A5034369041- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Landslides and related hazards
- Climate variability and models
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Heavy metals in environment
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
- Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Geological formations and processes
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Coastal and Marine Dynamics
- Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
- Lichen and fungal ecology
- Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
- Aeolian processes and effects
- Indigenous Studies and Ecology
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Radioactivity and Radon Measurements
- Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
The University of Melbourne
2016-2024
Australian National University
2020-2024
University of Nottingham
2018-2024
Australian Research Council
2020-2024
Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research
2020-2024
University of Wollongong
2022
Faculty of 1000 (United States)
2021
National University of Tierra del Fuego
2021
Government of the Northern Territory
2020
Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering
2020
Abstract Background The global human footprint has fundamentally altered wildfire regimes, creating serious consequences for health, biodiversity, and climate. However, it remains difficult to project how long-term interactions among land use, management, climate change will affect fire behavior, representing a key knowledge gap sustainable management. We used expert assessment combine opinions about past future regimes from 99 researchers. asked quantitative qualitative assessments of the...
The catastrophic 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires were the worst fire season in recorded history of Southeast Australia. These one several recent global conflagrations across landscapes that are homelands Indigenous peoples, invaded and colonised by European nations over centuries. subsequent suppression cessation landscape management has had profound social environmental impacts. have brought cultural burning practices to forefront as a potential tool for mitigating climate-driven Here, we...
Abstract El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the main mode controlling variability in ocean‐atmosphere system South Pacific. While ENSO influence on rainfall regimes Pacific well documented, its role driving spatiotemporal trends fire activity this region has not been rigorously investigated. This particularly case for highly flammable and densely populated southeast Australian sector, where a major control over climatic variability. Here we conduct first region‐wide analysis of how...
Abstract Recent changes in trend and variability of the main Southern Hemisphere climate modes are driven by a variety factors, including increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases, tropical sea surface temperature, stratospheric ozone depletion recovery. One most important implications for climatic change is its effect via teleconnections on natural ecosystems, water security, fire proximity to populated areas, thus threatening human lives properties. Only sparse fragmentary knowledge...
Abstract Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the primary mode of atmospheric variability in Hemisphere. While it well established that current anthropogenic‐driven trend SAM responsible for decreased rainfall southern Australia, its role driving fire regimes this region has not been explored. We examined connection between activity and southwest Tasmania, which lies latitudinal band strongest correlation reveal during a season significantly correlated with phase preceding year using superposed...
Remote islands harbour many endemic species and unique ecosystems. They are also some of the world's most human-impacted systems. It is essential to understand how island ecosystems behaved prior major anthropogenic disruption as a basis for their conservation. This research aims reconstruct original, pre-colonial biodiversity remote oceanic scale past extinctions, vegetation changes knowledge gaps. We studied fossil remains from North Atlantic Corvo (Azores), including pollen, charcoal,...
Abstract Aim To test competing hypotheses about the timing and extent of Holocene landscape opening using pollen‐based quantitative land‐cover estimates. Location Dove Lake, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. Methods Fossil pollen data were incorporated into dispersal models corrected for differences in productivity among key plant taxa. Mechanistic ( REVEALS —Regional Estimates VE getation Abundance from Large Sites) employing different (Gaussian plume Lagrangian...
Abstract Climate change is affecting the distribution of species and functioning ecosystems. For that are slow growing poorly dispersed, climate can force a lag between distributions geographic their climatic envelopes, exposing to risk extinction. also governs resilience ecosystems disturbance, such as wildfire. Here we use modelling palaeoecology assess test impact vegetation–climate disequilibrium on an endangered fire‐sensitive rainforest community fires. First, modelled probability...
Abstract Aim Knowledge of the drivers ecosystem changes in past is key to understanding present responses climate, fire regimes and anthropogenic impacts. Northern Hemisphere‐focussed studies suggest that climate human activities drove turnover during Holocene temperate ecosystems. Various have been invoked explain Southern Hemisphere vegetation, but region lacks a quantitative assessment these drivers. To better understand regional diversity, we meta‐analysis study richness lateglacial...
Abstract Aim Long‐term ecological data provide a stepped frame of island ecosystem transformation after successive waves human colonization, essential to determine conservation and management baselines. However, the timing impact initial settlement on many islands is still poorly known. Here, we report analyses from 4800‐year sedimentary sequence Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), with goal disentangling forest responses natural fire early pressure island. Location La Calderilla, volcanic maar...
Limited understanding of how Indigenous people have created and managed the Australian landscape continues to repercussions on landscapes are culturally interpreted today. Addressing this is critically important as climate change increasing frequency intensity wildfires, whilst challenging objectives, methods efficacy contemporary management practices. Here we compare palaeoecology vegetation changes across glacial interglacial states before (Termination II) after I) human occupation cool...
Wildfires in forests globally have become more frequent and intense because of changes climate human management. Shrub layer fuels allow fire to spread vertically forest canopy, creating high-intensity fires. Our research provides a deep-time perspective on shrub fuel loads fire-prone southeastern Australia. Comparing 2833 records for vegetation cover, past climate, biomass burning, population size across different phases occupation, we demonstrated that Indigenous expansion cultural use...
Research Article| February 15, 2018 Centennial-scale trends in the Southern Annular Mode revealed by hemisphere-wide fire and hydroclimatic over past 2400 years Michael-Shawn Fletcher; Fletcher * 1School of Geography, University Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia2Archaeology Natural History, College Asia Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia *E-mail: michael.fletcher@Unimelb.edu.au Search for other works this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alexa Benson;...
Abstract Here, we explore the profound impact of Tasmanian Aboriginal (Palawa) people on landscapes by examining a 22,000‐year record landscape change from Lake Selina in western Tasmania, Australia. We analysed sediment core for palaeoecological proxies, namely, pollen (vegetation), charcoal (fire), and geochemical data (landscape weathering). This study reveals that contemporary is product Palawa people’s intentional strategic fire management practices characterised fire‐dependent...