Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What is Australian rainforest?
- 3 The sclerophyll problem
- 4 The edaphic theory I. The control of rainforest by soil phosphorus
- 5 The edaphic theory II. Soil types, drainage, and fertility
- 6 The climate theory I. Water stress
- 7 The climate theory II. Light and temperature
- 8 The fire theory I. Field evidence
- 9 The fire theory II. Fire, nutrient cycling, and topography
- 10 The fire theory III. Fire frequency, succession, and ecological drift
- 11 The fire theory IV. Aboriginal landscape burning
- 12 The fire theory V. Aridity and the evolution of flammable forests
- 13 The fire theory VI. Fire management and rainforest conservation
- 14 Summary
- References
- Index
8 - The fire theory I. Field evidence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What is Australian rainforest?
- 3 The sclerophyll problem
- 4 The edaphic theory I. The control of rainforest by soil phosphorus
- 5 The edaphic theory II. Soil types, drainage, and fertility
- 6 The climate theory I. Water stress
- 7 The climate theory II. Light and temperature
- 8 The fire theory I. Field evidence
- 9 The fire theory II. Fire, nutrient cycling, and topography
- 10 The fire theory III. Fire frequency, succession, and ecological drift
- 11 The fire theory IV. Aboriginal landscape burning
- 12 The fire theory V. Aridity and the evolution of flammable forests
- 13 The fire theory VI. Fire management and rainforest conservation
- 14 Summary
- References
- Index
Summary
Numerous researchers working throughout the geographic range of Australian rainforests have advanced the theory that rainforest boundaries are controlled by fire. This is an old idea, possibly first advanced by the Czech botanist Domin (1911). At the heart of the theory is the assumption that rainforest tree species are ‘fire tender’. Francis (1951) wrote that ‘one of the most marked differences between the constituents of rainforests and those of the open Eucalyptus forests is their behaviour towards fire. In most if not all cases the rainforest constituents are killed even by slight contact with or proximity to the fires which periodically sweep through many of the Eucalyptus and open forests of Australia’. Similarly, Webb (1968) argued that the difference in the ability of rainforest and non-rainforest vegetation to tolerate fire ‘is reflected in the remarkably sharp boundaries of fire-sensitive raingreen forests in the tropics and subtropics, which is related to the exclusion of fire, virtually on an all-or-nothing basis’. However, the supporting evidence is limited and often circumstantial. My aim in this chapter is to review the Weld evidence that fire is critical in controlling rainforest boundaries throughout Australia. Evidence from the humid tropics, monsoon tropics, subtropics and temperate regions will be considered in turn.
Humid tropics
Webb (1968) argued that, in the tropics, rainforest and non-rainforest vegetation is in a dynamic balance controlled by fire frequency, soil fertility and topographic settings such as ‘rocky outcrops and gullies, especially in the lee of fire-bearing winds’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Australian RainforestsIslands of Green in a Land of Fire, pp. 156 - 184Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000