Flammable Australia The Fire Regimes and Biodiversity of a Continent [Paperback]

An investigation of the action of fire on the Australian ecosystem and its application in land management.Fire is pivotal to the functioning of ecosystems in Australia, affecting the distribution and abundance of the continent's unique and highly diverse range of plants and animals. Conservation of this natural biodiversity therefore requires a good understanding of scientific processes involved in the action of fire on the landscape. This book provides an up-to-date synthesis of current knowledge in this area and its application in contemporary land management. Central to the discussion is an exploration of the concept of the fire regime and its interactions with biodiversity.Fire is pivotal to the functioning of ecosystems in Australia, affecting the distribution and abundance of the continent's unique and highly diverse range of plants and animals. Conservation of this natural biodiversity therefore requires a good understanding of scientific processes involved in the action of fire on the landscape. This book provides an up-to-date synthesis of current knowledge in this area and its application in contemporary land management. Central to the discussion is an exploration of the concept of the fire regime and its interactions with biodiversity.This book provides a synthesis of the current knowledge in this area and its application to contemporary land management. A key topic is the exploration of the concept of the fire regime, the cumulative pattern of fires and their individual characteristics of fire type, frequency, intensity, and season, and its interactions with biodiversity. The volume includes contributions by thirty two leading experts covering a broad sweep of topics.Preface; Part I. Past and Future: 1. A history of fire in Australia A. Peter Kershaw, James S. Clark, A. Malcolm Gill and D. M. D'Costa; 2. Importance of a changing climate for fire regimes in Australia Geoffrey J. Cary; Part II. Fire Regimes and Life Histories: 3. Fire properties and burn pl#.