Paleofire in the wet tropics of northeast Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Fire in wet tropical environments is often associated with deforestation and degradation of diverse and "pristine" habitats. These notions have been exacerbated by mega-fire events associated with El Niño related droughts in Southeast Asia and New Guinea. Forest loss in Indonesia after the intense El Niño of 1997-98 is estimated at more than 5 million hectares and the carbon released as a result of these fires is thought to have been equicaluent to 40% of the mean annual global carbon emissions from fossil fuels for that year. These events led to fears that repeated large fires in the future may lead to large changes in the distribution of rainforest and sclerophyll (trees and shrubs with hard leaves adapted mainly to dry climate) communities in northern Australia. There is growing recognition that a greater understanding of the role of fire in the environment is needed, and can be gained through the study of the frequency and impact of past fire events.