Bushfire Planning & Management

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

During the pre-teaching period, students will be required to read materials provided via LMS.

170 hours

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. This course requires all students to enrol in subjects where they must actively and safely contribute to field excursions and laboratory activities. Students who feel their disability will impact on meeting this requirement are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Subject Coordinator and Disability Liaison http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/ students email: disability-liaison@unimelb.edu.au

The course covers the fundamentals of setting and achieving bushfire management objectives for ecological and fire protection purposes in natural ecosystems. It covers the contents of a fire management plan, setting objectives, developing fire prescriptions, undertaking monitoring and evaluation of the management process, and review.

By the end of the subject students should:

• Be able to set fire management objectives for individual burns and for broader management areas.
• Be able to develop burning prescriptions to achieve fauna, flora, and protection objectives.
• Be able to use a knowledge of plant and animal life history attributes to devise sustainable fire regimes.
• Be able to devise fire management strategies and plans that maintain water quality and yield.
• Be able to use GIS programs to develop fire management plans.
• Be able to establish and run a monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of a fire management plan.
• Be familiar with the use of Codes of Practice to achieve world best practice in fire management.
• Be familiar with some key legal responsibilities related to fire management including the maintenance of biodiversity, protection from damaging fires and fire suppression.

Several small daily "quizzes" - 20% during intensive teaching period (1000 word equivalent)

Literature review assignment (1500 words) - 30% due 13 April 2015

Major assignment (2500 words) - 50% due 18 May 2015

None

• Bradstock, R.A., Williams, J.E. and Gill, A.M. (eds.) (2012) Flammable Australia - The Fire Regimes and Biodiversity of a Continent. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.. 462 pp.
• Cheney, N.P. and Sullivan, A. (1997) Grassfires - fuel, weather and fire behaviour. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia. 102 pp.
• Finney, M.A. (1998) FARSITE: Fire Area Simulator - Model Development and Evaluation. U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Forest Service. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Research Paper RMRS-RP-4. 47 pp.
• Gill, A.M., Groves, R.H. and Noble, I.R. (eds.) (1981) Fire and the Australian Biota. Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, Australia.
• Pyne, S.J., Andrews, P.L, and Laven, R.D. (1996) Introduction to Wildland Fire. John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York. 769 pp.
• Tolhurst, K.G. and Cheney, N.P. (1999) Synopsis of the Knowledge Used in Prescribed Burning in Victoria. Dept. Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria. 97pp. ISBN: 0 7311 4446 5.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

This subject can be taken as part of the Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma in Bushfire Management and the
Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma in Bushfire Planning and Management http://land-environment.unimelb.edu.au/about-us/our-departments/dfes/