Journal article
Burning in banksia woodlands: How does the fire-free period influence reptile communities?
PLoS ONE, Vol.7(4), e34448
2012
Abstract
Fire is an important management tool for both hazard reduction burning and maintenance of biodiversity. The impact of time since last fire on fauna is an important factor to understand as land managers often aim for prescribed burning regimes with specific fire-free intervals. However, our current understanding of the impact of time since last fire on fauna is largely unknown and likely dependent on vegetation type. We examined the responses of reptiles to fire age in banksia woodlands, and the interspersed melaleuca damplands among them, north of Perth, Western Australia, where the current prescribed burning regime is targeting a fire-free period of 8-12 years. The response of reptiles to fire was dependent on vegetation type. Reptiles were generally more abundant (e.g. Lerista elegans and Ctenophorus adelaidensis) and specious in banksia sites. Several species (e.g. Menetia greyii, Cryptoblepharus buchananii) preferred long unburnt melaleuca sites (>16 years since last fire, YSLF) compared to recently burnt sites (16 YSLF). The terrestrial dragon C. adelaidensis and the skink Morethia obscura displayed a strong response to fire in banksia woodlands only. Highest abundances of the dragon were detected in the recently burnt (<7 YSLF) and long unburnt (>35 YSLF) banksia woodlands, while the skink was more abundant in older sites. Habitats from a range of fire ages are required to support the reptiles we detected, especially the longer unburnt (>16 YSLF) melaleuca habitat. Current burning prescriptions are reducing the availability of these older habitats.
Details
- Title
- Burning in banksia woodlands: How does the fire-free period influence reptile communities?
- Authors/Creators
- L.E. Valentine (Author/Creator)A. Reaveley (Author/Creator)B. Johnson (Author/Creator)R. Fisher (Author/Creator)B.A. Wilson (Author/Creator)
- Publication Details
- PLoS ONE, Vol.7(4), e34448
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Identifiers
- 991005542968007891
- Copyright
- © 2012 Valentine et al
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre of Excellence for Climate Change and Forest and Woodland Health; School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Note
- This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.40 Forestry
- 3.40.1598 Wildfire Dynamics
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- ESI research areas
- Environment/Ecology