期刊
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE
卷 27, 期 7, 页码 447-456出版社
CSIRO PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1071/WF17048
关键词
biodiversity; ecosystems: temperate; fire frequency; fire regimes
类别
资金
- Fenner School of Environment and Society (ANU)
- Blue Mountains City Council
- Humane Society International
- Ecological Society of Australia
- University of Sydney
- Australian Research Council
- University of Sydney Animal Care and Ethics Committee [L04/12-2012/3/5890]
- NPWS [SL101112]
- Forestry Corporation [PB52916]
Intense fire is a key threatening process for the endangered Blue Mountains water skink, Eulamprus leuraensis. This species is restricted to isolated, densely vegetated and waterlogged peat swamps in montane southeastern Australia. We surveyed 11 swamps (5 unburnt, 6 burnt) over 2 years, before and after the intense spring bushfires of 2013, to quantify the fires' impacts on these skinks, other lizards and the habitat upon which they depend. Trapping revealed no direct effect of fire on E. leuraensis populations, with skinks persisting in all burnt swamps. Fire modified ground vegetation, virtually eliminating live plants and the dense understorey. Despite the conflagration, vegetation regrowth was rapid with swamp habitat largely recovering in just over 1 year post-fire. Fire thus had only a transitory effect on lizard habitat and a non-significant impact on E. leuraensis numbers. Nonetheless, broader-scale analyses suggest a different story: skinks were more abundant in swamps that had experienced a longer time since major fire. Although the ability of this endangered reptile to survive even intense wildfires is encouraging, fire during prolonged dry periods or an intensified fire regime might imperil skink populations.
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