Fire in urban bushlands

Biodiversity conservation in Perth’s urban bushlands is very challenging, with land managers aiming to balance the role of fire as a natural disturbance that can stimulate new growth, with the risks of bushfire to both people and fire-sensitive plants. Balancing these responses is complicated by interacting threats from weeds, fragmentation, pests, diseases, feral animals, and general human disturbance to the bushland.

For the past 11 years, the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA) and Kings Park Science have been running long-term experiments in Kings Park and Bold Park bushlands to better understand the interactions between fire and weeds and how native plant communities and bushfire fuels respond. A key part of this research is investigating if species and fuel responses change under different fire intervals and what conditions and management actions may lead to ecological restoration or degradation.

BGPA are planning to conduct a 3-ha research burn in Bold Park in spring 2025 to impose a ‘short’ fire interval on a site previously burnt in 2016 as part of this research project. This talk will present details of the research project, showcase results to-date, and discuss the expected research and ecological outcomes of the planned research burn.

Dr Russell Miller is a Research Scientist with DBCA’s Kings Park Science focusing on urban bushland ecology, particularly the interacting effects of fire regimes, weeds, and other disturbances on native plant communities. Russell’s Honours and PhD research investigated the fire ecology of Banksia woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, including how key species representing dominant plant functional types responded to the long absence of fire, and varying fire seasonality and fire intervals.

This talk starts at 6.30pm on Wednesday August 20th at the WA Ecology Centre, near the northern end of Perry Lakes Drive, in Bold Park.

All are welcome to attend. We kindly ask for a $3 donation on entry to help support the work of the Friends of Bold Park Bushland. Tea, coffee, and a light supper will be provided afterwards.