Forum and conference programs and proceedings
Bushfire 2016: Connecting Science, People and Practice
Bushfire 2016 was a national bushfire conference held on 28 - 30th September at the University of Queensland. Hosted and coordinated by the Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (QFBC), Bushfire 2016 was an engaging, informative and inspiring conference aimed at connecting fire scientists with onground fire operators and showcase collaborative fire programs.
The event included 78 presentations across ten themed symposia, over two days of concurrent sessions, with a poster session on Wednesday evening, a dinner on Thursday night and two field trips on the Friday.
Bushfire 2016 was a huge success and attracted over 330 people from every state and territory of Australia, including some of Australia’s most prominent fire scientists and emergency service fire specialists. The conference had a strong indigenous focus with twelve indigenous fire presentations and a strong indigenous attendance.
Download Bushfire 2016 program | |
Download Bushfire 2016 conference report |
Bushfire 2016: Full Program
Tuesday 27th September | |||||
3:00 - 6:00pm |
Registration Aung San Suu Kyi Conference Centre, Union Complex Building 21C |
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Wednesday 28th September |
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7:00 - 10:50am |
Registration |
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8:45 - 10:20am |
PLENARY SESSION Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Building 23 Chair: Dr Samantha Lloyd (Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium) |
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8:45am |
Welcome to Country Shannon Ruska (Founder and Director of the Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dance Troupe) |
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8:55am |
Welcome and Opening |
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9:10am |
Opening Address Professor Hugh Possingham (School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland) |
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9:30am |
Keynote Presentation A tale (mostly) of one city: toward a comprehensive understanding of bushfire risks, present and future. Professor Ross Bradstock (Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfire, University of Wollongong) |
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10:20 - 10:50am |
Morning Tea Union Complex, Building 21C Please note: it takes approximately 5mins to walk from the Union Complex to the Prentice Building (Bld 42) and the Physiology Lecture Theatre (Bld 63). |
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10:50am - 1:00pm |
THEME 1: Fire and Risk Bld 42 (Prentice Bld), Room 216 Chair: Andrew Sturgess (Qld Fire and Emergency Services) |
THEME 2: Cultural Burning and Traditional Custodian Fire Projects Bld 23, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre Chair: Oliver Costello (University of Technology, Sydney, NSW) |
THEME 3: Community Engagement: Building Partnerships and Facilitating Change Bld 63, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Rm 348 Chair: Craig Welden (Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium) |
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Holistic bushfire management at a continental scale: Achieving consistency & improvements Cuong Tran (Ten Rivers, Qld) |
Cultural Pathways of Fire Oliver Costello (Co-founder of the Firesticks Initiative and Visiting Fellow, University of Technology Sydney, NSW) |
Connecting Community and Koala using Phoenix Rapid Fire Phillip Patterson (Rural Fire Service, NSW) |
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Wye River Learnings and Recovery Justin Leonard (CSIRO, Vic) |
Fire Planning for the Katiti Petermann IPA : Family Fire Country Jane Blackwood, Tracey Guest, Selina Kulitja Bernard Bell and Raymond James (Central Lands Council, NT) |
Landholders linking through Landcare for landscape fire planning in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin for carbon, production & biodiversity Rhonda Toms-Morgan, Col Paton, Peter Thompson, Lynda Hardwick, Roxane Blakley and Donna Hurley (Queensland Murray Darling Committee & EcoRich Grazing, Qld) |
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SABRE Fire - A Stochastic Simulation-based Fire Spread Decision Support System Ben Twomey (Queensland Fire & Emergency Services, Qld) |
Cultural fire landscapes on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) Dave Kington, Darren Burns and Dr Paul Williams (Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Vegetation Management Science, Qld) |
Capacity Building in the Surat Basin Murray Abel (Powerlink, Qld) |
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Managing ecological risks in prescribed burning Wayne Kington and Adrian Pyrke (Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, Vic) |
Winba = Fire: Developing a fire & seasons calendar for Wattleridge IPA Michelle McKemey and Lesley Patterson (University of New England & Banbai Employment Development Aboriginal Corporation, NSW) |
CFA Fire-Scape: Social factors in Community Fire Management Mike McStephen (Wellington Shire Council, Vic) |
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Implementing a Risk Based Approach to Fire Management in Victoria Frazer Wilson (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Vic) |
Minyumai Rangers use fire & burning to convert a long-grazed & weed dominated clearing back into coastal forested wetland vegetation Daniel Gomes, Marcus Ferguson, Justin Gomes, Daniel Wilson, Belinda Gomes, Emma Wilson, Kesha Wilson and Lilly Wilson (Minyumai Land Holding Aboriginal Corporation, NSW and Ngunya Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area, Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council, NSW) |
Can citizens accurately report on fuel hazard? Dr Ernst Kemmerer and Mark Wisniewski (Cradle Coast NRM, Tas) |
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The application of economics in US wildfire management Dr Tyron Venn*, David Calkin and Matt Thompson (University of the Sunshine Coast*, Qld and the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USA) |
Fusing ‘Tech’ and ‘TEK’: Queensland’s Cape, fire and forging partnerships Janie White and Les Harrigan (Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Rinyirru Land Trust Corporation, Qld) |
Building Partnerships and Facilitating Change for Improved Fire Management: The South East Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium Model Craig Welden (Queensland Fire and Biodiversity) |
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1:00 - 2:00pm |
Lunch Union Complex, Building 21C |
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2:00 - 2:50pm |
PLENARY SESSION Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Building 23 Chair: Chandra Wood (Brisbane City Council) |
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Keynote Presentation Managing Fire in the New Millennium Dr Neil Burrows (Science and Conservation Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, WA) |
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2:50 - 3:50pm |
THEME 1 continued: Fire and Risk Bld 42 (Prentice Bld), Room 216 Chair: Cuong Tran (Ten Rivers) |
THEME 2 continued: Cultural Burning and Traditional Custodian Fire Projects Bld 23, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre Chair: Oliver Costello (University of Technology Sydney, NSW) |
THEME 4: Fire Ecology Bld 63, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Rm 348 Chair: Dr Penny Watson (Office of Environment and Heritage) |
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QFES Predictive Services Team: Planning, preparedness, response & recovery Andrew Sturgess (Queensland Fire & Emergency Services, Qld) |
Fire management on the Western Cape: Tradition, science & building economic opportunity Gavin Kendall, Eddie Kendall and Peter Barker (Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Shire Council & Queensland Indigenous Land & Sea Ranger Program, Qld) |
Evidence for bark thickness as a fire resistance trait from desert to savanna in fire-prone inland Australia Professor Mike Lawes and Dr Catherine Nano (Charles Darwin University and The Department of Land Resource Management, NT) |
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Investigating issues of implementing a strategic tenure-blind prescribed burning program in South Australia Tim Groves (Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, SA) |
People, fire and landscape in the Bunya Mountains Mick Smith (Bunya Murri Rangers, Qld) |
Tracking recovery and vital attributes f flora species after severe wildfire, Warrumbungle National Park, north-western NSW Dr Penny Watson and Dr Elizabeth Tasker (Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW) |
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Mechanical Fuel Load Reduction Trials Dr Fabiano Ximenes and John Samuel (Department of Primary Industry, NSW) |
Cultural fire management on the Sunshine Coast for the first time since traditional times Kerry Jones and Susie Chapman (Bunya Bunya Country Aboriginal Corporation and Healthy Waterways and Catchments, Qld) |
Fire effects on pollinators and pollination Julian BrownS and Associate Professor Alan York (University of Melbourne, Vic) |
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4:00 - 4:30pm |
Afternoon Tea Union Complex, Building 21C |
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4:30 - 5:30pm |
THEME 1 continued: Fire and Risk Bld 42 (Prentice Bld), Room 216 Chair: Cuong Tran (Ten Rivers) |
THEME 2 continued: Cultural Burning and Traditional Custodian Fire Projects Bld 23, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre Chair: Oliver Costello (University of Technology Sydney, NSW) |
THEME 4 continued: Fire Ecology Bld 63, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Rm 348 Chair: Dr Penny Watson (Office of Environment and Heritage) |
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Factors driving flammability in the mountainous forests of Victoria Dr Jane Cawson, Dr Thomas Duff, Dr Trent Penman & Associate Professor Kevin Tolhurst (University of Melbourne, Vic) |
Preliminary results from monitoring the responses of vertebrate groups to applying contemporary indigenous burning practices in northern NSW IPAs David Milledge (Landmark Ecological Services, NSW) |
Long-term effects of frequent fire on above-ground carbon stocks and vegetation structure in a wet sclerophyll forest in south-east Queensland Dr Tom Lewis and Professor Chenrong Chen (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Griffith University, Qld) |
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Law for Resilience to Bushfire in peri-urban Australia: A Tasmanian Case Study Joseph WentaS, Professor Jan McDonald & Dr Jeffrey McGee (University of Tasmania, Tas) |
Ornithogenic fire – Birds as propagators of fire in the Australian savanna Bob Gosford and Associate Professor Mark Bonta (Ethnoornithology Research Group and Penn State University, USA) |
Fire ecology of Brisbane’s eucalypt forests Dr Paul Williams, Dave Kington, Michelle Nash, Chandra Wood and Eleanor Collins (Vegetation Management Science, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Brisbane City Council, Qld) |
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Navigating asset protection and biodiversity conservation objectives associated with fire management in Dry Sclerophyll Forest, City of Gold Coast Brooke Williams (S), Associate Professor Kerrie Wilson, Dr Luke Shoo and Dr Hawthorne Beyer (University of Queensland) |
The Angel in the detail - diverse burning for cultural and environmental outcomes in Australia Peta-Marie Standley (James Cook University/Cape York Natural Resource Management) and Lewis Musgrave (Awu Laya Kuku Thaypan Green Army, Qld) |
Vegetation boundary dynamics and relationships between fire severity and recruitment in a fire-sensitive heathland in the Gibson Desert Boyd Wright (Northern Territory Herbarium) |
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5:45pm |
TRADE DISPLAY and POSTER SESSION: Union Complex, Building 21C (Light refreshments provided) |
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Thursday 29th September | |||||
7:00 - 10:40am |
Registration Aung San Suu Kyi Conference Centre, Union Complex Building 21C |
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8:45 - 10:10am |
PLENARY SESSION Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Building 23 Chair: Dr Samantha Lloyd (Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium) |
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8:45am |
Welcome and Opening |
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9:00am |
Opening Address Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter Jeffrey (Emergency Services Volunteers, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services) |
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9:20am |
Keynote Presentation Fire, Landscape Pattern and Biodiversity Associate Professor Alan York (School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne) |
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10:10 - 10:40am |
Morning Tea Union Complex, Building 21C |
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10:40am - 12:50pm |
THEME 5: Fire, Soil and Climate Change Bld 42 (Prentice Bld), Room 216 Chair: Dr Tom Lewis (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) |
THEME 6: Maps and Models: Intelligent Fire Planning Bld 23, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre Chair: Joshua Bull (Fireland Consultancy) |
THEME 7: Fire Management for Linear Infrastructure Bld 63, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Rm 348 Chair: Steve Martin (Powerlink) |
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Comparing smoke pollution from prescribed and wildfires: do we have a problem? Dr Owen Price, Bronwyn Horsey and Phil Purdam (University of Wollongong and the Bureau of Meteorology, NSW) |
Can thermal imagery help inform landscape fire management and planning? Shannon Mooney and Mik Petter (Healthy Waterways and Catchments - now Healthy Land and Water) |
Lines Through the Bush - Infrastructure Corridors and Fire Management: An SEQ Case Study and Factors to Consider Dr Mark Shuster & Paul Veivers (Meandu Mine, Qld) |
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Combating wetland burning – The ability of carbonate to supress combustion of organic soils Valerie Densmore (Department of Parks and Wildlife, WA) |
TERN: Data Infrastructure that enables fire management Associate Professor Nikki Thurgate, Dr Siddeswara Guru and Professor Tim Clancy (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network and the University of Queensland) |
The Coordinated Agency Model for Improved Roadside Fire Management Julian Selke and James Haig (Department of Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Qld) |
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Interactive relationships between fire frequency, insects and elemental cycling in Peachester State Forest Orpheus Butler (S), Professor Chenrong Chen, Professor Brendan Mackey, Dr Tom Lewis and Professor James J. Elser (Griffith University and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Qld) |
Science in practice: application of ecological metrics in strategic bushfire management planning Imogen Fraser and Andrew Blackett (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Vic) |
Corridor fires: What’s different? Dr Leasie Felderhof (Firescape Science, Qld) |
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Environmental determinants of grass and shrub cover across a transitional climate region: Implications of climate change on fuel dynamics Dr Rebecca Gibson and Professor Ross Bradstock (Office of Environment and Heritage and the University of Wollongong, NSW) |
Modelling optimal growth stage distributions for biodiversity observation and ecosystem resilience Matthew ChickS and Associate Professor Alan York (University of Melbourne, Vic) |
Mahogany Glider movements near linear infrastructure Ben Saal (Powerlink, Qld) |
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Estimating air emissions for natural fires in south east Queensland Rhiannon Tooker and Robin Smit (Department of Science, Information Technology and innovation, Qld) |
Fire is not fire – The next generation of TERN fire remote sensing datasets Stefan Maier (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network and the University of Queensland and Maitec, Qld) |
Electrical impacts of bushfires on transmission lines Tony Gillespie (Gillespie Power Consultancy, Qld) |
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Initial findings on the Bushfire Convective Plume Experiment: Examining Pyroconvection with Portable Radar Nicolas McCarthyS (University of Queensland, Qld) |
Playing with fire: The disparities with observed and model predictions of fuel loads Dr Diana Virkki (Ten Rivers, Qld) |
The Tasmanian Bushfires of 2013 - An Environmental Response Michael Emmett (Tasnetworks, Tas) |
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12:50 - 1:35pm |
Lunch Union Complex, Building 21C |
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1:35 - 2:50pm |
PLENARY SESSION Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Building 23 Panel Discussion: Intelligent Fires - how can fire research and knowledge better connect with drip torches? Chair: Dr Simon Heemstra (Rural Fire Service, NSW) |
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2:50 - 3:50pm |
THEME 8: Fire and Land Management Bld 42 (Prentice Bld), Room 216 Chair: Michael Reif (Sunshine Coast Council) |
THEME 9: Fire, Threatened Species and Conservation Bld 23, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre Chair: Dr Geoff Lundie-Jenkins (Qld Parks and Wildlife Service) |
THEME 10: Fires in the Past: Essential Knowledge for Management Bld 63, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Rm 348 Chair: Associate Professor Patrick Moss (University of Queensland) |
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Reflections on the NSW Bush Fire Environmental Assessment Code since 2006: Continuing to meet the need Dr Simon Heemstra and Jennie Cramp (Rural Fire Service, NSW) |
Fire management for conservation: Outcomes of AWC’s fire programs across northern Australia Dr John Kanowski (Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Qld) |
Late Quaternary fire regimes of Moon Point, Fraser Island Philip StewartS and Associate Professor Patrick Moss (University of Queensland, Qld) |
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National Burning Project Deborah Sparkes and Greg Esnouf (Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, Vic) |
How long is too long: The response of woody plants to inter-fire intervals in grassy forests of the Border Ranges, NSW Dr Elizabeth Tasker and Dr Penny Watson (Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW) |
Satellite imagery interpretation of current & past fire history information in the Upper Maranoa area of southern inland Queensland Peter Thompson and Rhonda Toms-Morgan (Queensland Murray Darling Committee) |
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Using prescribed burns to achieve biodiversity outcomes through weed management Dr Kirsten Abley and Anthony Abley (Department of Environment, Water & Natural resources, SA) |
Planning, Implementing and evaluating fire management- Recurrent issues and responses in a range of environments Murray Haseler (Bush Heritage Trust, Qld) |
The influence of time since last fire on the soil seedbank and woody understorey of temperate eucalypt forests Helen VickersS, Dr Craig Nitschke, Dr Thomas Duff and Dr Sabine Kasel (University of Melbourne, Vic) |
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3:50 - 4:20pm |
Afternoon Tea Union Complex, Building 21C |
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4:20 - 5:35pm |
THEME 8 continued: Fire and Land Management Bld 42 (Prentice Bld), Room 216 Chair: Michael Reif (Sunshine Coast Council) |
THEME 9 continued: Fire, Threatened Species & Conservation Bld 23, Abel Smith Lecture Theatre Chair: Dr Geoff Lundie-Jenkins (Qld Parks and Wildlife Service) |
THEME 10 continued: Fire in the Past: Essential Knowledge for Management Bld 63, Physiology Lecture Theatre, Rm 348 Chair: Associate Professor Patrick Moss (University of Queensland) |
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Ecological ignitions: Suggestions on how to ignite ecologically beneficial fire in subtropical and tropical eucalypt forests Dr Paul Williams (Vegetation Management Science, Qld) |
Managing fire to help prevent the extinction of the Coastal Emu: A successful collaboration between Hotspots and a more traditional NRM project Mark Graham (Nature Conservation Council of NSW) |
A late Quaternary fire history of the Kimberley region, northwest Australia: new records from the Northern Kimberley Bioregion Emily FieldS, Associate Professor Patrick Moss and Professor Hamish McGowan (University of Queensland) |
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Red Hot Tips: Building capability & capacity of private landholders to conduct planned burning Leanne Sherriff & Justin Cashion (Macquarie Franklin & Ground Proof Mapping, Tas) |
Relative effects of fire on fauna in fragmented grazing landscapes Dr Teresa Eyre (Queensland Herbarium) |
Fires in the past: An overview of late Quaternary burning patterns for eastern Australia Associate Professor Patrick Moss (University of Queensland) |
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Fire behaviour in buffel grass dominated mine site rehabilitation in central Queensland, Australia Dr Phill McKenna & Dr Peter Erskine (University of Queensland) |
Overcoming critical ecological thresholds in fire- excluded ecosystems: Restoration of an endangered heathland in rapid transition to forest Andy Baker (Southern Cross University, NSW) |
A 150-year fire history of mulga dominated vegetation in semiarid Queensland, Australia Dr Bradd Witt, Dr Jennifer Silcock and Dr Rod Fensham (The University of Queensland and Queensland Herbarium) |
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The effect of fire and rainfall in gross primary productivity in northern Australian savannas Barbara BernalS, Dr Andrew Edwards and Professor Lindsay Hutley (Charles Darwin University, NT) |
Burning an endangered species: importance of understanding habitat dynamics for Northern Eastern Bristlebird conservation Zoë StoneS, Associate Professor Martine Maron and Dr Elizabeth Tasker (The University of Queensland and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage) |
Group Discussion Fires in the Past: Essential Knowledge for Management |
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5:40 - 5:55pm |
CLOSING SESSION Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, Bld 23 Chairs: Dr Samantha Lloyd and Craig Welden (Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium) |
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6:00 - 6:15pm |
Bar open to purchase pre dinner drinks Bushfire 2016 Dinner Union Complex, Building 21C |
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Friday 30th September | |||||
6:20am - 5:00pm |
Field Trip 1: North Stradbroke Island 6:30am depart from University of Queensland and 5:00pm return to Brisbane; transport by bus and ferry (across Moreton Bay). Morning tea and afternoon tea will be provided. There will be an opportunity to purchase lunch from the shops on the island. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch if you wish. |
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8:00am - 4:00pm |
Field Trip 2: Sunshine Coast Beerwah, Maroochydore Botanical Gardens, Wild Horse Mountain Lookout (full day) |
*S : Student presentation
Bushfire 2016 received support across the sector with ten official sponsors and eight trade and promotional partners.
We would like to thank the following sponsors for their support in making Bushfire 2016 such a succesful and memorable event:
Gold Sponsors
- Fireland Consultancy
- Healthy Land and Water (then SEQ Catchments)
- The University of Queensland
Silver Sponsors
- GHD (sponsoring Indigenous presenter travel grants)
- Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
- Terrestrial Ecological Research Network
Bronze Sponsors
- Ecological Society of Australia
- Powerlink Queensland
- The School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne
Trade Display Sponsors
- Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council
- Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC
- Quick Corp Fire Engineering
Satchel Insert Sponsors
- CSIRO Publishing
Promotional Sponsors
- International Association of Wildland Fire
- NRM Jobs