Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires

With large wildfires becoming more frequent<sup>1,2</sup>, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is to discover how interactions among fire-regime components, drought and land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented<sup>3,4</sup> 2019-2020 Australian megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares<sup>5</sup>, prompting major investment in biodiversity monitoring. Collated data include responses of more than 2,000 taxa, providing an unparalleled opportunity to quantify how megafires affect biodiversity. We reveal that the largest effects on plants and animals were in areas with frequent or recent past fires and within extensively burnt areas. Areas burnt at high severity, outside protected areas or under extreme drought also had larger effects. The effects included declines and increases after fire, with the largest responses in rainforests and by mammals. Our results implicate species interactions, dispersal and extent of in situ survival as mechanisms underlying fire responses. Building wildfire resilience into these ecosystems depends on reducing fire recurrence, including with rapid wildfire suppression in areas frequently burnt. Defending wet ecosystems, expanding protected areas and considering localized drought could also contribute. While these countermeasures can help mitigate the impacts of more frequent megafires, reversing anthropogenic climate change remains the urgent broad-scale solution.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature
Published
2024-11-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08174-6
Citations
78
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
71.73

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article

Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires

Noushka Reiter, Tim S. Doherty, Vivianna Miritis, Owen Price et al.
78 citations
Nature
Species Distribution and Climate Change
71.73
article

Biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires

Noushka Reiter, Tim S. Doherty, Vivianna Miritis, Owen Price, Heidi Groffen, Katja Hogendoorn, Bridget Roberts, Ross Crates, Matthias M. Boer, Nicola Waddell, Garry Daly, Andrew Stauber, Marc Perri, Elise Verhoeven, Edward C. Cook, Laura X. L. Tan, Matthew E. Bitters, Matthew Beitzel, Chris J. Jolly, Mike Letnic, Alison Hewitt, Frank Köhler, Elise Pendall, Julian Seddon, Rohan J. Bilney, Jonathan K. Webb, Ryan Shofner, Alex C. Maisey, Romane Cristescu, Colin J. Yates, George Madani, Michael R. Ngugi, Rebecca L. Boulton, Mark G. Tozer, Andrew J. Hamer, Stephanie Pulsford, Emma E. Spencer, Matthew J. Bruce, Chad T. Beranek, Jedda Lemmon, Ryan D. Phillips, Grant J. Williamson, Rebecca Dillon, Grant D. Linley, Michael Mahony, Nick Porch, Liubov Volkova, Sarah Barrett, Ryan R. Witt, Anu Singh, Carl R. Gosper, Orsi Decker, Christopher M. McLean, Christopher J. Weston, Thomas M. Newsome, Brett A. Melbourne, Rachael H. Nolan, Joshua J. Grubb, David Hancock, Chris A. M. Reid, Dennis M. Black, John A. Gould, Fiona Grant, Jody P. Gates, Euan G. Ritchie, Victor J. Neldner, Elizabeth M. Tasker, Andrew J. Hicks, Adnan Moussalli, Adam Roff, M. Lane, James M. Cook, Mélodie A. McGeoch, Glenda M. Wardle, Karen J. Marsh, Berin D. E. Mackenzie, Kristina J. Macdonald, Junn Kitt Foon, Dale G. Nimmo, Sarah Stock, Don A. Driscoll, Alfonsina Arriaga-Jiménez, Oliver Kelly, Rebecca K. Gibson, Lachlan G. Howell, Bradley Law, Ken Walker, Mark K. J. Ooi, David B. Bryant, David A. Keith, Kendi F. Davies, Craig Dunne, Geoffrey W. Heard, Alex Callen, Karleah K. Berris, Sally A. Power, Nicholas P. Murphy, Peter T. Green, Aaron C. Greenville, Heloise Gibb, Chris R. Dickman, Craig R. Nitschke, Benjamin Wagner, Amy‐Marie Gilpin, Zac C. Walker, Mikayla C. Green, Alexandria Thomsen, M. Barth, Shelby A. Ryan, Renée Brawata, A. O. Foster, Brad R. Murray, Joshua S. Lee, Kaya Klop‐Toker, Andrew J. Denham, Torran Welz, Tom D. Le Breton, Stanley L. Wallace, K. C. McDonald, V. G. Allen, Pamela M Fallow, Laura Schweickle, Rachael A Collett, Julia T Rayment, Michael Hewins, Jeremy L Tscharke
article en
78 citations

Abstract

With large wildfires becoming more frequent<sup>1,2</sup>, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is to discover how interactions among fire-regime components, drought and land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented<sup>3,4</sup> 2019-2020 Australian megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares<sup>5</sup>, prompting major investment in biodiversity monitoring. Collated data include responses of more than 2,000 taxa, providing an unparalleled opportunity to quantify how megafires affect biodiversity. We reveal that the largest effects on plants and animals were in areas with frequent or recent past fires and within extensively burnt areas. Areas burnt at high severity, outside protected areas or under extreme drought also had larger effects. The effects included declines and increases after fire, with the largest responses in rainforests and by mammals. Our results implicate species interactions, dispersal and extent of in situ survival as mechanisms underlying fire responses. Building wildfire resilience into these ecosystems depends on reducing fire recurrence, including with rapid wildfire suppression in areas frequently burnt. Defending wet ecosystems, expanding protected areas and considering localized drought could also contribute. While these countermeasures can help mitigate the impacts of more frequent megafires, reversing anthropogenic climate change remains the urgent broad-scale solution.

NatureVol. 635(8040)
University of Technology Sydney (AU), Australian National University (AU), The University of Sydney (AU), University of Tasmania (AU), National Parks and Wildlife Service (AU), Bush Heritage Australia (AU), Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (AU), Australian Museum (AU), NSW Department of Planning and Environment (AU), Deakin University (AU), Charles Sturt University (AU), The University of Queensland (AU), The University of Melbourne (AU), University of the Sunshine Coast (AU), University of Canberra (AU), University of Colorado Boulder (US), La Trobe University (AU), University of Wollongong (AU), Parks Victoria (AU), BirdLife Australia (AU), Parks and Wildlife Service (AU), Bavarian Forest National Park (DE), Australian Government (AU), Museums Victoria (AU), UNSW Sydney (AU), Water Research Australia (AU), NSW Forestry Corporation (AU), Royal Botanic Garden Sydney (AU), Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (AU), Central Coast Local Health District (AU), Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (AU), National Center for Epidemiology (HU), Ecosystem Sciences (AU), ACT Government (AU), Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, The University of Adelaide (AU), Western Sydney University (AU), University of Newcastle Australia (AU), University of New England (AU), Macquarie University (AU)
New South Wales Government
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Species Distribution and Climate Change
71.73
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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