Blackout burning in dry conditions increases long-term fire severity risk

Diana Partridge (née Virkki); David Kington; Paul Williams; Darren Burns

doi:10.1071/WF23180

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Blackout burning in dry conditions increases long-term fire severity risk

Diana Partridge (née Virkki)

^A ^* , David Kington ^B , Paul Williams ^C and Darren Burns ^D

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, Healthy Land and Water, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.

^B Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Vegetation Management Science, Brisbane, Qld, Australia. Email: darlobolpal@gmail.com

^C Vegetation Management Science, Malanda, Qld, Australia. Email: paul@vegetationscience.com.au

^D Quandamooka Aboriginal Land and Sea Management Agency and Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation, Dunwich, Qld, Australia. Email: darren.burns@qyac.net

^* Correspondence to: diana.p@hlw.org.au

International Journal of Wildland Fire 33, WF23180 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF23180

Submitted: 2 May 2023 Accepted: 29 July 2024 Published: 5 September 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

We use case studies to explore the impact of changed fire regimes on vegetation structure and fuel risk in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Multiple studies report high intensity wildfires promote excessive shrub and sapling densities, which increase elevated fuel hazard. We argue asset protection burns in dry conditions can cause similar vegetation thickening to an intense wildfire, which increases fire severity risk due to increased elevated fuel loads. We demonstrate regular low intensity burning with adequate soil moisture can achieve fuel reduction objectives. This provides a longer-term solution that promotes risk reduction to communities, whilst leading to better ecological outcomes and reduced cost of implementation over the long-term.

Keywords: eucalypt forest, fire hazard, fire management, fire management: prescribed, fire regimes, fuel, planned burning, vegetation thickening.

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