Biogeography and Ecology of Fire

Fire is one of the most important controls over the distribution of vegetation on Earth. This subject examines the role of fire in natural systems, with a particular emphasis on the importance of fire in determining global vegetation patterns and dynamics over long periods of time. The aim is to understand how terrestrial systems have evolved to cope with and exploit fire, and to place the extreme flammability Australia's vegetation within a global context. The subject will examine concepts such as resilience, positive feedback loops, hysteresis and alternative stable states. The use of fire by humans to manipulate environments will be examined, with a particular emphasis on the variety of approaches employed by people across a diversity of environments over long periods of time, allowing an exploration of the social and cultural dynamics of fire and environmental management. A field excursion in Tasmania will visit a number of sites which will exemplify the subject themes. The practical exercises leading up to the field trip will focus on how to gather fire-related ecological data. The practical exercises following the field trip will be devoted to processing, analysing, interpreting and reporting on the field data. At the end of the subject, students will have gained an understanding of the way in which fire has shaped natural systems, as well as acquiring the skills necessary to formulate and test hypotheses. The estimated additional cost of the 7 day field trip to Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, is in the vicinity of $900. Note this subject may be taken as the Capstone subject in the Geography major of the BA and BSc. All students, whether they are capstone students or not, will be required to complete online introductory materials that are common across all field classes. More information about this subject's field trip can be found here: https://sgeas.unimelb.edu.au/research/palynology-palaeoecology-and-biogeography#teaching

• 1Describe the ecological, climatological, and anthropogenic drivers of fire regimes;
• 2Identify fire-adaptive traits in flora and fauna;
• 3Generate and test ecological hypotheses through field experiments;
• 4Critically review key literature on fire ecology;
• 5Evaluate the implications of global warming on fire regimes;
• 6Communicate ecological findings effectively through written and oral formats