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Colonisation created 'catastrophic wildfire loop' in south-east Australia, study finds

Research reconstructing 1,000 years of fire history links loss of cultural burning to more intense blazes

By LineZotpaper
Published
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A study reconstructing a millennium of vegetation and fire history in Victoria's Croajingolong national park has found that land use changes after colonisation created a 'catastrophic wildfire loop' that made south-east Australia more vulnerable to climate-fuelled bushfires.

The research, conducted with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, examined sediment cores from Purghagoolah lake in Gippsland. The team found that the shift from open woodland to dense forest after 1788 led to more intense fires, consistent with the loss of Aboriginal cultural burning practices.

Drastic land use changes following colonisation, including the suppression of traditional burning, transformed the landscape and increased fuel loads. The researchers describe this as a 'catastrophic wildfire loop' that has rendered the region more susceptible to severe fires, particularly as climate change amplifies fire weather.

The findings highlight the role Indigenous land management played in maintaining more fire-resistant open forests for thousands of years before European settlement. The study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the restoration of cultural burning as a tool for reducing bushfire risk.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The study provides a long-term perspective showing how landscape changes since colonisation have directly increased fire risk, independent of climate change.
  • It reinforces calls for the return of cultural burning practices, which could help reduce the severity of future bushfire seasons.
  • The 'catastrophic wildfire loop' concept links historical land management failure to current fire crises, affecting policy and public understanding.

Background

Before European colonisation, Aboriginal peoples in south-east Australia managed the landscape through regular, low-intensity burning that maintained open woodlands. After 1788, these practices were suppressed, and the landscape shifted to denser forests. This change accumulated fuel and altered fire regimes, making modern fires more intense. The study adds a 1,000-year record to confirm this transition.

Key Perspectives

Traditional owners (Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation): Their involvement in the research underscores the value of Indigenous knowledge in understanding historical fire regimes and informing future land management. Researchers: They argue that the catastrophic wildfire loop can only be broken by restoring cultural burning and addressing the ecological legacy of colonisation. Land managers and policymakers: The findings challenge current fire management approaches, which often rely on mechanical fuel reduction and hazard reduction burns that may not replicate the ecological effects of traditional burning.

What to Watch

  • Government adoption of cultural burning programs in fire-prone regions of south-east Australia.
  • Future studies that quantify the effectiveness of cultural burning in reducing fire intensity under climate change.
  • The response from state and federal agencies to calls for integrating Indigenous fire practices into formal land management.

Sources

Zotpaper

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