The open-access journal Fire has announced a special issue focusing on bushfire in Tasmania. Prof. Crystal Holden, Prof. David Bowman and Dr. Rebecca Harris, all members of or contributors to the Fire Centre, are guest editors. The Special Issue focuses on bushfire in Tasmania, its sociopolitical, economic and ecological impacts, its management by the state agencies […]
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At the Fire Centre, we strive to empower local communities to develop solutions and to understand the cultural context of these solutions. In the USA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and local tribes are leading the way in this regard. The BIA has been the only federal agency in the USA to substantially increase […]
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Predicting fire refugia to help protect Tasmania’s palaeoendemic plants The Fire Centre is looking for a PhD candidate on predicting fire refugia to help protect Tasmania’s palaeoendemic plants. This would be an exciting project for someone with an interest in field work, conservation management of vegetation and who has good numeric skills. Contact greg.jordan@utas.edu.au. Applicants […]
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The 2019 Tasmanian fires burned for weeks and covered extensive areas of the state, causing much anxiety for those who feel a deep connection to this island. Fire Centre Director Prof. David Bowman appears on ABC’s the Science Show to discuss the 2019 Tasmanian wildfires and their effect on the psychological health of Tasmanians. […]
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This piece by the ABC’s Felicity Ogilvie highlights an innovative Fire Centre study in the midlands looking at the effect of fine-scale mosaic patch burning on herbivores. Such practices are similar to traditional burning practices elsewhere in Australia. The research project represents a collaboration between the Fire Centre, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, and private […]
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Fire Centre Director Prof. David Bowman answers a 7 year-old’s question about how a bushfire starts for The Conversation‘s Curious Kids Series. Curious Kids is series for children and a collaboration between The Conversation and ABC KIDS listen. I have a question to ask. How do bushfires start? – Samuel Hart, age 7. What a great […]
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28 March 2019 Dr. Tim Curran, Senior Lecturer in Ecology at Lincoln University in New Zealand joins ABC Radio Hobart’s Catherine Zengerer to discuss green fire breaks as a potential fire management tool for Hobart. Tim is a visitor with the Fire Centre and will be giving a keynote lecture at a public event at […]
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The full extent of devastation following the recent bushfires in Tasmania is becoming clear. This is what our worried researchers found when it was finally safe enough to visit TERN’s highly instrumented, long-term ecological research site in the Huon Valley. The site burnt and infrastructure was destroyed but the event has offered up a great […]
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Calling for research papers or case studies to be submitted for a two day conference on prescribed burning at UWA on July 31st and August 1st 2019. We are hoping to bring together researchers, policy makers and the wider community to discuss the impact and efficacy of current prescribed burning policies and practices. The focus […]
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By Dr. Michael Shawn Fletcher Senior Lecturer School of Geography University of Melbourne The hype over the fire crisis and the role that climate change has played masks an awkward truth: the myth of wilderness is as much a threat as climate change when it comes to large and uncontrollable wildfires. Like the Kakadu National […]
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