The effects of fire on fauna: a review.  G. C. Suckling and M. A. Macfarlane.  June 1985.  14 pp. (unpubl.)

SUMMARY

In Australia, few studies have been carried out on the effects of fire on forest fauna other than mammals, and even within this group few species have been studied.

Existing evidence indicates that survival of fire by mammals is mainly a function of fire intensity. Mortality of even highly mobile species such as kangaroos and wallabies is substantial for high-intensity wildfires, yet much reduced for fires of lesser intensity. In the weeks following high-intensity fires, a high rate of mortality occurs due to predation and starvation. Recolonisation of burnt areas is rapid for some mammal species, whereas others may require periods of between 20 and 40 years for total recovery.

The lack of studies on the effects of fire on invertebrates is due in part to difficulties in sampling, taxonomy, analysis and the time required to study this group. However, results available suggest that fuel-reduction burning in spring at five-yearly intervals or greater probably has little adverse affect on litter fauna or other invertebrate groups.

No studies appear to have been made in Australia on the effects of fire on amphibians, and few on reptiles. Those studies available suggest that individual reptiles are generally capable of surviving even high-intensity fires, though predation and starvation rapidly reduce populations in the following months. These effects appear to be greatest for more completely burnt areas, and survival is enhanced by the existence of litter and shelter sites such as logs, together with adequate food, particularly invertebrates.

The few studies available on the effects of fire on birds, suggest that the absence of fire is likely to adversely affect them. Fire regimes of varying intensities appear most likely to optimise the number of bird species in a particular geographic region.

Also published:

Suckling, G.C. and Macfarlane, M.A. (1984)  The effects of fire on fauna: a review.  Proc. Symp. Fuel-reduction Burning, (Ed.) E.H.M. Ealey, For. Comm. Vic. - Conserv. Council Vic. - Grad. Sch. Environ. Sci., Monash Univ., Sept. 1983, pp. 107-28.