Journal article
Systematic fire mapping is critical for fire ecology, planning and management: A case study in the semi-arid Murray Mallee, south-eastern Australia
SC Avitabile, KE Callister, LT Kelly, A Haslem, L Fraser, DG Nimmo, SJ Watson, SA Kenny, RS Taylor, LM Spence-Bailey, AF Bennett, MF Clarke
Landscape and Urban Planning | Published : 2013
Abstract
Fire is a natural disturbance process that shapes ecosystems worldwide and influences the distribution of many species of plants and animals. In fire-prone regions, planning for both fire management and biodiversity conservation requires a sound understanding of fire history and spatial patterns. However, in many fire-prone areas, accurate fire records and systematic fire maps are lacking. We used Landsat imagery to map the fire history of the Murray Mallee region of southeastern Australia from 1972 to 2007. Our study in this semi-arid, fire-prone ecosystem encompassed an area of 104,000km2. An area equivalent to 40% of the tree-mallee vegetation (vegetation characterised by small, multi-ste..
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Funding Acknowledgements
Funding and support were received from Parks Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment (Vic), Mallee Catchment Management Authority, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW), Lower Murray Darling Catchment Management Authority, Department for Environment and Natural Resources (SA), Land and Water Australia, Natural Heritage Trust, Birds Australia (Gluepot Reserve), Australian Wildlife Conservancy (Scotia Sanctuary), and the Murray Mallee Partnership. We are grateful to the Doyle and Barnes families for access to Petro and Lethero Stations, respectively. Thanks to Lauren Brown and many volunteers who assisted with vegetation surveys. Stacey Taylor assisted the project with a review of government agency fire data. Martin Westbrooke (University of Ballarat), John Warren (Tarawi Nature Reserve) and Brenton Martin confirmed the dates of several large fires in the 1970s. Three anonymous referees provided useful comments for improving the manuscript.