@article {BF-2495,
	title = {Variation in fire interval sequences has minimal effects on species richness and composition in fire-prone landscapes of south-west Western Australia},
	journal = {Forest Ecology and Management},
	volume = {261},
	year = {2011},
	month = {01/2011},
	pages = {965-978},
	abstract = {Prescribed burning is used in many fire-prone ecosystems for wildfire mitigation and conservation of biodiversity. However, there is limited information about how biota responds to long-term fire management, especially at a whole-of-community level. We studied community responses to different fire interval sequences resulting from planned and unplanned fires in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems in the Warren bioregion of south-west Western Australia (SWA) to determine the resilience of the biota to contrasting fire regimes. Fire history data were used to identify contrasting fire interval sequences in forest and shrubland communities for the period 1972{\textendash}2004. We surveyed vascular plants, ants, beetles, vertebrates and macrofungi at 30 sites to investigate community-level responses to consecutive short (SS: <=5 years), consecutive long (LL: >=10 years), one very long (VL: 30 years), or mixed/moderate (M: 6{\textendash}9 years) fire interval(s). All sites had a common time-since-fire of not, vert, similar4 years at the commencement of sampling which was conducted over two years. Species richness and composition differed between forest and shrubland communities, but the influence of fire interval sequences on taxonomic groups was minimal and difficult to detect. There was weak evidence of compositional differences between SS and LL/VL regimes for plants, ants, beetles and macrofungi but no difference between these regimes and the intermediate disturbance M-regime. These results demonstrate the resilience of the biota in open forests and shrublands of SWA to contrasting fire interval sequences over the past 30 years. We conclude that occasional short (3{\textendash}5 years) intervals between fires are unlikely to have a persistent effect on community composition, though maintaining a regime of short or long intervals may alter species composition and/or abundance. We suggest that variability in fire intervals is important for long-term conservation of the biota. For the Warren Region, prescribed burning at an intermediate level of disturbance and incorporating variability in interval length is recommended to achieve the dual objectives of wildfire mitigation and biodiversity conservation.},
	doi = {10.1016/j.foreco.2010.10.037},
	author = {Wittkuhn, Roy and Lachlan W. McCaw and Wills, Allan J. and Robinson, Richard and Andersen, A. N. and Van Heurck, Paul and Farr, Janet and Liddelow, Graeme and Cranfield, Ray}
}
@article {BF-2502,
	title = {Fire refugia: The mechanism governing animal survivorship within a highly flammable plant},
	journal = {Austral Ecology},
	year = {2010},
	month = {05/2010},
	pages = {no - no},
	abstract = {Identifying factors that influence the survival of individuals during disturbance is critical to understanding patterns of species reassembly within ecological communities. Although most studies of recovery of populations post-burning acknowledge the potentially important contribution of animals surviving in situ, few have measured the effectiveness of refugia. This paper tests the hypothesis that some plants with tightly packed leaf-bases provide a refuge for invertebrates during fire (even when the plants themselves burn) by using the highly flammable grass tree (Xanthorrhoeaceae: Xanthorrhoea). Invertebrates were sampled from four unburnt and five experimentally burnt grass trees (Xanthorrhoea preissii Endl.). Also collected were invertebrates fleeing during burning. The dataset comprises 949 specimens, representing 81 species from 18 orders, of which 749 individuals were from unburned plants. Slaters (Isopoda), silverfish (Thysanura), spiders (Araneae) and bugs (Hemiptera) dominated assemblages of the unburnt grass trees. Despite grass trees burning at temperatures of up to 515{\textdegree}C, some invertebrates survived in situ. Species-specific microhabitat preferences within the plant appeared to influence survivorship. Species collected in the crown of unburned plants were found more often alive on burnt plants than species typically inhabiting the dead skirt of decaying leaves (thatch). We contend that the mechanism causing differential mortality is fire temperature. In the dead skirt, temperatures reached 225.33 {\textpm} 66.57{\textdegree}C. In contrast, a region of mild temperature (25.00 {\textpm} 3.54{\textdegree}C) persisted throughout burning near the apical meristem (within the crown). We conclude that grass trees are a potential reservoir from which invertebrates might re-colonize recently burnt areas. However, owing to species-specific microhabitat preferences and differential mortality across microhabitats, the invertebrate assemblage remaining in situ will be restricted taxonomically compared with the original grass tree fauna. Moreover, different fire regimes might mediate the effectiveness of grass trees as refugia. Finally, we argue that in situ survival of invertebrates within plants with tightly packed leaf-bases is an unrecognized global phenomenon applicable to a wide array of plant taxa.},
	issn = {14429985},
	doi = {10.1111/j.1442-9993.2010.02127.x},
	author = {Brennan, KEC and Moir, ML and Wittkuhn, Roy}
}
@article {BF-2505,
	title = {Using Fire History Data to Map Temporal Sequences of Fire Return Intervals and Seasons},
	journal = {Fire Ecology},
	volume = {6},
	year = {2010},
	month = {8/2010},
	pages = {97 - 114},
	abstract = {Analysis of complex spatio-temporal fire data is an important tool to assist the management and study of fire regimes. For fire ecologists, a useful visual aid to identify contrasting fire regimes is to map temporal sequences of data such as fire return intervals, seasons, and types (planned versus unplanned fire) across the landscape. However, most of the programs that map this information are costly and complex, requiring specialist training. We present a simple yet novel method for creating sequences of temporal data for mapping fire regimes using basic geographic information system (GIS) techniques and logical test functions in Microsoft{\textregistered} Excel 2003 (Microsoft, Bellevue, Washington, USA). Using fire history data (1972 to 2005) for southwestern Australia, we assigned integer classifications to fire return intervals (short, moderate, and long) and fire types and seasons (wildfires and prescribed burns in different seasons) and joined the integer classifications together to form a sequence of numbers representing the order of either fire return intervals or fire seasons in reverse time sequence. This sequence can be mapped in a GIS environment so that spatial dimensions formed by overlapping polygons are readily observed, and the temporal sequence of fire data within each polygon can be interpreted across the landscape. We applied the technique to examine experimental design options for investigating the effects of contrasting fire regimes on biota at the landscape scale. This investigation identified several important factors: 1) patterns were evident in fire types and seasons, 2) patterns were evident for fire return interval sequences, and 3) combining fire types and seasons with fire return intervals significantly constrained options for the study design. A visual analysis of this type highlights fire regime patterns in the landscape and permits a feasibility study for the development of study design options and the spatial arrangement of potential study sites.},
	issn = {19339747},
	doi = {10.4996/fireecology.0602097 },
	author = {Wittkuhn, Roy and Hamilton, T}
}
@article {BF-1057,
	title = {Creation of a fire history database for southwestern Australia: giving old maps new life in a geographic information system},
	journal = {Conservation Science Western Australia},
	year = {2009},
	month = {Accepted 26/06/2},
	author = {Hamilton, T and Wittkuhn, Roy and Carpenter, C}
}
@article {BF-2396,
	title = {Long-term impacts of prescribed burning on regional extent and incidence of wildfires{\textemdash}Evidence from 50 years of active fire management in SW Australian forests},
	journal = {Forest Ecology and Management},
	volume = {259},
	year = {2009},
	month = {12/2009},
	pages = {132 - 142},
	abstract = {Prescribed burning is advocated for the sustainable management of fire-prone ecosystems for its capacity to reduce fuel loads and mitigate large high-intensity wildfires. However, there is a lack of comprehensive field evidence on which to base predictions of the benefits of prescribed burning for meeting either wildfire hazard reduction or conservation goals. Australian eucalypt forests are among the very few forest types in the world where prescribed burning has been practised long enough and at a large enough spatial scale to quantify its effect on the incidence and extent of unplanned fires. Nevertheless even for Australian forests evidence of the effectiveness of prescribed burning remains fragmented and largely unpublished in the scientific literature.

We analysed a 52-year fire history from a eucalypt forest region in south-western Australia to quantify the impact of prescribed burning on the incidence, extent and size distribution of wildfires. Quantile regression identified the longevity of the influence of prescribed fire treatments on wildfire incidence and extent. Anomalies in the frequency-size distribution of unplanned fires were identified through a relative risk mapping using kernel density estimates. Changes in the spatial distribution of fuel age were quantified using patch metrics, while generalized additive models were applied to estimate effects of fuel age patterns on the incidence and extent of unplanned fire.

Prescribed burning has pronouncedly changed the spatial distribution of fuel age in the study area and has significantly reduced the incidence and extent of unplanned fires. This effect on both the incidence and extent of unplanned fires was minimal for time lags greater than 6 years between fuel treatment and response. When averaged over 6-year periods, the annual extent of prescribed burning explained 24\% and 71\% of the variation in the mean annual number and extent of unplanned fires, respectively. The incidence of large unplanned fires was significantly less than the long-term average for the region when the annual extent of prescribed fire was at a maximum and significantly more when the annual extent of prescribed fire was at a minimum. Since the 1960s, the length of time sites remain unburned by wildfire has approximately doubled to not, vert, similar9 years. We found that each unit area reduction in unplanned fire required about four units of prescription fire. These findings concur with the observations of experienced field practitioners who identify the 6-year mark as effective at reducing wildfire hazard. Our findings provide strong empirical evidence of the effectiveness of prescribed burning for mitigating wildfire hazard in SW Australian forests. Ongoing research and development is needed to implement managed fire regimes that integrate wildfire mitigation with conservation of biodiversity and other environmental values.},
	doi = {10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.005},
	author = {Matthias M. Boer and Sadler, Rohan J. and Wittkuhn, Roy and Lachlan W. McCaw and Grierson, Pauline}
}
