Invertebrates and fire—challenges and opportunities for conserving biodiversity

Abstract

Fires, whether planned or unplanned, impact upon a suite of organisms in natural ecosystems. Direct (short-term) and indirect (longer term) effects influence the composition and structure of invertebrate communities through the interaction of site history, characteristics of individual fire events and species life-history traits. Prediction of fire responses based on vascular plant species life-history traits, and the development of a functional classification based on shared traits, underpins current fire management in south-eastern Australia. Can a similar approach be developed for terrestrial invertebrates, or should we focus on utilising a framework based on surrogates developed around vegetation composition and structure, or taxonomic alternatives? This paper considers whether the use of surrogates offers promise as a strategy of dealing with the complexity of invertebrate biodiversity and associated issues surrounding fire management. It proposes a functional approach, based on species’ life-history traits, that can complement existing strategies; and identifies opportunities that have potential for resolving existing challenges in biodiversity conservation in fire-prone environments.