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Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires
Nature , Vol.635, pp.898-905
2024
Abstract
With large wildfires becoming more frequent, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is to discover how interactions among fire-regime components, drought and land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented 2019–2020 Australian megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares, prompting major investment in biodiversity monitoring. Collated data include responses of more than 2,000 taxa, providing an unparalleled opportunity to quantify how megafires affect biodiversity. We reveal that the largest effects on plants and animals were in areas with frequent or recent past fires and within extensively burnt areas. Areas burnt at high severity, outside protected areas or under extreme drought also had larger effects. The effects included declines and increases after fire, with the largest responses in rainforests and by mammals. Our results implicate species interactions, dispersal and extent of in situ survival as mechanisms underlying fire responses. Building wildfire resilience into these ecosystems depends on reducing fire recurrence, including with rapid wildfire suppression in areas frequently burnt. Defending wet ecosystems, expanding protected areas and considering localized drought could also contribute. While these countermeasures can help mitigate the impacts of more frequent megafires, reversing anthropogenic climate change remains the urgent broad-scale solution.
Details
- Title
- Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires
- Authors
- Don A. Driscoll (Corresponding Author) - Deakin UniversityKristina J. Macdonald - Deakin UniversityRebecca K. Gibson - NSW Department of Planning and EnvironmentTim S. Doherty - The University of SydneyDale G. Nimmo - Charles Sturt UniversityRachael H. Nolan - Western Sydney UniversityEuan G. Ritchie - Deakin UniversityGrant J. Williamson - University of TasmaniaGeoffrey W. Heard - Department of Environment, Land, Water and PlanningElizabeth M. Tasker - NSW Department of Planning and EnvironmentRohan Bilney - NSW Forestry CorporationNick Porch - Deakin UniversityRachael A. Collett - The University of QueenslandRoss A. Crates - Australian National UniversityAlison C. Hewitt - Western Sydney UniversityElise Pendall - Western Sydney UniversityMatthias M. Boer - Western Sydney UniversityJody GatesRebecca L. Boulton - The University of AdelaideHeidi GroffenChristopher M. Mclean - Central Coast Local Health DistrictAlex C. Maisey - La Trobe UniversityChad T. Beranek - University of Newcastle AustraliaShelby A. Ryan - University of Newcastle AustraliaAlex Callen - University of Newcastle AustraliaAndrew J. Hamer - University of Newcastle AustraliaAndrew Stauber - University of Newcastle AustraliaGarry J. Daly - Water Research AustraliaJohn Gould - University of Newcastle AustraliaKaya L. Klop-Toker - University of Newcastle AustraliaMichael J. Mahony - University of Newcastle AustraliaOliver W. Kelly - University of Newcastle AustraliaSamantha L. WallaceSarah E. Stock - University of Newcastle AustraliaChristopher J. Weston - The University of MelbourneLiubov Volkova - The University of MelbourneDennis Black - La Trobe UniversityHeloise Gibb - La Trobe UniversityJoshua J. Grubb - La Trobe UniversityMelodie A. McGeoch - La Trobe UniversityNick P. MurphyJoshua S. Lee - UNSW SydneyChris R. Dickman - The University of SydneyVictor J. Neldner - Queensland Department of Environment and ScienceMichael R. Ngugi - State Herbarium of South AustraliaVivianna Miritis - The University of SydneyFrank Köhler - Australian MuseumMarc PerriAndrew J. Denham - NSW Department of Planning and EnvironmentBerin D. E. Mackenzie - NSW Department of Planning and EnvironmentChris A. M. Reid - Australian MuseumJulia T. Rayment - Parks and Wildlife ServiceAlfonsina Arriaga-Jiménez - University of New EnglandMichael W. Hewins - University of New EnglandAndrew Hicks - University of Colorado BoulderBrett A. Melbourne - University of Colorado BoulderKendi F. Davies - University of Colorado BoulderMatthew E. Bitters - University of Colorado BoulderGrant D. Linley - Charles Sturt UniversityAaron C. Greenville - The University of SydneyJonathan K. Webb - University of Technology SydneyBridget Roberts - University of WollongongMike Letnic - UNSW SydneyOwen F. Price - University of WollongongZac C. Walker - Deakin UniversityBrad R. Murray - University of Technology SydneyElise M. Verhoeven - The University of SydneyAlexandria M. Thomsen - UNSW SydneyDavid Keith - UNSW SydneyJedda S. LemmonMark K. J. Ooi - UNSW SydneyVanessa L. AllenOrsi T. Decker - Bavarian Forest National ParkPeter T. Green - La Trobe UniversityAdnan Moussalli - Museums VictoriaJunn K. Foon - Western Sydney UniversityDavid B. Bryant - Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental ResearchKen L. Walker - Museums VictoriaMatthew J. Bruce - Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental ResearchGeorge Madani - University of Newcastle AustraliaJeremy L. Tscharke - Parks VictoriaBenjamin Wagner - The University of MelbourneCraig R. Nitschke - Ecosystem SciencesCarl R. GosperColin J. YatesRebecca DillonSarah Barrett - Parks and Wildlife ServiceEmma E. Spencer - The University of SydneyGlenda M. Wardle - The University of SydneyThomas M. Newsome - The University of SydneyStephanie A. Pulsford - Australian GovernmentAnu Singh - The University of MelbourneAdam Roff - NSW Department of Planning and EnvironmentKaren J. Marsh - Australian National UniversityKye Mcdonald - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringLachlan G. Howell - Deakin UniversityMurraya R. Lane - Australian National UniversityRomane H. Cristescu - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringRyan R. Witt - University of Newcastle AustraliaEmma J. Cook
- Publication details
- Nature , Vol.635, pp.898-905
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41586-024-08174-6
- ISSN
- 1476-4687; 0028-0836
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991080798802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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