Thresholds for burning vegetation communities in New South Wales (NSW) are based on plant species' responses to fire and do not consider other issues such as site attributes or fauna requirements. We investigated knowledge gaps concerning the impact of fire on habitat features of open forests and woodlands, and consider the adequacy of fire management based on the fire responses of flora. The consequences of managing fire at broader scales are complex and this study tests ideas concerning landscape attributes in relation to fire planning and biodiversity conservation. Habitat attributes of long unburnt vegetation were determined at sites with varying time since fire and fuel loads in these communities were measured. Time since fire was the most important variable for explaining the abundance of critical faunal habitat attributes. Tree and log hollows and fallen timber volume were markedly more abundant in long-unburnt vegetation, while fuel loads in open forests and woodlands unburnt for 100 or more years were low to moderate and similar to the hazard in recently burnt sites. Fire-interval thresholds based only on plant responses to fire compromises the achievement of optimal fauna habitat. Recommended upper thresholds are too low to cater for the habitat requirements of fauna. Consequently, long-unburnt vegetation should be identified as a threatened asset in fire planning and management and should be protected and actively promoted. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The bark of eucalypt trees is a significant habitat attribute of forests and woodlands, with different bark types supporting varying populations of invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. Bark also contributes to fuel load in wildfires and hazard reduction burning, with a concomitant loss of habitat and modification of habitat resources. We compared the composition and abundance of tree trunk invertebrates inhabiting four eucalypt bark types and determined the impact of burning the bark on population abundance and community composition. Trees of four bark types (gum, box, stringybark, ironbark) were selected at three sites and arthropod traps placed on burnt and unburnt trees of each type. Traps were left in place for 12 days and arthropod preferences for the four bark types (burnt and unburnt) were analysed. The total number of arthropods differed between bark types, with stringybark and ironbark supporting the largest numbers of invertebrates and the most diverse communities. Burnt stringybark and gum bark had reduced arthropod abundance compared to unburnt bark. The study highlights an ecological consequence of fire on an aspect of invertebrate habitat, with flow-on effects for vertebrates, that should be considered in fire management, as greater areas of land are subject to frequent hazard reduction burning in eastern Australia.

Context. Fallen timber is a key habitat feature in forests and woodlands for vertebrate and invertebrate fauna, and is either consumed or left partially burnt after the passage of fire. This impact on habitat quality assumes significance because increasing areas of land are subject to frequent hazard-reduction burning and wildfire in eastern Australia.Aims. We test here whether partially burnt or charred fallen timber is employed as habitat to the same extent as unburnt fallen timber.Methods. Vertebrate and invertebrate abundance beneath burnt and unburnt fence posts was monitored for 13 months in unburnt forest and forest burnt by a wildfire.Key results. Both vertebrate and invertebrate fauna made significantly less use of charred refuges. In most taxa, twice as many animals occurred under unburnt as under burnt artificial timber refuges, ant nests being the exception. Fauna made greater use of experimental refuges in burnt forest.Key conclusions. Partially burnt fallen-timber refuges, where the log surface is left charred, are inferior habitat for fauna. Habitat quality in burnt forest may be enhanced by introducing fallen timber.Implications. The study highlights an ecological consequence of fire for habitat quality, whether through wildfire or hazard-reduction burning, which should be considered in fire management.

Ecological Management & RestorationVolume 11, Issue 3 p. 217-220 Threat of frequent fire and drought for the rare wattle Acacia williamsiana J. T. Hunter: an experimental burn highlights implications for fire management Peter Croft, Peter CroftSearch for more papers by this authorJohn T. Hunter, John T. HunterSearch for more papers by this authorNick Reid, Nick ReidSearch for more papers by this author Peter Croft, Peter CroftSearch for more papers by this authorJohn T. Hunter, John T. HunterSearch for more papers by this authorNick Reid, Nick ReidSearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 November 2010 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-8903.2010.00554.xCitations: 4Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume11, Issue3December 2010Pages 217-220 RelatedInformation

Summary Resprouting is a common regenerative strategy in plant taxa that occurs in fire and drought‐prone environments. When plants are forced to use bud resources in quick succession as a result of repeated disturbances, recovery vigour may be diminished. The loss of bud resources through the combined effect of successive fire and drought is likely to be more damaging for plant survival and persistence than one or other disturbance on its own. In this study, we examine the resprouting response of seven trees and two shrubs after fire and drought in woodland communities in the New England and Bioregion of New South Wales. We also investigate whether there is a cumulative impact on plant vitality as a result of the combined disturbances of fire followed by drought. Preliminary results suggest that resprouting after drought occurs from buds located on the same morphological parts of tree and shrub species as after fire, although the response reflects the intensity of impact. Mortality in nine species affected by drought was similar to that in plants affected by both fire and drought. Since a drought between successive fires has the potential to deplete bud resources and debilitate plants, drought should be taken into account when determining fire regimes, and a severe drought between two fires should be considered in a similar way to an unplanned burn. Failure to do so may lead to reduced vigour and excessive mortality in resprouting species after planned fire.

Fire responses are reported in four rare species at Gibraltar Range National Park following hazard-reduction burning. Acacia barringtonensis Tindale, Grevillea rhizomalosa P.M.Olde & N.R.Marriot, Persoonia rufa L.A.S.Johnson & P.H.Weston and Telopea aspera M.D. Crisp & P. H. Weston were the species investigated. In each species, individuals were tagged prior to a hazard reduction fire and their fates followed for 34 months. In Acacia barringtonensis, individuals survived fire and resprouted from buds at the base of stems and from rhizomes but the resprouts were heavily browsed by insects and Swamp Wallabies (Wallabia bicolor Desmarest). In Grevillea rhizomatosa, individuals survived and resprouted from underground rhizomes and no seedlings were found after fires. After fire in Persoonia rufa, all scorched plants died but seedling recruitment occurred from a soil-stored seed. In Telopea aspera, most burnt individuals resprouted from basal shoots and survived despite heavy post-fire grazing pressure. Increasing fire frequencies by hazard-reduction burning may threaten the survival of all four species, and it is suggested that other methods of reducing fuel be used to manage fire in this area of Gibraltar Range National Park.