Dirt and Data

The landscape around Canberra was severely burnt by bushfires in 2003. As the forests and woodlands regenerate, managers in the ACT Parks and Conservation Service continue to make every effort to protect these forests, the city and her people. They do this armed with the knowledge that fire is a natural part of Australian ecosystems and, through the use of prescribed burning, can reduce the impacts of bushfire.

Prescribed burning has long been employed in Australia but many aspects of the practice are still not well known. In the research we are doing, we are improving our understanding of the effects of fuel reduction burning on variables such as clean reliable water supply, the potential for carbon sequestration in soil and post-fire nutrient dynamics. While we generally know the physical relationships that are associated with increasing fire size, the complex relationships among burn size and soil, water, vegetation and fuel outcomes are not well understood.

For our research project (Optimisation of fuel reduction burning regimes) we are visiting a number of prescribed burns across south-east Australia to collect precise empirical data to describe how each burn affects fuel load, soil properties, carbon and water. We will combine this information with spatial modelling and remote sensing to provide land managers with the means to help them optimise management burns to reduce undesirable impacts of fuel-reduction burning on the environment. 

In April and May we visited recently burnt areas in the ACT. For this field campaign, staff of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service joined us to help with the measurements. We collected soil samples and measured properties of different fuel layers at a number of different sites. As we worked alongside operational officers, they shared their experience and knowledge about the challenges and technicalities involved in prescribed burning. They identified opportunities to improve their knowledge and operational tools and we discussed potential solutions and provided them with some of the scientific background from our research.

At the moment we are busy analysing samples and working on the data being generated. Over the next months we plan to visit more burnt areas in south-east Australia to add to our dataset. We are already excited about the prospect of our next field campaign, about doing research in the bush and enjoying the sunset at the end of a long field day.

Keeping warm and working together as a team.