Research shows plants decimated by fire in World Heritage Area

The ecological impact of a severe bushfire in Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area has been assessed by research conducted under the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC’s funding for quick response.

Led by Prof David Bowman from the University of Tasmania, the Assessment of post-fire recovery of sub alpine shrublands after the 2019 World Heritage Area Fires project reports on the regeneration response of a Tasmanian non-coniferous woody montane shrubland following the severe Great Pine Tier fire. The Central Plateau Conservation Area decimated the fragile landscape in the World Heritage Area, killing all above ground shrubland vegetation.

A field survey by Judy Foulkes (University of Tasmania) and Steven Leonard (Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment Tasmania) revealed that less than one per cent of the burnt plants were not top-killed by the fire at the time, and only five per cent of the burnt plants were observed to be resprouting one year following the fire. Only three species were observed to be resprouting. When a plant is top-killed the parts of the plant above ground die, but roots can remain alive underground from which the plant can produce new stems and leaves.

The low resprouting rate means the resilience of the shrubland depends on seedling regeneration from aerial and soil seedbanks or colonisation from plants outside the fire ground. The low number of resprouters within the shrubland suggest that it may not be as resilient to fire as mainland Australian montane shrubland.

These research findings highlight the fragility of shrubland in these high-altitude World Heritage Areas under a warming climate and potential increase in fire frequency.

Access the full summary report of findings here.