Mapping fire severity in the Top End

The Bushfire CRC’s Northern Fire Mapping project developed fire severity mapping to help manage fire in the tropical savannas and rangelands across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

The study has determined that on average over half the landscape was affected by fire each year, releasing vast amounts of carbon and destroying the carbon stored in trees. Reducing these greenhouse gas emissions will have enormous financial benefits for fire managers, as well as indigenous land owners, allowing them to earn incomes managing the land.

In the forum Dr Andrew Edwards discusses how the results of the project have improved ecological-risk assessments, including greenhouse gas emissions, tree carbon sequestration, biodiversity and erosion. Watch it in full here. Also available via the link is the full research report on the subject, as well as a Fire Note.

Please note due to technical difficulties (particularly at the start and end) the sound quality at points is not great. Please contact andrew.edwards@cdu.edu.au if you require clarification on any aspects of the research.