Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2020 Oct;4(10):1321-1326. doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-1251-1. Epub 2020 Jul 20.
Australia's 2019-2020 mega-fires were exacerbated by drought, anthropogenic climate change and existing land-use management. Here, using a combination of remotely sensed data and species distribution models, we found these fires burnt ~97,000 km of vegetation across southern and eastern Australia, which is considered habitat for 832 species of native vertebrate fauna. Seventy taxa had a substantial proportion (>30%) of habitat impacted; 21 of these were already listed as threatened with extinction. To avoid further species declines, Australia must urgently reassess the extinction vulnerability of fire-impacted species and assist the recovery of populations in both burnt and unburnt areas. Population recovery requires multipronged strategies aimed at ameliorating current and fire-induced threats, including proactively protecting unburnt habitats.
澳大利亚 2019-2020 年的特大火灾是由干旱、人为气候变化和现有的土地利用管理加剧的。在这里，我们使用遥感数据和物种分布模型的组合，发现这些火灾在澳大利亚南部和东部烧毁了约 97000 公里的植被，这些植被被认为是 832 种本地脊椎动物的栖息地。有 70 个分类群的栖息地受到了重大影响（>30%）；其中 21 个已经被列为有灭绝危险。为了避免物种进一步减少，澳大利亚必须紧急重新评估受火灾影响物种的灭绝脆弱性，并协助在燃烧区和未燃烧区的种群恢复。种群恢复需要多管齐下的策略，旨在缓解当前和火灾引起的威胁，包括主动保护未燃烧的栖息地。
