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Fire in the Victorian Environment Balancing Threats with Necessities

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Fire in the Victorian Environment Balancing Threats with Necessities Fire in the Victorian Environment Balancing threats with necessities www.ces.vic.gov.au December 2008 Fact Sheet No.10 This fact sheet is one of a series, developed from material presented in Victoria’s first comprehensive State of the Environment Report. The Report is a major undertaking of the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability and covers a broad range of environmental issues affecting the State. Its purpose is to improve community understanding of Victoria’s environment, and through the use of recommendations, to enhance its condition for present and future generations. The report was released in December 2008 and is available at www.ces.vic.gov.au Key Findings Planned and unplanned fire in Victoria • Climate change is forecast to increase the number of very Fire is one of the tools used by the Department of Sustainability high or extreme fire danger days across south-eastern and Environment to manage Victoria’s 8.9 million hectares of Australia by up to 25% by 2020 and up to 230% by 2050. public land. Planned fire is used to manipulate fuel loads and • Victoria has experienced frequent and severe fires in the last to achieve ecological outcomes, such as desirable vegetation decade, including major bushfires in 2003 and 2007 that composition and structure. each burnt more than 1 million hectares. • Some species have undergone marked declines and have lost Since 2001, about 4.7% of Victoria’s remaining native vegetation large amounts of habitat following these large-scale fires. has been burnt in planned fire events. In most years the area • Inappropriate fire regimes (too much or too little fire) burnt has been in the range 20,000–75,000 hectares, but in threaten the persistence and condition of some species and 2004 and 2005 over 100,000 hectares were burnt in response to ecosystems. the 2002–2003 Victorian bushfires. The current annual target for • We don’t yet know the ‘right’ level of planned burning in planned burning in Victoria is 130,000 hectares. This is expected Victoria for ecological benefits and protection from bushfire. to increase to up to 385,000 hectares following the government inquiry into the impact of public land management practices in Fire is an essential part of Victoria’s natural wildfires. environment Victoria has one of the most fire-prone environments in the world. Bushfire is a normal feature of our environment and plays a key role in many ecosystems. While many plant species need fire to stimulate regeneration, the appropriate timing and intensity of fire varies between ecosystems. In general, grasslands and heathlands require more frequent burning than eucalypt forests. As Victoria’s population has increased and more people live close to forested areas, land managers have focused on reducing the incidence of fire to protect human life and assets. More recently, prolonged drought, higher temperatures, and decreased soil moisture associated with climate change have compounded fire risk thus providing a new focus for mitigating the severity and extent of future fires. Changes to the frequency and intensity of fire can threaten ecosystem health. The challenge for land managers is to balance Figure 2. Area of native vegetation burnt in planned fire events in Victoria. the prevention and control of wildfires with the requirement of Victoria usually experiences around 510 bushfires per year, many ecosystems for regular burning. which burn an average of 126,724 hectares. In 2002/2003 more than 3,000 individual fires burnt nearly 1.12 million hectares. In 2006/2007 more than 1,000 bushfires burnt an area in excess of 1.2 million hectares. The large-scale fires in 2003 and 2007 have been attributed to prolonged dry conditions. A combined area of approximately 2.3 million hectares of Victoria’s alpine area was burnt in 2002/2003 and 2006/2007, including 145,000 hectares that was burnt in both 2002/2003 and 2006/2007. Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) and Alpine Ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis), which dominate Victoria’s eastern forests, regenerate from seed following fire and need up to 20 years without fire to start producing seeds. The extent of these species is likely to be severely reduced in the areas that were burnt twice in four years. Commissioner Figure 1. Regeneration of native vegetation after bushfire. Environmental Sustainability Victoria requirements of vegetation groups and does not account for the habitat needs of animal species. The ecological requirements of animal species will need to be built into future research. In addition to this new research on fire requirements, Victoria has a Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land, which provides a framework for integrated management of fire on public land. The Code sets standards for fire prevention by use of planned burning. Planned burning is aimed at both fuel management and ecological management. Mildura !( !( Towns 2002-03 Parks and Reserves 2003-04 Other Public Land 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Swan Hill !( 2007-08 Wodonga !( Shepparton Wangaratta !( !( Horsham Bendigo !( !( Figure 4. Planned burning for fuel reduction. Ballarat !( Hamilton When bushfires do occur, Victoria’s Networked Emergency !( Melbourne !( Bairnsdale !( Organisation, including the Departments of Sustainability and Geelong !( Traralgon !( Environment, and Primary Industries, the Country Fire Authority Portland Warrnambool !( !( ¢ and Parks Victoria, works to respond to the fire to protect human life and property. 0 50 100 200 Kilometers Figure 3. (a) Area of native vegetation burnt in bushfires in Victoria. (b) What the Commissioner says Major Victorian bushfires 2002–2007. “Victoria must prepare for the increased risk of fire due to climate change. Balancing bushfire control with environmental requirements “Government must continue research to develop an ecologically based program of planned burning that accounts for the The frequency of bushfires has increased with Victoria’s growing regeneration needs of plants and the habitat needs of animals. population and human sources of ignition account for at least 70% of individual fires on public land in Victoria. “Land management in areas of peri-urban native vegetation continues to provide opportunities for better fire planning. But Climate change is expected to further increase the frequency and generally, further housing development should be limited in fire- severity of fire in Victoria. The numbers of extreme fire danger prone areas, to reduce the potential for loss and damage as the days are projected to increase by as much as 230% by 2050 fire risk increases.” across south-eastern Australia. Too much fire can prevent or reduce ecosystem regeneration. Weeds may become established What you can do as the native vegetation structure is degraded. • If you live in a fire-prone area, prepare your home and fire Fire that is not frequent enough to stimulate regeneration can plan as suggested by the CFA. also be a problem. Native grasslands generally require frequent • Consider the risk of fire now and in the future when choosing fires to maintain an open grassland structure. Native grassland a new home site. in small reserves surrounded by development in Melbourne’s • When camping, make sure your fire is extinguished when western suburbs is now rarely burnt because of the proximity leaving your campsite. of houses and factories. Grassland species, such as the Striped Legless Lizard (Delmar impar), are under threat from a lack For more information of fire. The urban Eucalyptus woodland habitat of the Eltham Copper Butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida) also requires • State of Environment Report Victoria 2008, Land and periodic burning to stimulate regeneration of Sweet Bursaria, Biodiversity www.ces.vic.gov.au/soe the sole plant species on which the butterfly larvae feed. The • Department of Sustainability and Environment – www.dse.vic. small remaining habitat areas are surrounded by housing, so gov.au opportunities for burning are constrained by the need to protect • Country Fire Authority – www.cfa.vic.gov.au homes from fire. As for urban grasslands, the ecological burning of small remnant reserves in urban areas is likely to become an State of the Environment Victoria 2008 Fact Sheet Series Published by the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Melbourne, Victoria, 2008 increasingly important issue. ©The State of Victoria, Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability 2008 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. How does Victoria manage fire? Authorised by the Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, 16/570 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 The Department of Sustainability and Environment is carrying For further information contact the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, phone out research to determine the best management of fire for +61 3 8636 2917 or visit http://www.ces.vic.gov.au/SoE native vegetation in Victoria. This is a complex task requiring Disclaimer information about the responses of plants and animals to fire This report may be of assistance to you and every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is correct. It is based largely on data and information provided by the Victorian Government. across a wide range of environments. The research will help The Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability does not guarantee that the report is without flaw to show where fire is too frequent or too infrequent for the of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this ecosystem. At the moment information is only available for the publication. .
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