Colonisation, not climate change, first primed these forests to burn

By Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Professor in Biogeography, The University of Melbourne
Anthony John Romano, PhD student & Research Assistant (Palaeoecology), The University of Melbourne
Russell Mullett, Traditional Custodian — Kurnai, Indigenous Knowledge

Bushfire season is here. The Bureau of Meteorology expects the declared El Niño to be strong to very strong. Southeastern Australia is bracing for a long run of dangerous fire weather.

Weather is only part of a catastrophic fire. Another factor is fuel – combustible vegetation. Our new research, published today, shows the current fuel load in some Australian forests is not “natural”. It is a product…

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