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International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Multi-century times-since-fire and prior fire interval determine biomass carbon stocks in obligate-seeder eucalypt woodlands

Carl R. Gosper https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0962-5117 A B * , Colin J. Yates A , Georg Wiehl B , Alison O’Donnell B and Suzanne M. Prober C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Bentley Delivery Centre, Locked Bag 104, Bentley, WA 6983, Australia.

B CSIRO Environment, PO Box 7229, Karawara, WA 6152, Australia.

C CSIRO Environment, PO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

* Correspondence to: carl.gosper@dbca.wa.gov.au

International Journal of Wildland Fire 33, WF23159 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF23159
Submitted: 28 September 2023  Accepted: 16 May 2024  Published: 13 June 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Understanding the influence of fires on terrestrial carbon stocks is important for informing global climate models and underpinning land management-based carbon markets.

Aims

To quantify biomass carbon in south-western Australia’s Great Western Woodlands – the world’s largest extant Mediterranean-climate woodland – with time-since-fire and prior fire interval.

Methods

Plot-based measurement of live and dead tree and shrub size, woody debris volume and litter mass across a ~400-year chronosequence to calculate biomass carbon.

Key results

Biomass carbon increased with time-since-fire, reaching >65 Mg C ha−1, although the rate of increase declined in mature woodlands. Biomass carbon decreased after fire in these obligate-seeder woodlands, while a longer prior fire interval buffered carbon fluxes through retained large standing dead trees and fallen woody debris.

Conclusions

The current age class distribution of the ~95,000 km2 of eucalypt woodlands in the region may support ~0.453 Pg C. Further refinement of carbon estimates explicitly considering variation in woodland type and climate, a continuous woodland age distribution and soil carbon are required to underpin a carbon methodology.

Implications

Biomass carbon would be maximised by reducing the extent of bushfires impacting woodlands, focussing on existing mature stands that support the greatest carbon stocks.

Keywords: aboveground carbon, ecological fire management, Eucalyptus salubris, fire regime, Great Western Woodlands, multi-century chronosequence, stand-replacement, succession.

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