PROGRAM B
Recording plant responses to fire
Lyndsey Vivian
The Australian National University, Canberra
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Urban reserve, ACT
Myrtle leaf milkwort, VIC
Black cypress pine, NSW
US Forest Service
Eucalyptus fastigata (Brown Barrel)
Eucalyptus delegatensis (Alpine Ash)
Resprouters
Obligate
resprouters
Facultative
resprouters
Seeders
Obligate
seeders
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Plant fire-response classifications:
Issues
1) How general are fire-response classifications?
2) How useful are fire-response databases?
• ACT/NSW/Vic Fires: January-February 2003
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284 sites
813 species
NSW Flora Fire Response Database
 Compare to the observed surveys from post-2003
Plant responses to the 2003 fires:
Responses across sites
Obligate resprouters
Facultative resprouters
Obligate seeders
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Average percent (%) at a site
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Obligate seeders - woody
3
2
Number
of species
1
0
ck
Ro
p
ro
c
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s
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ll f
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Sw
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p
al
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Su
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ria
a
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y
Dr
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sla
d
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Banksia marginata
Eucalyptus delegatensis
(Alpine Ash)
But, weren’t
always fire-killed
Leptospermum micromyrtus
(photo from Uni Melbourne)
Plant responses to the 2003 fires:
Classifying species
always
Obligate
resprouters
at least once
always
Facultative
resprouters
at least once
always
Obligate seeders
at least once
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Number of species classified into each group
(813 species total)
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Variability between sites:
Resprouting
Trees ( > 4 m)
Shrubs (1 m to 4 m)
Low shrubs ( < 1 m)
Herbs
Grasses/sedges
Ferns
Climbers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Percent (%) of total species
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Variability between sites:
Seeding
Trees ( > 4 m)
Shrubs (1 m to 4 m)
Low shrubs ( < 1 m)
Herbs
Grasses/sedges
Ferns
Climbers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Percent (%) of total species
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Effect of severity?
•
Gil (1981) Fire and the
Australian Biota
A simple classification of woody
plant species to fire
“The level used in the
classification is 100 percent
leaf scorch”
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Effect of severity?
High Severity sites: resprouting
Trees ( > 4 m)
Shrubs (1 m to 4 m)
Low shrubs ( < 1 m)
Herbs
Grasses/sedges
Ferns
Climbers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Percent (%) of total species
© BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2009
Effect of severity?
High Severity sites: seeding
Trees ( > 4 m)
Shrubs (1 m to 4 m)
Low shrubs ( < 1 m)
Herbs
Grasses/sedges
Ferns
Climbers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Percent (%) of total species
© BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2009
Use of the NSW Flora Fire Response Database
(1) Within database…
•
•
28% of species with no information
21% species with conflicting information
Rule 1
Separate category: ‘Variable’
Rule 2
Most frequently reported response
Rule 3
Most sensitive response
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Use of the NSW Flora Fire Response Database
(1) Comparisons to field data…
Resprouting
Seeding
80
80
60
60
Average %
of species
40
per site
40
20
20
0
0
Observed
Rule 1
Rule 2
Database
Rule 3
Observed
Rule 1
Rule 2
Rule 3
Database
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Observer Differences!?
• Five different survey teams
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
ACT Parks, Conservation and Lands
Australian Alps Liaison Committee
CSIRO
NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water
Consultancy
0.8
Herbaceous species
A
B
C
D
E
0.7
0.6
Proportion 0.5
per site
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Obligate seeders
Obligate resprouters
Facultative resprouters
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Summary
• Obligate resprouters dominant
 But obligate seeders still important
•
•
•
•
Variation in responses across sites
Information in the database was confusing
Field observations didn’t match database
Differences in classifications between observers,
mostly for non-woody plants
 Classifying the responses of plants is complex!
 Can’t always assume a standard ‘species-level’
response
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What does this mean?
•
Variability in responses
Probability
of
sprouting
Fire severity
•
Probability
of
sprouting
Seedling
density
Post-fire rainfall
Height of plant
Variability between observers?
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What does this mean?
= single plant
• Species level classification
= population
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What does this mean?
• Population level classification
• 2003 fires in this study area: 20 – 40%? Trees (70%)?
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What does this mean?
• Individual level?
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What does this mean?
• Planning a prescribed fire?
• Managing effects of an unplanned fire?
 How do we know that a population will
respond in the expected way?
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Some thoughts
• Generality of classifications?
-
Doesn’t capture variability
Useful as a generalisation e.g. large-scale modelling
Unwieldy with more categories
Useful as a guide, but should consider variation in relation to
fire regimes, environment
• Usefulness of databases?
- Useful but need more data
- Could help in determining the extent of variability in responses
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Next steps?
• Movement towards National Online Database?
• Collection of data for the range of variability
in fire responses
• Classifications as a generalisation
 Be aware that variability could be quite considerable
 Increase our knowledge about the extent of variability
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More information
•
USDA Fire Effects Information System
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/abicon/all.html
•
•
Fire note #47 “Plants and Fire”, available on CRC website
Austral Ecology May 2010 (most recent edition), “Classifying
the fire responses of plants”, pg. 264-273
Email: [email protected]
Acknowledgements: Geoff Cary, Ross Bradstock, Malcolm Gill, Emlyn Williams
Data collaborators: Margaret Kitchin (ACT PCL), Michael Doherty (CSIRO), Nic Gellie
(EcoGIS), Keith McDougall (NSW DECC), Australian Alps Liaison Committee, NSW DECC (NSW
Flora Fire Response Database)
Funding: Bushfire CRC, Australian Geographic, Australian Post-Graduate Award
© BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2009