Student researcher

Dr James Furlaud Research Leader

Practical experience in Tasmania has shown that the PHOENIX RapidFire behaviour model – a dynamic, spatially and temporally explicit fire behaviour prediction model – is inappropriate for key Tasmanian vegetation types (tall wet eucalypt forests) that are ecologically different than their equivalents on the mainland of Australia (for which the fire prediction model was developed).

This PhD improved the understanding of fuels and fire danger in Tasmania’s tall wet eucalypt forests, possibly Tasmania’s most dangerous vegetation type. Data was collected on vegetation in tall wet eucalypt forests both in Tasmania and nationwide. This data was used to understand how fuel load, structure, and fire danger vary both geographically and temporally across this forest type. This research investigated different fire behaviour modelling approaches from around the world to develop a conceptual framework for modelling fire behaviour in this complex vegetation type.

This project was completed in February 2020. 

Rainforests on Fire: Assessing Bushfire Risk in Tasmania's Wet Forest Types
18 Aug 2015
A proposal to calibrate the Phoenix RapidFire prediction model for Tasmania's wet forest types to better...
James Furlaud Conference Poster 2016
14 Aug 2016
Wet sclerophyll forests are Tasmania’s most dangerous fuel type
Simulating the effectiveness of prescribed burning at altering wildfire behaviour in Tasmania
30 Jun 2017
Prescribed burning is a widely accepted wildfire hazard reduction technique, however knowledge of its...
Resilient or suicidal giants: what types of fires do the world’s tallest flowering forests support?
19 Sep 2018
Australian tall wet eucalypt-dominated forests are widely considered to experience a fire regime of...
27 Aug 2019
Tall Wet Eucalypt Forests (TWEF) are one of the world’s most complex and unique forest types. A combination...