Fire Ecology Program Achievements 2009–2011 Published by the Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne, December 2011. © The State of Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment 2011. This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 . Authorised by the Victorian Government, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne. Print managed by Finsbury Green Printed on recycled paper ISBN 978-1-74287-234-6 (print) ISBN 978-1-74287-235-3 (online) For more information contact the DSE Customer Service Centre 136 186 Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw 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 publication. Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, such as large print or audio, please telephone 136 186, or email [email protected] Deaf, hearing impaired or speech impaired? Call us via the National Relay Service on 133 677 or visit www.relayservice.com.au This document is also available in PDF format on the internet at www.dse.vic.gov.au Photos : Cover images courtesy Stephen Platt from left to right: Diuris sp., Wilsons Promontory; Stone fungus, Marysville; Xanthorrhoea , Wilsons Promontory; background image courtesty Department of Sustainability and Environment Contents Background 1 Next Steps 1 Governance Arrangements, Policy Development and Advocacy 2 Governance and Fire Ecology Committees 2 Policy Advice 2 Strategic Direction 1: Landscape Planning and Management 3 Fire Ecology Assessments 3 Case Studies 3 Mallee Fire Strategy 3 2006/07 Great Divide Fire Area Planning Guide 3 Greater Grampians Biophysical Units 4 The Future Fire Management Project 4 Development of Practice Notes and Proformas 4 Guide to Environmentally Sustainable Bushfire Management in Rural Victoria 4 Strategic Direction 2: Science and Research 5 Flora Vital Attributes Surveys 5 Vegetation Community Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals 5 Vertebrate Fauna Vital Attributes 5 Landscape Mosaic Burning – Biodiversity Research 6 Mallee Fire and Biodiversity Project 6 Mallee Dendrochronology Study 6 Southwest Woodlands Fire & Biodiversity Project 7 Fire in River Red Gum Communities 7 Strategic Direction 3: Monitoring and Assessment 8 Pre and Post Planned Burn Flora Surveys 8 Landscape Monitoring Program 8 Fauna Habitat Monitoring 8 HawkEye Project 8 Strategic Direction 4: Information Management and Knowledge Sharing 9 Fire Ecology Database – Growth Stages and Tolerable Fire Intervals (TFIs) of Native Vegetation Datasets 9 Digital Capture of Fire History Mapping (South and East Gippsland Fire Districts) 9 Development of Fire History Analysis Tool (FireHAT)9 Eastern Victoria EVC Fire Regime Categorisation 9 Fire Ecology Database – Fauna Response Curves 10 Online Fire Monitoring Database – Argus 10 Strategic Direction 5: Stakeholder Engagement and Communication 11 Communications Plan 11 Stakeholder Workshops 11 Fire Ecology Web Pages 11 Fire Ecology Brochure and Poster Series 11 Fire Ecology Signage 11 Fire Ecology Booklets 12 Next Steps 13 To Learn More 13 Department of Sustainability and Environment 13 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research 13 Publications and Further Reading 14 General 14 Policy and Planning 14 Monitoring 14 Research 14 Background This report summarises major project achievements that were directed by the Fire Ecology Program: Strategic Directions 2009 – 2011 document. The Fire Ecology Program is a cross-agency initiative involving the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Parks Victoria (PV) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA). Research partners include Melbourne, Monash, Deakin and La Trobe Universities, and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI), which is the biodiversity research centre of DSE. The aim of the Program is to develop guidelines and procedures (using the best available science) to achieve fire regimes that provide a dual role to protect biodiversity, and human life and property. A 2009 Strategic Directions Document (SDD) was produced to provide medium to long-term priority directions for projects that progressively improve our understanding of the role of fire in the landscape, and its influence on biodiversity and ecosystem processes. The SDD outlined five themes and these have been replicated as main headings in this report. The achievements outlined in this report cover the three year period between 2009 and 2011. It should be noted that a new revision of the Fire Ecology Program Strategic Directions document will be published in January 2012 to cover the period 2012 to 2015. This 2012 revision will reflect our contemporary strategic direction, and progressive emphasis in fire management on fire regimes, spatial and temporal processes and social and ecological resilience at large (landscape) scales. Next Steps The Program will be structured in response to the recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission Final Report (July 2010). The recommendations most pertinent to the Fire Ecology Program are: Recommendation 56 The State fund and commit to implementing a long-term program of prescribed burning based on an annual rolling target of 5 per cent minimum of public land. Recommendation 57 The Department of Sustainability and Environment report annually on prescribed burning outcomes in a manner that meets public accountability objectives, including publishing details of targets, area burnt, funds expended on the program, and impacts on biodiversity. Recommendation 58 The Department of Sustainability and Environment significantly upgrade its program of long-term data collection to monitor and model the effects of its prescribed burning programs and of bushfires on biodiversity in Victoria. The Fire Ecology Program: Strategic Directions 2012 – 2015 will outline the objectives, and strategies for achieving those objectives, across five themes: Landscape Planning and Management Science and Research Monitoring and Assessment Information Management and Knowledge Sharing Stakeholder Engagement and Communication For further information on the Fire Ecology Program and to download materials please visit www.dse.vic.gov.au/fireecology. For information on the broader fire program, refer to Victoria’s Bushfire Strategy – Living With Fire (2008) and the Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land , also available on the DSE website www.dse.vic.gov.au. Governance Arrangements, Policy Development and Advocacy Governance and Fire Ecology Committees Fire Ecology Program committees have been established and operating since 2005, and through the period of the SDD, for the following Committees (see diagram): Fire Ecology Steering Committee (Executive) Fire Ecology Working Group Fire Ecology Regional Coordination Groups Fire Ecology Scientific Reference Group The Committees meet regularly and have cross agency membership (DSE, Parks Victoria, CFA and representatives from universities, Catchment Management Authorities and non-government organisations) with a Chair and Executive Officer. Policy Advice The Fire Ecology Program prepared advice to support requests by the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission (VBRC) process in 2009–10 and this continues during implementation of the government’s response. An updated draft Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act Action Statement on “Inappropriate Fire Regimes Causing Disruption to Sustainable Ecosystem Processes and Resultant Loss of Biodiversity” was completed in 2009. The Action Statement outlines major management actions over a five year period. A report on progress in implementing the Action Statement was prepared in 2010 for the VBRC. Fire Ecology Steering Committee (FESC) Fire Ecology Fire Ecology Scientific Reference Working Group Group (FEWG) (FESRG) Fire Ecology Regional Co- ordination Groups (FERCGs) Strategic Direction 1 : Landscape Planning and Management A number of projects have been completed that integrate new datasets and facilitate analysis of fire history, flora & fauna vital attributes, vegetation type and habitat growth stage, disturbance history and fuel accumulation to inform decisions on integrated fire management planning. These have been supported by science and research projects (described later in this report) that underpin and progressively inform integrated land management and planning. Examples of the application of this information are summarised below. Fire Ecology Assessments Led by Fire and Environment Planning Officers (Parks Victoria), Fire Ecology Assessments (Strategies) have been completed for most of Gippsland, Central, North East, North West and South West Fire Areas. Approximately 40 Fire Ecology Assessments were developed from 2009–2011 across Victoria. These assessments are key inputs into fire management planning and the three year rolling Fire Operations Plans. Assessments are supported by a range of spatial assessment tools (see Information Management and Knowledge Sharing p.9). Fire ecology practitioner’s processes have continued to be documented to enable co-ordination and maintain standards. A new mapping template has been developed to incorporate the main spatial fire ecology information into a poster format. The poster is supported by a spreadsheet