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Demographic effects of severe fire in montane shrublands on Tasmania's Central Plateau

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posted on 2023-05-25, 05:23 authored by Foulkes, J, Lynda PriorLynda Prior, Leonard, S, David BowmanDavid Bowman
Australian montane sclerophyll shrubland vegetation is considered to be resilient to infrequent severe fire but this may not be the case in Tasmanian shrublands. Our research reports on the regeneration response of a Tasmanian non-coniferous woody montane shrubland following a severe fire. The 2019 Great Pine Tier fire in the Central Plateau Conservation Area was a severe crown fire that killed all above ground vegetation in the shrubland. Our field survey revealed that less than 1% of the burnt plants were not top-killed by the fire, and only 5% of the burnt plants were observed to be resprouting one year following the fire. Such a low resprouting rate means the resilience of the shrubland depends on seedling regeneration from aerial and soil seedbanks or colonisation from plants outside the fire ground. The low number of resprouters within the shrubland suggest that it may not be as resilient to fire as mainland Australian montane shrubland. As a consequence, our research highlights the fragility of the shrubland under a warming climate and potential increase in fire frequency.

History

Commissioning body

Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Pagination

25

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Place of publication

Melbourne

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems; Climatological hazards (e.g. extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires)

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