Ecological consequences of Australia's "Black Summer" bushfires: Managing for recovery.

Fire has long been a part of the Australian environment and remains a potent force in shaping the adaptations of species, the dynamics of populations, and the structure of ecological communities. However, the fire regime is changing. Fire seasons are longer, wet vegetation types that do not usually burn are now at risk, and fire intensity and severity are greater than in the recent past. A particularly widespread event occurred in the forest and woodland regions of Australia over the summer of 2019–2020. Termed the "Black Summer" bushfires, remotely sensed data indicate that over 30 million hectares of vegetation were burned, including an unprecedented large area of forest. The extraordinary geographical scale of the Black Summer fires, including the intensity and speed of fire spread, has led to widespread concern about the ecological damage that occurred. Recent estimates suggest that almost three billion vertebrates and up to 240 trillion invertebrates were affected by the fires. Fires were experienced in part of the geographical ranges of 832 vertebrate species and 37 threatened ecological communities, with some of these entities feared to be at risk of extinction. Field assessments of ecological recovery have been slowed by COVID‐19 restrictions and by a diminution in ecological monitoring capacity that occurred before the last fire season. This paper assesses the dire ecological consequences of the Black Summer bushfires and proposes a series of steps to help achieve recovery of biodiversity and mitigate the effects of future mega‐fires. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1162–1167. © 2021 SETAC KEY POINTS: Australia's 2019–2020 megafires were of unprecedented geographical scale and severity, burning over 30 million hectares of the nation's forest and woodland estateExpert opinion and modeled assessments indicate that the ecological consequences of the 2019–2020 megafires are severe, but a critical lack of pre‐fire monitoring and post‐fire access to burnt sites due to COVID‐19 restrictions hampered direct quantification of the impacts of the fires on biota.A Biodiversity Bureau with an embedded Bushfire Agency should be established as a matter of priority to integrate data from ecological monitoring programs and ensure improved outcomes for both bushfire management and biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]