Long-unburnt habitat is critical for the conservation of threatened vertebrates across Australia

Autor: Brenton von Takach, Chris J. Jolly, Kelly M. Dixon, Cara E. Penton, Tim S. Doherty, Sam C. Banks
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Landscape Ecology. 37:1469-1482
ISSN: 1572-9761
0921-2973
DOI: 10.1007/s10980-022-01427-7
Popis: Context Increases in fire frequency, intensity and extent are occurring globally. Relative to historical, Indigenous managed conditions, contemporary landscapes are often characterised by younger age classes of vegetation and a much smaller representation of long-unburnt habitat. Objectives We argue that, to conserve many threatened vertebrate species in Australia, landscape management should emphasise the protection of existing long-unburnt patches from fire, as well as facilitate the recruitment of additional long-unburnt habitat, while maintaining historically relevant age distributions of more recently burned patches. Methods We use a range of case studies and ecosystem types to illustrate three lines of evidence: (1) that many threatened vertebrate species depend on mid- to late-successional ecosystem attributes; (2) disturbance to long-unburnt habitat tends to increase risk of future disturbance and ecosystem collapse; and (3) contemporary landscapes exhibit a range of characteristics that differ to historical conditions and require context-specific management. Conclusions It is crucial that we adequately consider the implications of altered contemporary landscapes for management activities that aim to conserve threatened vertebrates. Contemporary landscapes often lack a range of critical structural and compositional components typical of late-successional habitat that are required for the persistence of threatened vertebrates. We need to shift towards strategic, objective-driven approaches that identify and protect long-unburnt habitats and promote their recruitment to enable recovery of many declining and threatened species.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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