The Bushfire Crisis: Implications for Australia’s Unique Mountain Ecosystems

Abstract:

The 2020 Australian fires burned approximately 18.6 million hectares and killed more than 1 billion animals. A catastrophic event that has sparked immense national and international debate on what role climate change played as well as what the long-term impacts will be on both human livelihoods and the environment. The Australian Alps, which occupy less than 1% of Australia’s land mass, are hotspots for endemic biodiversity, and provide high value ecosystem services, was one such ecosystem severely impacted by these fires. This has prompted many to question whether Australian mountain ecosystems can recover and what should be done to mitigate future risk. Here, I summarize knowledge about the impacts of fire on Australian mountain ecosystems, how these impacts are likely to interact with climate change, short-term and long-term threats, and potential mitigation strategies (including maladaptive strategies). To achieve this, I utilise multiple lines of evidence, including data from long-term monitoring, warming and burning experiments, field surveys and other published literature. I show that, generally, Australian alpine ecosystems are resilient to the occasional large-scale fire. However, synergies between a warmer climate, fire impacts and vegetation change are likely to exacerbate the frequency and severity of fires in these landscapes. This, coupled with increases in invasive species, are likely to have significant negative consequences for carbon sequestration, water supply and Australia’s unique alpine biodiversity.