Bushfire & Biodiversity

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

The course covers the basic effects of fire on aspects of biodiversity and nutrient cycling in ecosystems. Managers are

committed to developing science-based ecological burning strategies which achieve both biodiversity and asset protection objectives. Increased knowledge of the ecological impacts of fire on plants, animals and micro-organisms facilitates a better understanding of how more effective management can be achieved. By the end of the subject students should:

• have an understanding of the nature of plant responses to fire; particularly with regard to seeders and resprouters, seed storage and dispersal

and the consequences of repeated fire

• have an understanding of the response of animals to fire as individuals, populations and assemblages (communities)

• have an appreciation that these impacts operate at the ecosystem level, depending on attributes of the species concerned and landscape

factors such as connectivity and habitat condition

• have a knowledge of the interaction between fire, plants, organic matter inputs, animals and micro-organisms in the context of nutrient cycling

• have a better understanding of landscape-scale management, where current scientific knowledge is incorporated into planning, monitoring

and legislation

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.