Fauna, Fuel and effects of native animals on fuel dynamics and bushfire risks

Minimising the risk of large, severe bushfires while conserving native species is one of the greatest challenges facing managers of fire-prone ecosystems globally. Using a powerful combination of landscape-scale field observations, experimental manipulations of animal densities, and modelling, this project aims to determine the extent that animals influence fire regimes through effects on fuel load and characteristics. The project expects to quantify interactions between animals, bushfire fuel and fire regimes in southeastern Australian forests, woodlands and shrublands. This evidence should benefit the design of integrated, efficient, and complementary strategies for fire and fauna management in Australias extensive fire-prone ecosystems.