Fire profoundly influences human health, the economy and wildlife. In Victoria, for instance, bushfires have burned more than one million hectares since 2009, claiming 178 lives and more than 2,300 homes, and causing more than A$4 billion in social, economic and environmental costs. Reducing fire risk is a global issue, as highlighted by recent devastating …
Land at low risk of bushfires has been set alight to fulfil the target of a state program while high-risk areas have been missed, expert says. In a submission to the Andrews government’s review of the state’s program, La Trobe University professor Mike Clarke said the current “blanket” approach to burning 5 per cent of …
Soil plays a big role in the global carbon cycle, but how much or how quickly forest soil carbon pools decline after logging is poorly understood. This may have serious implications for how carbon emissions from deforestation are accounted for. The U.S. Forest Service, for example, currently operates under the assumption that forest soil carbon …
Naturalist Tim Low says Australian birds are noisier, more aggressive and more intelligent than any other birds in the world. Tim is a biologist, environmentalist and prize-winning writer, and co-editor of Wildlife Australia magazine. His latest book reveals some startling facts about the unique nature of Australian birds – they are distinctive and powerful, and …
Victoria’s forests have an unlikely fire warden: the superb lyrebird. “Lyrebirds are reducing the chance of fires occurring in the areas where they forage … and unburnt patches within large wildfires are really important sites for animals to survive.” New research has revealed the iconic songbird reduces the risk of bushfire by spreading dry leaf …
Scientists warn that the wrong fire patterns could see more losses of threatened species across the country. IN LATE JANUARY 2014, after wildfires tore through two conservation parks in South Australia, researchers scoured the charred terrain for signs of life. They hoped to glimpse a mouse-sized flicker of blue and gold or hear a high …
Brilliant investigation into the crooked management of fires. Big fires = big drama = big money! The similarities with Victoria are uncanny but not at all surprising (Ed.) It’s claimed a long running turf war over the control of fire fighting in NSW is affecting fire ground operations as the NSW Rural Fire Service faces …
Victoria must use risk-based land management burns to prevent bushfires, and dump an annual target, national parks groups say. Last month Environment Minister Lisa Neville asked the Inspector-General for Emergency Management to conduct a review of performance targets for a future bushfire fuel management program on public land. The Black Saturday Royal Commission recommended a …
Australian Paper says unless it lifts performance, and soon, the business may not survive, following four straight years of losses. Chief operating officer Peter Williams says a turnaround in financial performance is ‘critical’ for Australian paper production to continue. The company has just announced the closure of its 60-year-old Shoalhaven mill. “We want to see …
In February 2006, having spent around $7 million of taxpayers’ money trying to fix up an unstable tailings dam abandoned by a failed copper and zinc mining enterprise, the Department of Primary Industries was moved to ask the Register of Geographic Names to call the dam ‘Lake St Barbara’. Ironically, in Spanish and Italian, the …
