23SG19 2DL, UK. +44 (0)

Fire has been part of the natural environment of southeastern Australia for tens of millions of years. Aboriginal people used fire selectively, with skill, for many reasons. The removal of Aboriginal people from most of the region after European settlement changed fire regimes and the composition and structure of vegetation. This study explores the history of fire in southeastern Australia, describes the development of prescribed burning as a forest management tool, and discusses the factors that have influenced changes in fire regimes. It draws on published and unpublished literature and data held by the Forest Fire Management Committee of the Institute of Foresters of Australia. The study finds that the use of prescribed burning in southeastern Australia in the past 100 years has been driven primarily by political and legal factors. Since 1939, more than 50 public inquiries, reviews and royal commissions have been held into matters concerning the management of fire in landscapes, including prescribed burning. Prescribed burning has been used for wildfire mitigation, agricultural practices (such as stubble reduction and grazing land management), property protection, the maintenance of ecological processes and biodiversity conservation. Prescribed burning in the region has only ever been practised on a small percentage of forest and land each year. The study finds that a substantial body of fire and ecosystem science has been generated in the past 50 years, with rapid technological developments to support prescribed burning and fire management. Research has provided tools and methods for broadscale prescribed burning, but negative public perceptions of fire have prevented the deployment of comprehensive fire management programs in the region. Although much has been achieved, considerable changes are still required in fire management for it to be sustainable and optimal in protecting economic, social and environmental values. The risks to human lives, property, biodiversity and the environment associated with wildfire are increasing in southeastern Australia due to climate change, and the wider use of prescribed burning is essential for managing these. The increasing extent and occurrence of wildfire disasters in the region indicates that current fire management will not sustain the full range of ecosystem processes and biodiversity, nor reduce to an acceptable level the impact of wildfires on human lives and property. There is compelling evidence for the greater use of prescribed burning to reduce wildfire risks and impacts, rather than committing increasing resources to wildfire suppression. The potential negative impacts of prescribed burning can be managed effectively using existing knowledge and tools. Clear communication of the benefits of prescribed burning can influence political and public opinion in its favour. More investment in training, human capacity and supporting resources is required to safely and effectively deploy prescribed burning more widely to reduce future wildfire risks.

Capsule Mealworm provisioning increased clutch size and chick survival in garden-nesting House Sparrows. Aim We tested experimentally whether invertebrate availability limits reproductive success in gardennesting House Sparrows Passer domesticus. Methods Mealworms were provided in feeders as supplementary food for House Sparrows nesting in suburban and rural domestic gardens. Surveys of provisioning adult sparrows were used to determine mealworm usage and nest outcomes were monitored. Results Provisioning parent sparrows travelled up to 165 m from nests to collect mealworms, but most usage of supplementary food was confined to nests within 30 m of feeders. Mealworm provisioning increased clutch size and chick survival which together increased fledgling production by 55%. Conclusions Management interventions that increase the availability of invertebrate prey for gardennesting House Sparrows have the potential to stimulate substantial increases in reproductive success.

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Invertebrates dominate many terrestrial ecosystems in terms of biomass, and they also structure ecosystems through their roles as pollinators, detritivores, primary consumers, predators and prey. Invasive rodents (rats and mice) are known to have detrimental effects on many island invertebrates, although these effects are seldom quantified or ecologically understood. Here we provide evidence of the effects of invasive rats (Rattus spp.) on island invertebrate populations using a large-scale natural experiment. We investigated the effects of invasive rats on Falkland camel crickets (Parudenus spp.) in the Falkland Islands (South Atlantic) by comparing an index of camel cricket relative abundance between 18 rat-infested islands, six rat-eradicated islands and 13 naturally rat-free islands (in total, 37 islands). Our study provided two key results. First, camel crickets were up to an order of magnitude more abundant on rat-free islands than on rat-infested or rateradicated islands. This difference was larger in native tussac grass Poa flabellata than in other vegetation types. Second, camel cricket populations recovered after rat eradication, because the relative abundance of camel crickets on rat-eradicated islands was intermediate between those of naturally rat-free and rat-infested islands, and among rat-eradicated islands relative abundance was lowest where rats had been cleared most recently. Our results demonstrate severe suppression of a superabundant and large-bodied island endemic invertebrate by invasive rodents, and its prompt recovery after rodent eradication.