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Recent Australian wildfires made worse by logging and associated forest management

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 898–900 (2020)Cite this article

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The recent fires in southern Australia were unprecedented in scale and severity. Much commentary has rightly focused on the role of climate change in exacerbating the risk of fire. Here, we contend that policy makers must recognize that historical and contemporary logging of forests has had profound effects on these fires’ severity and frequency.

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Fig. 1: Fires within logged areas of native forests.

images 1–3 by C. Taylor; image 4 by R. M. Kooyman

Fig. 2: Fires within East Gippsland.

map by C. Taylor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    David B. Lindenmayer & Chris Taylor

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Robert M. Kooyman

  3. Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Michelle Ward & James E. M. Watson

  4. Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, New York, NY, USA

    James E. M. Watson

Authors
  1. David B. Lindenmayer
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  2. Robert M. Kooyman
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  3. Chris Taylor
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  4. Michelle Ward
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  5. James E. M. Watson
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Contributions

D.B.L., R.M.K., C.T., M.W. and J.E.M.W. contributed equally to the preparation of this paper.

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Correspondence to David B. Lindenmayer.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Lindenmayer, D.B., Kooyman, R.M., Taylor, C. et al. Recent Australian wildfires made worse by logging and associated forest management. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 898–900 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1195-5

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