Using a natural experiment to foresee the fate of boreal carbon stores

Bowman, David M. J. S.

doi:10.1111/gcb.15214

Cited by 2 publications

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References 12 publications

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“…Managing carbon by some combination of prescribed burning, plus the manipulation of forest biomass and physiognomy through thinning, timber and bio‐energy harvesting or from fire protection may conserve carbon stores (Figure 5) but a greater understanding of the trade‐offs involved in these interventions is required. This requires a much more coherent and comprehensive evidence base involving coordinated research involving lab and field measurements of emissions, natural and classical field experiments that study the effects of fire severity and forestry practices, that is integrated into forest demographic, carbon cycle and economic modelling (Bowman, 2020; Sapsis et al, 2016).…”

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confidence: 99%

Australian forests, megafires and the risk of dwindling carbon stocks

Bowman

Williamson

Price

et al. 2020

Plant Cell & Environment

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Over the Austral spring and summer of 2019/20 > 7 million ha of Eucalyptus forest and woodland, including some of Australia's most carbon dense ecosystems, were burnt on the east coast of Australia. We estimated bootstrapped mean CO2 emissions of c. 0.67 Pg, with other available estimates ranging from 0.55 to 0.85 Pg. Eucalyptus forests are renowned for their ability to resist and recover from wildfire so it would be expected that emitted CO2 will be reabsorbed. The combination of drought and frequent fires is likely reducing the capacity to recover from the fire so future Australian forests may store less carbon. Broadscale prescribed burning is a widely promoted approach to reduce uncontrolled wildfires, yet the benefits for the management of carbon stores are controversial. Prescribed burning can reduce carbon losses from subsequent wildfire, yet the “carbon costs” of it may equal or outweigh the “carbon benefits” in reduced wildfire emissions. Likewise, mechanical thinning of vegetation to reduce fuel loads also carries heavy carbon costs with uncertain carbon benefits. Research involving empirical measurements, modelling and a mix of large‐scale management intervention is urgently required to determine what interventions can maximise carbon storage in the face of climate change‐driven fires.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian forests, megafires and the risk of dwindling carbon stocks

Bowman

Williamson

Price

et al. 2020

Plant Cell & Environment

Self Cite

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Small mammal diversity is higher in infrequently compared with frequently burnt rainforest–savanna mosaics in the north Kimberley, Australia

et al. 2020

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ContextPopulations of native mammals are declining at an alarming rate in many parts of tropical northern Australia. Fire regimes are considered a contributing factor, but this hypothesis is difficult to test because of the ubiquity of fire. AimsThis preliminary study investigated relative abundance and richness of small mammals on a gradient of fire regimes in the Uunguu Indigenous Protected Area (north Kimberley, Australia). MethodsSpecies were sampled using 40 unbaited camera traps, positioned for a year on 20 transects crossing the rainforest–savanna boundary at locations with comparable environment and geology but varying fire history. The relative importance of the factors ‘fire frequency’, ‘late dry season fire frequency’, ‘time since burnt’ and ‘vegetation type’ as predictors of the number of small mammal species and detections was tested using Spatial Generalised Linear Mixed Models to account for spatial autocorrelation. Key resultsNine species of small mammals were observed. Mammals were more abundant and diverse in locations with low overall fire frequency, which was a better predictor than late dry season fire frequency or time since burnt. The model including fire frequency and vegetation explained the highest proportion of total variation in mammal diversity (R2=42.0%), with most of this variation explained by fire frequency alone (R2=40.5%). The best model for number of detections (R2=20.9%) included both factors. ConclusionsIn the north Kimberley, small mammals are likely to be more abundant and diverse in areas with low fire frequency. ImplicationsThis natural experiment supports the theory that frequent fires are contributing to the decline of small mammals observed across northern Australia.

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Using a natural experiment to foresee the fate of boreal carbon stores

Abstract: How to cite this article: Bowman DMJS. Using a natural experiment to foresee the fate of boreal carbon stores. Glob

Cited by 2 publications

References 12 publications

Australian forests, megafires and the risk of dwindling carbon stocks

Australian forests, megafires and the risk of dwindling carbon stocks

Small mammal diversity is higher in infrequently compared with frequently burnt rainforest–savanna mosaics in the north Kimberley, Australia

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