Quantifying potential effect of 2019 fires on national parks and vegetation in South-East Queensland

Fire is a major type of ecological disturbance shaping plant communities and species distributions. Fires in the spring and summer of 2019/2020 in Australia burnt large areas where this type of disturbance was rare in the past, including in the South-East Queensland region. To assess the potential impacts of these fires, online GIS data layers were used to map where the fires occurred and which protected areas, plant communities and threatened plants were likely burnt. Based on clustering of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor fire points, 3% (240,000 ha) of the region may have burnt including 107,606 ha of National Parks, sections of 18 Broad Vegetation Groups and 74 Regional Ecosystems and potential habitat of 74 threatened plant species. This included 16% of wet open forests and 13% of rainforests. The results provide preliminary insights into the potential scale of the fires and impact on biodiversity from mapping based on online data, but we also that more detailed mapping including of fire intensity and perimeter combined with ground truthing and ongoing monitoring would be required to better understand changes in fire regimes in the region.

Automated summary

The fires in Australia during the spring and summer of 2019/2020 had a significant impact on plant communities and species distributions. Using online GIS data layers, researchers identified rare ecological disturbance areas, including in the South-East Queensland region. Preliminary assessment indicated that approximately 3% of the region may have been burnt, affecting various protected areas, plant communities, and threatened plant species.