Researchers have arrived in Peachester State Forest to collect environmental samples to help unlock new insights into how planned burns shape and support ecosystems.
Decades-long research in Peachester State Forest has proven planned burns can have a positive impact on environmental health if they're conducted at intervals specific to the ecosystem.
The program, which began in 1969, is Queensland's longest-running fire regime study, allowing researchers to analyse 55 years of data.
Following a planned burn in Peachester in December, researchers have returned to the State forest to collect soil, leaf litter and insect samples to assess chemical and biological changes.
The analysis of decades of data shows different frequencies of low intensity planned burns influence carbon storage, nutrient ratios, nutrient cycling and associated microbial and invertebrate communities.
Griffith University School of Environment and Science and Australian Rivers Institute Distinguished Professor Chengrong Chen and Dr Bruce Lan are leading the research, with support from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS). Their latest findings are set to be published by Griffith University.
The ongoing study facilitates the use of planned burns for landscape management - a practice used by Australia's First Nations peoples for thousands of years and continues to be used by QPWS.
Professor Chen said as part of the study, dedicated plots of the State forest are burned approximately every two years, others burned approximately every four years with the remainder unburned since 1969.
"This study is allowing researchers to understand the long-term benefits of repeated fire frequency on ecosystem diversity and function, soil carbon and nutrient stocks and soil health," Professor Chen said.
"This study has shown that significant fire regime improvements can be made by adjusting the frequency of these burns.
"In Peachester, planned burns every four years are highly effective in supporting healthy native wet sclerophyll forests by introducing phosphorus, calcium and potassium into the soil.
"Planned burns are important to mitigate the impacts of bushfire, but our research has shown that they can improve protected areas if they are conducted at intervals that best suit the ecosystem."
Distinguished Professor Chengrong Chen
QPWS Maleny Senior Ranger Donna Haslam said studies like Peachester provide science-based evidence of the best time to conduct planned burns in similar environments.
"When we're planning a burn, we consider how the area's plants, animals and ecosystems respond to fire and we tailor our plans to suit those needs," Senior Ranger Haslam said.
"It's important we continue to look at how the landscapes and ecosystems we're working in respond to fire and planned burns to ensure our work is supporting a healthy environment."
Other fire regime research projects are taking place in Bauple State Forest near Gympie and Tagalaka National Park in Far North Queensland to paint a clearer picture of how frequent planned burns influence Queensland's ecosystems.
To find out more about how and why QPWS undertakes planned burns for ecological purposes, visit the QPWS Fire Management website: https://parks.qld.gov.au/management/programs/fire-management/why-we-burn
