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A review of 60 years of fire management for threatened fauna and flora at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, Western Australia

MEGAN DILLY, Sarah Barrett , Sarah Comer , Allan Burbidge, Alan Danks , Judith Harvey, Angas Hopkins, Graham Smith

Abstract

Context Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve has a long history of ecological studies and adaptive fire management, which provides an excellent opportunity to assess the effects of fire management, including fire exclusion, on the ecosystems and threatened species of an important nature reserve. Aims To review the fire history of the Reserve and the complexity of managing fire for the conservation of threatened species and communities. Methods Personal consultation to record historical management of fire, and analysis of fire regimes. Long-term Djimaalup/noisy scrub-bird surveys, camera-trap, botanical surveys, and quadrat analysis, from before and after a large fire in 2015. Key results Fire sensitive ecosystems at the Reserve are identified. Senescing flora species recruited following the 2015 fire and fire-stimulated species were recorded for the first time. The exclusion of fire was a key factor in the conservation of the Djimaalup/noisy scrub-bird, but has implications for the conservation of other species. Conclusions While introduced fire was excluded from the granite headlands for >60 years to conserve fauna habitat, this may not have been an optimal strategy for other conservation dependent fauna, and fire sensitive communities. Implications The exclusion of fire was an effective management tool for 60 years to conserve fauna habitat, initially driven by conservation of the Djimaalup/noisy scrub-bird, but adaptive management must consider the range of species present as well as a changing climate. Long-term studies and monitoring of threatened species are invaluable to allow informed decisions on adaptive fire management.

PC25014  Accepted 09 March 2025

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