Our new study shows that disturbance makes a very wide range of forests and woodlands more flammable. Problem is, we think of disturbance as "management".
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onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/br… People are broadly aware that forests with a dense understorey will burn more severely than those with open understoreys. The question is how we get there. The answer depends on how well we understand the way a forest works.
2/9

It is not "safe" to conduct these prescribed burns, here is why.
1/8
theguardian.com/australia-news… This graph shows smoke exposure from prescribed burns in 2016. 14 people died because of the smoke on the 6 shaded days, where PM2.5 reached ~50 micro-g/m3. It more than doubled that maximum in Randwick 2 days ago.
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mja.com.au/journal/2016/2…

Why is this prescribed burning program unscientific, and how do we change course?
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abc.net.au/news/2023-05-1… The core of the issue lies in the fact that Departmental spokespeople say prescribed burns make it easier to fight fire, but their own records show overwhelmingly that the least fire occurs in forests they haven't burned.
2/16
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.108…

Thread: Why the big fires of the past don't make the point that Craig Kelly thinks they do.

Yesterday, Mr Kelly distributed this map from a book I wrote in 2006. I had mapped the 1939 NSW burnt area from witness interviews and old news reports.
theaustralianalps.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/bushfi… 1. 1939 is a good case for Mr Kelly to choose. Judge Stretton in the following Victorian Royal Commission called it "a wicked attempt at state suicide". This was because the fires were all lit by people, not lightning.