Fire and rain are one: Extreme rainfall events predict wildfire extent in an arid grassland

Verhoeven, EM; Murray, BR; Dickman, CR; Wardle, GM; Greenville, AC

Fire and rain are one: Extreme rainfall events predict wildfire extent in an arid grassland

Verhoeven, EM Murray, BR Dickman, CR Wardle, GM Greenville, AC

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Publisher:: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: International Journal of Wildland Fire, 2020, 29, (8), pp. 702-711
Issue Date:: 2020-05-12

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Verhoeven, EM
dc.contributor.author	Murray, BR
dc.contributor.author	Dickman, CR
dc.contributor.author	Wardle, GM
dc.contributor.author	Greenville, AC
dc.date.accessioned	2020-11-26T05:20:01Z
dc.date.available	2020-11-26T05:20:01Z
dc.date.issued	2020-05-12
dc.identifier.citation	International Journal of Wildland Fire, 2020, 29, (8), pp. 702-711
dc.identifier.issn	1049-8001
dc.identifier.issn	1448-5516
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/144383
dc.description.abstract	Assessing wildfire regimes and their environmental drivers is critical for effective land management and conservation. We used Landsat imagery to describe the wildfire regime of the north-eastern Simpson Desert (Australia) between 1972 and 2014, and to quantify the relationship between wildfire extent and rainfall. Wildfires occurred in 15 of the 42 years, but only 27% of the study region experienced multiple wildfires. A wildfire in 1975 burned 43% of the region and is the largest on record for the area. More recently, a large wildfire in 2011 reburned areas that had not burned since 1975 (47% of the 2011 wildfire), as well as new areas that had no record of wildfires (25% of the 2011 wildfire). The mean minimum wildfire return interval was 27 years, comparable with other spinifex-dominated grasslands, and the mean time since last wildfire was 21 years. Spinifex-dominated vegetation burned most frequently and over the largest area. Extreme annual rainfall events (. 93rd percentile) effectively predicted large wildfires occurring 2 years after those events. Extreme rainfall is predicted to increase in magnitude and frequency across central Australia, which could alter wildfire regimes and have unpredictable and far-reaching effects on ecosystems in the region’s arid landscapes.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	CSIRO PUBLISHING
dc.relation.ispartof	International Journal of Wildland Fire
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1071/WF19087
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject	0502 Environmental Science and Management, 0602 Ecology, 0705 Forestry Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Forestry
dc.title	Fire and rain are one: Extreme rainfall events predict wildfire extent in an arid grassland
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	29
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management
utslib.for	0602 Ecology
utslib.for	0705 Forestry Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2020-11-26T05:19:54Z
pubs.issue	8
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	29
utslib.citation.issue	8

Abstract:

Assessing wildfire regimes and their environmental drivers is critical for effective land management and conservation. We used Landsat imagery to describe the wildfire regime of the north-eastern Simpson Desert (Australia) between 1972 and 2014, and to quantify the relationship between wildfire extent and rainfall. Wildfires occurred in 15 of the 42 years, but only 27% of the study region experienced multiple wildfires. A wildfire in 1975 burned 43% of the region and is the largest on record for the area. More recently, a large wildfire in 2011 reburned areas that had not burned since 1975 (47% of the 2011 wildfire), as well as new areas that had no record of wildfires (25% of the 2011 wildfire). The mean minimum wildfire return interval was 27 years, comparable with other spinifex-dominated grasslands, and the mean time since last wildfire was 21 years. Spinifex-dominated vegetation burned most frequently and over the largest area. Extreme annual rainfall events (. 93rd percentile) effectively predicted large wildfires occurring 2 years after those events. Extreme rainfall is predicted to increase in magnitude and frequency across central Australia, which could alter wildfire regimes and have unpredictable and far-reaching effects on ecosystems in the region’s arid landscapes.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/144383