The Australian wildfires of 2019–20 (Black Summer) were devastating and unprecedented. These megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares, mostly of forests in southern and eastern Australia. Many of the fires were uncontrollable. These megafires affected many of Australia’s most important conservation areas and severely impacted threatened species and ecological communities. They were a consequence of climate change – and offered a glimpse of how this is likely to continue to affect our future.
Australia’s Megafires includes contributions by more than 200 researchers and managers with direct involvement in the management and conservation of the biodiversity affected by the Black Summer wildfires. It provides a comprehensive review of the impacts of these fires on all components of biodiversity, and on Indigenous cultural values.
These fires also triggered an extraordinary and highly collaborative response by governments, NGOs, Indigenous groups, scientists, landholders and others, seeking to recover the fire-affected species and environments – to restore Country. This book documents that response. It draws lessons that should be heeded to sustain that recovery and to be better prepared for the inevitable future comparable catastrophes. Such lessons are of global relevance, for wildfires increasingly threaten biodiversity and livelihoods across the globe.
Features:- Documents the major impacts on wildlife, ecological communities, sites of biodiversity significance and Indigenous cultural values.
- Explores the extraordinary collaborative response to attempt to recover impacted species and environments.
- Provides perspectives from people involved in the fire management and recovery.
- Identifies necessary learnings to reduce the chance of future such catastrophes, to be better prepared and better enable recovery.
- Includes responses and recommendations that will be broadly applicable to comparable environmental catastrophes around the world.
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"Australias Megafires contains an outstanding amount of information and should serve as both a useful reference resource for future natural disaster events, together with bring a sombre reminder of the impact of the 2019-20 bushfires. The lessons learned have global relevance, and will support future wildfire preparedness and response efforts." * Wildlife Health Australia * "[ Australia's Megafires] involved contributions from more than 200 scientists and experts. It provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of how the fires affected biodiversity and Indigenous cultural values, and how nature has recovered." * The Conversation *
Acknowledgements
List of contributors
1. Introduction
2. The 201920 Australian wildfires: precursors, characteristics and
implications for the future
3. Impacts of wildfire on Indigenous cultural values
4. Consequences of the Australian 201920 wildfires for sites important for
biodiversity and other World Heritage values
5. Wildfire effects on soils and soil processes
6. The impact of the 201920 Australian wildfires on aquatic systems
7. The impacts of the 201920 wildfires on marine species and ecosystems
8. Ecological communities: impact and response
9. Blackened roots and green shoots: emerging trends in decline and recovery
in Australian plant species after the 201920 wildfires
10. The impacts of the 201920 wildfires on Australian fungi
11. Impacts of the 201920 wildfires on Australian invertebrates
12. Estimating the number of wild animals affected by Australias 201920
wildfires
13. The impacts of the 201920 wildfires on Australian frogs
14. The impacts of the 201920 wildfires on Australias lizards and snakes
15. The impacts of the 201920 wildfires on Australian birds
16. Impacts of the 201920 wildfires on native mammals
17. How introduced animals compound the effects of fire on native plants and
animals
18. The compounding impacts of disease and weeds after the 201920 wildfires
on Australian vascular plants and communities
19. Interacting and compounding impacts: fire and forestry in the 201920
wildfires
20. Review of impacts of the 201920 wildfires on biodiversity
21. Prescribed burning in Australian forests: characteristics, impacts and
effects
22. Response by the Australian Government to the 201920 wildfires
23. State agency responses to support biodiversity recovery following the
201920 wildfires
24. Immediate and longer-term responses of conservation NGOs to the 201920
wildfires
25. Responses of natural resource management groups to biodiversity loss and
recovery in the 201920 wildfires
26. Wildlife welfare and the 201920 wildfires
27. Ex situ responses to the 201920 wildfires
28. Shared responsibilities and collaborative responses: review of actions
taken to support the recovery of biodiversity after the 201920 wildfires
29. What did we learn about biodiversity management, policy and operations
from the 201920 wildfires?
30. Government inquiries following the 201920 wildfires
31. Monitoring impacts and recovery
32. A precautionary tale: the consequences of, and remedies for, data
deficiencies and uncertainty in conservation decisions related to the 201920
wildfires
33. Empowering Indigenous leadership and participation in wildfire recovery,
cultural burning and land management
34. Of grief, spirit and hope: personal reflections of the 201920 wildfires
35. Recommendations
36. Our future
Index
Libby Rumpff is a Senior Research Fellow and a Principal Investigator in the Quantitative and Applied Ecology group (QAECO) at The University of Melbourne.
Sarah Legge is an Honorary Professor at The Australian National University, and a Professorial Fellow at Charles Darwin University.
Stephen van Leeuwen is a Wardandi Noongar with a profound respect for Country, a professor and Australia's first Indigenous Chair of Biodiversity and Environmental Science, based at Curtin University.
Brendan Wintle is a Professor in Conservation Ecology and a Principal Investigator in the Quantitative and Applied Ecology group (QAECO) at The University of Melbourne.
John Woinarski is a Professor of Conservation Biology at Charles Darwin University.
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