both before and after the 2019–2020 fire season pose a serious risk to the recovery of at least 595 species. Persistent knowledge gaps about species fire response and post‐fire population persistence threaten the effective long‐term management of Australian vegetation in an increasingly pyric world.
Highlights
During the 2019–2020 bushfire season, approximately 10,300,000 ha of the Australian landscape burned (Figure 1a)
The impact of the megafires on Australian biota has been widespread, including rapidly assessed losses to key populations of threatened fauna (Ward et al, 2020). It is the vegetation of Australia, which forms the critical foundation for terrestrial biota, providing key resources such as food and shelter, which translate to the growth, reproduction and survival of species by, for instance, creating nesting sites and protection from predation (Haslem et al, 2011; Keith, 2017)
The study region for analysis—hereafter the “fire impact analysis area”—comprised 43 bioregions in the Interim Bioregionalisation of Australia (IBRA) considered most at risk from the 2019–2020 fire season by the Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel convened by Department of Agriculture Water and Environment (DAWE) in January 2020
Summary
During the 2019–2020 bushfire season, approximately 10,300,000 ha of the Australian landscape burned (Figure 1a). The impact of the megafires on Australian biota has been widespread, including rapidly assessed losses to key populations of threatened fauna (Ward et al, 2020). It is the vegetation of Australia, which forms the critical foundation for terrestrial biota, providing key resources such as food and shelter, which translate to the growth, reproduction and survival of species by, for instance, creating nesting sites and protection from predation (Haslem et al, 2011; Keith, 2017). Australia has approximately 26,000 nationally accepted plant taxa (species, subspecies, varieties—hereafter “species”) representing 6% of the world's plant richness (Australian Plant Census (APC), June 2020). Up to 88%–92% of Australian plant species occur nowhere else globally (Chapman, 2009; Gallagher et al, 2020), making the impact of the 2019–2020 fire season on Australian plant species a matter of global significance for plant conservation
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