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Conservat Sci and Prac - 2025 - Hohwieler - Exploring the potential role of built environments in wildlife conservation1.23 MB
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Exploring the potential role of built environments in wildlife conservation during wildfires
Conservation Science and Practice, Vol.8(1), pp.1-9
2026
Abstract
As the frequency and severity of wildfires continue to rise, fire refugia could play a critical role in reducing impacts on affected wildlife species. Fire refugia are areas which are naturally less likely to burn, for example, due to local climatic conditions. Yet, they may also exist outside of areas traditionally considered as refugia, such as areas close to human infrastructure, where active fire management strategies prioritize the safety of humans and their assets. We hypothesized that wildlife habitat within or in proximity to human infrastructure could function as fire refugia, and tested this for Endangered koala (Phas-colarctos cinereus). We used fire extent and severity mapping of New South Wales, Australia, to investigate the relationship between land use and the likelihood of severe to extreme fire at locations where koalas had been recorded in the preceding 15 years. Our findings show that the likelihood of severe to extreme fire occurrence was lower in areas with intensive human use (residential , utilities and services, transport, industry and manufacturing, intensive farming, and infrastructure), and increased outwards from these areas. Our results support the notion that remaining koala habitat in urban and peri-urban landscapes could play a vital role as fire refugia in the face of climate change. We argue that populations of at-risk species inhabiting these areas should be targeted for increased protection and management, while emphasizing the continued importance of protecting remaining natural habitats. K E Y W O R D S fire refugia, fire severity, landscape use, Phascolarctos cinereus, urban wildlife, wildfire
Details
- Title
- Exploring the potential role of built environments in wildlife conservation during wildfires
- Authors
- Katrin Hohwieler (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringCarmen Piza Roca - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringElizabeth Brunton - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringMichelle Ward - The University of QueenslandRomane Cristescu - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Bioinnovation
- Publication details
- Conservation Science and Practice, Vol.8(1), pp.1-9
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1111/csp2.70200
- ISSN
- 2578-4854
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Data Availability
- Data sets will be made available upon publication.
- Grant note
- Michelle Ward completed part of this work while affiliated with World Wide Fund for Nature—Australia, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991192344902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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