Fire and the Outback

Very recent burning in a volatile Eucalyptus Forest

Australia is no stranger of fires, from the western desert, to the tropics and bushland, to the savannas and eucalyptus forests. As with other environments, these fire adapt places rely on fire to promote a strong ecosystem from the ground to the surrounding life; however, Australia provides a unique insight not with just fire alone, but the relationship of the Aboriginal people with fire. For the Wik Monkan of Northern Queensland, burning off country was often started at the end of the wet season, ontjin, particularly during the start of the dry season, kaiyam, and sometime continued to the beginning of the wet season, turrpak. A great portion of the clan estates was burned each year. The burn pattern used for most areas is referred to as mosaic burning resulting from a combination of burning grass as it cures and the movement around the estates. Land management of Aboriginal country often was focused on resource management and social values, not necessarily for the promotion of biodiversity. One of the major reasons for the burning regimes was to aid in the hunt of anything from macropods to burrowed prey. The Martu Aboriginal of the Western Desert have used fire for the purposes of hunting to great effect.

Controlled burns by the university for human protection. 

As with most other ecosystems, there has been fire repression especially along populated areas, and land management under the guidance of the Aboriginal has been declining. As dry season starts, controlled burns are conducted near towns and around the perimeter of populated places such as universities as a precaution and for protection. With the continual concerns of global warming, recent research has looked at the relationship of wildfires to carbon output. There is strong support for the relationship between the net emissions and net sinks of areas with fire repression, and areas with annual burning.