Project Vesta was a comprehensive research project to investigate the behaviour and spread of high-intensity bushfires in dry eucalypt forests with different fuel ages and understorey vegetation structures. The project was designed to quantify age-related changes in fuel attributes and fire behaviour in dry eucalypt forests typical of southern Australia. The four main scientific aims of Project Vesta were: To quantify the changes in the behaviour of fire in dry eucalypt forest as fuel develops with age (i.e. time since fire); To characterise wind speed profiles in forest with different overstorey and understorey vegetation structure in relation to fire behaviour; To develop new algorithms describing the relationship between fire spread and wind speed, and fire spread and fuel characteristics including load, structure and height; and to develop a National Fire Behaviour Prediction System for dry eucalypt forests. These aims have been addressed through a program of experimental burning and associated studies at two sites in the south-west of Western Australia.

As scientific understanding about ecological processes has grown, the idea that ecosystem dynamics are complex, nonlinear, and often unpredictable has gained prominence. Of particular importance is the idea that rather than following an inevitable progression toward an ultimate endpoint, some ecosystems may occur in a number of states depending on past and present ecological conditions. The emerging idea of “restoration thresholds” also enables scientists to recognize when ecological systems are likely to recover on their own and when active restoration efforts are needed. Conceptual models based on alternative stable states and restoration thresholds can help inform restoration efforts. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration brings together leading experts from around the world to explore how conceptual models of ecosystem dynamics can be applied to the recovery of degraded systems and how recent advances in our understanding of ecosystem and landscape dynamics can be translated into conceptual and practical frameworks for restoration. In the first part of the book, background chapters present and discuss the basic concepts and models and explore the implications of new scientific research on restoration practice. The second part considers the dynamics and restoration of different ecosystems, ranging from arid lands to grasslands, woodlands, and savannahs, to forests and wetlands, to production landscapes. A summary chapter by the editors discusses the implications of theory and practice of the ideas described in preceding chapters. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration aims to widen the scope and increase the application of threshold models by critiquing their application in a wide range of ecosystem types. It will also help scientists and restorationists correctly diagnose ecosystem damage, identify restoration thresholds, and develop corrective methodologies that can overcome such thresholds.

The Western Australian jarrah forest is unique, contammg some of the most beautiful flora in the world, more than 100 species of birds and some 50 mammals indigenous to this State. This book "The Jarrah Forest - A Complex Mediterranean Ecosystem" is a collection of scholarly essays on every known aspect of the northern part of the jarrah forest extending from south of Collie to the Avon River. All of the work has been researched by members of tertiary institutions, the private sector and government instrumentalities and was prepared expressly for this book. In the list of contributors are the names of many Western Australians who are in the forefront of their particular field. The book will be a very important reference work for senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Western Australia for many years to come. Additionally, it will have wide appeal to all interested in forestry management, both in Australia and overseas. I should like to express my appreciation for the efforts of all those involved in the conception and planning of this most valuable book. Perth, August 1988 Peter Dowding LL.B. M.L.A.

Explores the role of fire in Mediterranean-type climate ecosystems, providing unique insights into the assembly and evolutionary convergence of ecosystems.

Southwestern Australia is unique as it contains the world’s most nutrient-impoverished soils, experiences a prolonged-summer period and the vegetation is extremely fire-prone. It is also world-renowned for its relative high level of flora biodiversity. This book focuses on the diverse range of morphological and physiological adaptations evolved by the flora to survive in the harsh Mediterranean-type climate.

"A thorough revision and expansion of Pate and Beard's Kwongan--Plant Life of the Sandplain (1984)"--Page 4 of cover.

The Australian wildfires of 2019–20 (Black Summer) were devastating and unprecedented. These megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares, mostly of forests in southern and eastern Australia. Many of the fires were uncontrollable. These megafires affected many of Australia’s most important conservation areas and severely impacted threatened species and ecological communities. They were a consequence of climate change – and offered a glimpse of how this is likely to continue to affect our future. Australia’s Megafires includes contributions by more than 200 researchers and managers with direct involvement in the management and conservation of the biodiversity affected by the Black Summer wildfires. It provides a comprehensive review of the impacts of these fires on all components of biodiversity, and on Indigenous cultural values. These fires also triggered an extraordinary and highly collaborative response by governments, NGOs, Indigenous groups, scientists, landholders and others, seeking to recover the fire-affected species and environments – to restore Country. This book documents that response. It draws lessons that should be heeded to sustain that recovery and to be better prepared for the inevitable future comparable catastrophes. Such lessons are of global relevance, for wildfires increasingly threaten biodiversity and livelihoods across the globe.

A detailed, research-informed synthesis of the current issues facing the Australasian biota and the challenges involved in their conservation.