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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 30(3)

Relationships between soil temperatures and properties of fire in feathertop spinifex (Triodia schinzii (Henrard) Lazarides) sandridge desert in central Australia

B. R. Wright A B and P. J. Clarke A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Botany, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences, University of New England, NSW 2351, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: triodia-brw@inbox.com

The Rangeland Journal 30(3) 317-325 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ07049
Submitted: 1 July 2007  Accepted: 10 January 2008   Published: 5 September 2008

Abstract

Soil temperatures during wildfires are known to influence seed bank and plant resprouting dynamics in arid Australian grasslands. Nevertheless, relationships between soil temperatures and factors such as fuel load, fuel type, season of burn, time-of-day and soil moisture are poorly understood. This study used small-scale experimental burns to determine the effects of these five variables on soil temperature profiles (0–4 cm) during fire in spinifex sandridge country in the Haasts Bluff Aboriginal Reserve, west of Alice Springs. Fuel load and type were found to strongly influence soil temperatures, with soils directly beneath Triodia hummocks experiencing more heating than hummock edges or between-hummock gaps, and soils beneath Triodia hummocks experiencing more heating than either mulga (Acacia aneura F.Muell. ex. Benth.) litter or Aristida holathera Domin. tussocks. Season and time-of-day also had strong effects on below-ground heating, with soil temperatures remaining elevated for longer periods during summer compared to winter burns, and day-time burns producing higher temperature maxima and longer durations of elevated soil temperatures than night burns. Soil moisture also had a strong impact on temperature profiles during fire, with high levels of soil moisture strongly reducing the soil heating during fire. These results indicate that the examined factors will strongly influence soil temperature regimes during spinifex wildfires. Hence, they are likely to affect the composition of plant assemblages in post-fire environments through their impacts on vegetative regeneration and on seed bank processes.

Additional keywords: Aristida holathera, fire intensity, mulga, seed banks, temperature.


Acknowledgements

This study was funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship to BRW. We would like to thank Dr Ben Norton and Dr Wal Whalley for their comments on the draft manuscript. We would also like to thank Dr David Backhouse and Professor Burgess for the use of their thermocouples during our experiments. Appreciation is also extended to Scott McConnell, Walter Jugadai, Douglas Multa and the rest of the Haasts Bluff community for their support and hospitality during this research project. Brian Connelly and the Northern Territory Central Lands Council are also thanked for their assistance in facilitating this research on Aboriginal freehold land.


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