Fire management guidelines
The guidelines are from an ecological perspective, designed to enhance biodiversity.
Fire has played an important role in shaping much of the Australia's landscapes and the composition of the fauna and flora within them. Manipulating fire to create or protect desirable landscape features and habitats has become of primary importance at all levels of land management.
Planned burn at Dingo Flat,
Bunya Mountains National Park,
October 2005
Guidelines for regional ecosystems
The guidelines for regional ecosystems are presented from an ecological perspective, designed to enhance biodiversity. The best available published and expert information has been used in formulating these guidelines, however further research and monitoring is required. They are to be considered in conjunction with the many other deliberations and decisions undertaken when planning prescribed burns for reasons such as wildfire suppression, hazard reduction, timber production management and weed control. These considerations include the local conditions, eg. weather, landforms, infrastructure, and safety of animals and people. If you wish to conduct a planned burn, a written permit from a fire warden is essential. Please contact your local rural fire brigade (Rural Fire Service).
From an ecological perspective, prescribed burning for the myriad ecosystems described in Queensland is a tricky balance. Prevention of fire-driven extinction of fauna and flora populations caused by too frequent fires requires consideration as does the need to accommodate fire-enhanced recruitment of many plant species and the benefits to fauna brought by fire. The composition of an ecosystems' understorey, and its response to fire, is as critical in determining a suitable fire regime as is the general description provided by the regional ecosystem definition, detailing canopy and dominant species. Particular regional ecosystems can have a changing variety of understorey composition throughout a landscape.
These generic guidelines are provided for regional ecosystems that are in "good" condition, i.e. a condition relatively similar to the benchmark for that regional ecosystem. Where the vegetation is heavily infested with weed species, the primary aim of the initial fire management may be to control the weeds, and hence a different fire regime to the "normal" may be needed to restore the vegetation. Similarly, if the primary purpose of the management of an area is to enhance the population of a particular species, for example, an endangered plant or animal, then a different fire regime to the generic regime for the regional ecosystem may be required.
The generic guidelines also assume "typical" climatic conditions for the regional ecosystem, hence extreme events or recent history such as droughts, cyclones or extra wet conditions may also alter the structure of the vegetation and require fire regimes that vary from the recommended "typical" fire regimes.
Feedback
The draft guidelines themselves are derived from the scientific literature and, due to the dearth of documentation of the effects of fire on many of our ecosystems, a panel of relevant professional experts for each bioregion. Feedback is sought from any person with information regarding the impacts of fire on any of the regional ecosystems. Feedback can be provided to fire.guidelines@epa.qld.gov.au.
The fire management guidelines are listed under individual regional ecosystem in the Regional Ecosystem Description Database (REDD). A map of the regional ecosystems on any property in Queensland can be obtained from the online map service.
Last updated: 25 August 2008