Fire and weeds in the Top End

The challenge

Parts of northern Australia’s valuable landscape have been transformed by weeds and changed fire patterns. Coupled with land clearing for agricultural development, this has impacted significantly on ecological, social and cultural assets.

One example is the Northern Territory’s greater Darwin region and Daly River catchment, where areas of the tropical savanna have been invaded by weeds that threaten native plants and animals and impede access to parts of the landscape. Some weeds also carry high fuel loads, ultimately leading to more intense fires.

Invasion by grassy weeds and the resulting changes in fire regimes has the ability to significantly alter ecosystem processes and may eventually lead to ecosystem failure. However, our current understanding about the combined impacts of these threats and the action needed to improve ecosystem function is limited.

How is this research helping?

This project is drawing on existing information about the impacts of land clearing, weed invasion and changes to fire patterns on the natural landscape. Researchers are collecting additional data and use collated information to model the likely scenarios of changes in ecosystem function over the next 30 years in the Darwin and Daly regions. This understanding is critical to land use planning and management to predict, and hopefully prevent, ecosystem failure as well as to improve fire safety for people and infrastructure.

Anticipated outcomes

Better planning and management practices based on an improved ability to predict catchment scale changes that may lead to ecosystem failure.
Assessment of the use of fire behaviour models and fire spread simulators for northern Australia.
Revised conceptual models of savanna transformation following invasion by invasive grasses.
Improved understanding of the impact of invasive grasses on ecosystems and how this relates to the severity of invasion and fire impacts.
Evidence-based advice on how to account for gamba grass-invaded savanna in the Federal Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative’s Savanna Burning Methodology.

Where is the research happening?

The research is taking place in the greater Darwin region and Daly River catchment in the Northern Territory.

Why we must act on Gamba Grass now (WA DPI AgMemo Jun 2018)

March 2019

Evaluation of satellite remote sensing pathways for mapping and monitoring of gamba grass for the Savanna Fire Management Methodology (report)

February 2019

Navigating the fiery debate: The role of scientific evidence in eliciting policy and management responses for contentious plans in northern Australia (journal article)

September 2018

Setterfield SA, Rossiter-Rachor NA & Adams VM. 2018. Navigating the fiery debate: the role of scientific evidence in eliciting policy and management responses for contentious plants in northern Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology, https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18028

Exotic grass invasion alters microsite conditions limiting woody recruitment potential in an Australian savanna (scientific paper)

April 2018

Setterfield, S., Clifton, P., Hutley, L., Rossiter-Rachor, N., & Douglas, M. (2018). Exotic grass invasion alters microsite conditions limiting woody recruitment potential in an Australian savanna. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Scientific Reports, 12/2018, Vol.8(1).