What questions are researchers asking in order to understand fire ecology?

Landscape perspective Species perspective

How does the ecosystem, topography and climate work in dynamic relationship to build resilience to fire?

Cycles

Ecosystem Dynamics

How does the vegetation create certain fire behaviour across the landscape?

How does the vegetation change across the landscape after fire?

How do these changes impact on the next fire event?

What are natural fire cycles or fire regimes for different locations?

How might these be changing?

How does the period between fire events (fire regimes) impact on different species of flora and fauna?

How does the severity of fire impact on the canopies of eucalyptus and other species? What is the impact on food sources for birds and insects?

How does fire help create habitats for fauna, such as in fallen logs?

How resilient are fauna to fire events of ranging intensity?

How might fallen logs impede fuel mitigation operations?

What is the flammability of different types of vegetation?

To what extent does fire result in the growth of more flammable vegetation?

How might a fire disturbance cause the invasion of weeds?

How does fire affect water quality and sedimentation?

What toxins are produced?

What fire regimes might help fight tree decline and keep eucalyptus forests healthy?

How might key indicator species help us understand the health of a forest habitat after fire?

How does fire affect fungi and micro-biological layers within the soil?

What is the impact on ecological processes dependent on the functions of these species?

What vegetation propagates through sprouting or seeding after fire?

How can seeders repopulate areas after fire?

Why are certain types of plants found where they are?

What soil temperatures are reached with different fire intensity?

What is the impact on seed types at different soil depths?

What vegetation disappears after one fire event, but comes back after a second event and why?

What might be crucial intervals between fire to maintain certain species?

How do different fuel litter sizes and volume impact on the heat and spread of a fire?

What are issues with fuel litter disappearing after fire in terms of decomposition cycles?