- Title:
-
Objective Characterisation of Fire Regimes for Science-based Management of Fire-prone Landscapes
- Date:
- September 2008
- Organisations
- BCRC
- Authors:
M. Boer, R.Sadler, P Grierson
Presentation- Location:
- Australia, Australia
Overview
The International Bushfire Research Conference 2008 - incorporating The 15th annual AFAC Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
In fire-prone landscapes many of the ecosystem properties that land managers aim to maintain or enhance are closely linked to the incidence and patterning of fire, particularly of fire intensity, extent, season, and frequency of burning. Characteristic combinations of these attributes are often referred to as fire regimes. The term fire regime is mostly used as a qualitative descriptor rather than a quantitative multivariate characterisation of fire in the landscape. A lack of methods to objectively measure and characterise spatiotemporal patterns of fire attributes is one of the factors impeding a more quantitative use of the fire regime concept. We have developed and trialled a new non-parametric method to quantify the similarity among fire histories at multiple sites in the landscape. This method provides a stronger basis for disentangling complex relationships among fire attributes.
The temporal pattern of fire incidence is but one aspect of a fire regime. For research and management, a more significant characterisation of the fire regime includes descriptors of burn severity. Consequently, we have also developed an empirical model for the remote sensing of burn severity and propose an approach to incorporate a measure of burn severity in the classification of fire regimes. Key elements of our approach were trialled in two areas in SW Western Australia (Warren Region and Perth Hills).
