Pirra Jungku and Pirra Warlu: using traditional fire-practice knowledge and contemporary science to guide fire-management goals for desert animals

Sarah Legge; Hamsini Bijlani; Braedan Taylor; Jacqueline Shovellor; Frankie McCarthy; Chantelle Murray; Jesse Ala’i; Courtney Brown; Kevin Tromp; Sam Bayley; Ewan Noakes; Jackie Wemyss; Hannah Cliff; Nigel Jackett; Bruce Greatwich; Ben Corey; Mark Cowan; Kristina J. Macdonald; Brett P. Murphy; Sam Banks; Malcom Lindsay

doi:10.1071/WR24069

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Pirra Jungku and Pirra Warlu: using traditional fire-practice knowledge and contemporary science to guide fire-management goals for desert animals

Sarah Legge

^A ^B ^C ^# ^* , Hamsini Bijlani ^C ^# , Karajarri Rangers ^D , Ngurrara Rangers ^E , Braedan Taylor ^D , Jacqueline Shovellor ^D , Frankie McCarthy ^E , Chantelle Murray ^E , Jesse Ala’i ^D , Courtney Brown ^D , Kevin Tromp ^E ^F , Sam Bayley ^D , Ewan Noakes ^D ^G , Jackie Wemyss ^D ^H , Hannah Cliff ^F , Nigel Jackett ^G , Bruce Greatwich ^G , Ben Corey ^G , Mark Cowan ^G ^I , Kristina J. Macdonald

^A , Brett P. Murphy ^A , Sam Banks ^A and Malcom Lindsay

^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT 0810, Australia.

^B Fenner School of Society and the Environment, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2602, Australia.

^C Environs Kimberley, 44 Blackman Street, Broome, WA 6725, Australia.

^D Karajarri Traditional Lands Association, Broome Lotteries House, Broome, WA 6725, Australia.

^E Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation, Fitzroy Crossing, WA 6765, Australia.

^F Indigenous Desert Alliance, 587 Newcastle Street, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia.

^G Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kimberley Region, Broome, WA 6725, Australia.

^H Northern Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance, 23 Ellengowan Drive, Brinkin, NT 0810, Australia.

^I School of Molecular & Life Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: sarahmarialegge@gmail.com

^# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Marlee Hutton

Wildlife Research 51, WR24069 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24069

Submitted: 27 April 2024 Accepted: 15 August 2024 Published: 10 October 2024

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

Abstract

Context

Indigenous people influenced fire in Australia’s deserts for millennia, until colonisation interrupted traditional fire practices. Many groups are reinvigorating those practices to achieve inter-linked biodiversity, cultural, and social benefits. Contemporary fire management integrates modern planning and delivery approaches with cultural process. However, deserts have changed since colonisation (e.g. invasive species, biodiversity loss, climate change) and fire-management outcomes for Country are less certain. Some Indigenous groups are integrating scientific methods into their programs, to examine biodiversity outcomes and refine management.

Aims

Karajarri and Ngurrara Traditional Owners wanted to understand how fire affects Kuwi (mammals, reptiles) on their Country, to guide fire management. Karajarri and Ngurrara Rangers worked together on this project, exchanging skills and knowledge with each other, and with scientists.

Methods

We established 32 monitoring sites at four locations on Karajarri and Ngurrara Country. We undertook 11 survey trips from 2018 to 2022, gathering data from 81 site visits. Using Landsat satellite imagery we described fire patterns around each site, focussing on seral stage (as defined by Traditional Owners), patch size, and seral diversity at small (500 m), medium (1 km), and large (5 km) spatial scales.

Results

There were 378 mammal captures (11 species) and 3392 reptile captures (66 species). Mammal species richness and captures were lowest in Wuntara (recently burnt) and highest in Nyirrinyanu (mature) spinifex. Mammal species richness increased with seral diversity within 1 km around the trapping site. Reptile species richness and captures were unaffected by seral stage. However, many species were caught significantly more often in specific seral stages. Neither reptile richness nor capture rate were related to patch size or seral diversity.

Conclusions

Retaining a mix of seral stages can maintain diverse reptile and mammal assemblages. The management challenge will be increasing the extent of mature/long-unburnt spinifex, currently the rarest seral stage. Ranger fire management has already reduced mean fire size by 40–52%, and further reductions are possible.

Implications

Our work improves the understanding of fire effects on northern desert fauna, guides management, provides important ecological information from a little-studied region of Australia’s deserts, and increases the recognition of Indigenous conservation management of Country.

Keywords: adaptive management, biodiversity monitoring, Caring for Country, desert fauna, fire ecology, fire management, Indigenous conservation management, Indigenous rangers, species succession.

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