Journal article
Koala response to post-fire recovery of forest habitat
Wildlife Research, Vol.53(2), pp.1-19
2026
Abstract
Context: The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is now listed as Endangered for most of its range, mainly due to habitat loss, however, wildfire is an increasing factor. Extensive wildfires in South-east Queensland in 2019 allowed us to monitor habitat recovery on a 230 Ha property, and assess habitat preferences of koalas in this location and in the surrounding region of 12,000 km2 Aims: The study aimed to determine if areas with koala presence records tend to burn more than others; if koalas are selective for forest type, terrain, tree species and tree size; and if their habitat recovers after fire and koala recolonisation occurs. Methods:. We used the Spot Assessment Technique on the property to survey for koala scat presence and tree species use. We measured GeoCBI on the property, and extrapolated this regionally using Differenced Normalised Burn Ratio from Sentinel-2 data to estimate fire severity. We used Atlas of Living Australia koala records as regional sample points for forest type, burn estimates, elevation, slope and aspect. Key results: The proportion of regional koala occurrence records in burnt areas was not significantly different to random. Koalas mostly utilised three particular tree species in our local study area and one of four forest types. Koala presence decreased after the first year of fire recovery, then increased slightly in the fourth year. Koalas consistently utilised larger trees. Regionally, koalas notably preferred two forest types out of 85 used. Most koalas occurred on flatter, lower elevations. Southern and eastern aspects were preferred. Conclusions: Koalas are selective for forest type, terrain, tree species and tree size. Implications: Contrary to some other studies which found that koala population recovery after fire took months, our study suggests that population recovery after fire could take years, and death or removal of large trees following severe fires will lead to reduced koala habitat.
Details
- Title
- Koala response to post-fire recovery of forest habitat
- Authors
- Derek Johnson (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringSanjeev Srivastava - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringAlison Shapcott - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Publication details
- Wildlife Research, Vol.53(2), pp.1-19
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1071/WR25174
- ISSN
- 1448-5494
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
- Data Availability
- The data that support this study cannot be publicly shared at this time as further, different analyses from these data are intended. Some data elements may be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author if appropriate.
- Grant note
- The Australian Koala Foundation provided funding for Derek Johnson’s PhD stipend and project costs, from a donation by Lotte Co. Ltd, Japan. Additional funding was provided by the University of the Sunshine Coast.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991197151002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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