Managing environmental risks
When a burn is undertaken to manage bushfire risk we also consider any environmental impacts that the burn may cause, and we work out ways to reduce them.
We use the Biological Databases of SA to identify where species are, along with other databases, to help us with our environmental assessments, which we perform before every burn, along with on-site surveys, to reduce risks to local plants and animals.
That’s why there’s a lot of planning and assessment of species in a planned burn site, before any fires are lit, to ensure the species stay safe and the burn meets its objectives. Prescribed burns are always timed to have the least impact on native flora and fauna.
Watch the short video: Before we burn - behind the scenes of a prescribed burn
How do prescribed burns help plants and animals?
Before every prescribed burn, staff assess the potential impact on native animals and plants. Animals have various strategies to survive in prescribed burn areas. Some will move ahead of the burn into unburnt habitat, while others will seek shelter in the tops of trees, in burrows or under rocks and logs.
Prescribed burns can help improve biodiversity in parks and reserves by:
- managing the landscape so that there are a mix of habitats as some native animals prefer regenerating vegetation after fire while others like long unburnt habitat
- protecting known nesting or breeding sites e.g. we might burn near an important ecological site rather than in it so that we don’t harm the targeted species, and by creating low fuel areas around it we reduce the chance of it being burnt in a large bushfire
- regenerating plant species and vegetation communities that rely on fire which means many plants will grow quickly after fire from seed germination or re-sprouting buds from under their bark or roots
- using fire as a tool to help control some weeds species.
Following a fire, the ash bed is full of nutrients which greatly enhances seedling germination. Tree trunks and roots shoot with buds capturing newly available light. The rejuvenating growth attracts wildlife that feed on the fresh shoots. Foragers explore with the easy access, digging for fungi, eating seeds and flowers. Turned soil and fresh foliage stimulates insect activity. Birds navigate through the re-emerging forest and feed freely on the cleared forest floor, while carnivorous predators take full advantage of the open area.
Burning for waterbirds
Plant and animal monitoring
After ecological burns or targeted prescribed burns are complete, staff monitor the site to address knowledge gaps and record how plants and animals respond. We use this information to improve future burns. Generally, plants and animals recover from fire over time.
To help some ecosystems recover, NPWS can help with rehabilitation and regeneration through:
- controlling invading weeds
- controlling or preventing pest animals invading
- stabilising areas at risk of soil erosion and replanting them with indigenous plants
- replanting vegetation damaged by firefighting activities.
Recovery after a bushfire is another matter. Bushfires are generally larger and more intense than a prescribed burn, and a wildlife and habitat recovery framework has been produced to help South Australia support the preservation and re-establishment of the natural environment during and following bushfires. Recovery SA also has information on helping nature recover after bushfires.
