The QFBC are pleased to announce the QFBC Research Student Scholarship Program for the 2019/2020 financial year. The Scholarship Program aims to provide financial assistance and research support to an Honours, Masters or PhD student undertaking applied research into fire ecology and/or fire management (e.g. integrated fire and weed or fire and soil management) in the SEQ bioregion.
On a perfect Brisbane winter day, over 200 people gathered together at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens to celebrate 20 years of the Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium. With the theme Fire, Research and Partnerships, this anniversary forum showcased applied fire ecology and on-ground fire management projects and programs that highlight the value of partnerships and longevity in applied fire ecology and on-ground management.
During his PhD studies, Orpheus Butler resolved to understand how fire regimes affect the levels of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, etc.) in soil, and how these effects in turn influence the growth, chemistry, nutrient demands of plants.
Dangerous bushfire weather is set to worsen with climate change according to climate scientists. This places landholders directly in the firing line, with the majority of bushland in Australia in private ownership and not managed by state or federal agencies.
In the last week of November, over 700 ecologists met in Brisbane for the annual conference of the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA), which showcases the best and most innovative ecological science in the nation. Healthy Land and Water’s long-term fire program, the Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (QFBC) was invited by ESA to host a fire forum in conjunction with the conference.
Monday 26 November 2018 – Brisbane Showgrounds
The Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (QFBC) are thrilled to be partnering with the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA) to offer this specialist forum at the ESA annual conference this year in Brisbane. The QFBC Fire Science Forum (the Forum) is squarely aimed at connecting fire scientists, ecologists and students with on-ground fire operators, land managers and other fire professionals. With a focus on local research, collaborative fire programs and the relationship between fire and private land conservation, the Forum will showcase applied fire ecology and management research and private land partnerships that translate science into practice for beneficial onground outcomes.
The lack of fire, too frequent fire, lack of skills, lack of resources, and lack of coordination are just some of the issues that are associated with the use of fire by private landholders across South East Queensland (SEQ) that have been identified by Susie Fifoot, a PhD Candidate from the School of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Queensland. Susie is researching the private use of fire across the landscape in SEQ and recently presented her current research findings at the QFBC Fire Science Forum 2018, which was held on the 26th November 2018 as part of the ESA18 Conference in Brisbane.
As part of her honours project, Victoria Crepin of Griffith University, is investigating if the raking of leaf litter away from large trees protects them from increased temperatures and burning during controlled burns in dry sclerophyll forests in southeast Queensland. It is also investigating how different distances of raking effects the amount of heat the trunks are subject to during the burns.
Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, a program of Healthy Land and Water
Level 11, 240 Queen St
Brisbane QLD 4000