PhD Scholar
Relative importance of fire regimes, environmental gradients and climate change for rainforest distribution in the Sydney region.
E-mail: carola.kuramotto@anu.edu.au

The distribution of rainforests across Australian landscapes has been proposed to be determined by a range of environmental factors, including historical fire regimes, climatic variation, soil fertility and characteristics, topography, water availability and plant vital attributes. Fire regimes are of particular interest for rainforest distribution. Although some rainforests species are able to resprout after a fire, there is evidence suggesting that frequent and severe fires can eliminate even these species from the landscape. This problem is likely to be exacerbated under climate change conditions for which fire frequency and intensity have been forecasted to increase.

I am investigating the key factors contributing to the persistence of rainforest in the Sydney region, and how incompatible fire regimes may change rainforest distribution. The Sydney region is an ideal landscape for this investigation as the relative high incidence of both natural and anthropogenic fires may impact negatively on rainforests. This information is vital for developing optimal strategies for rainforest conservation and management under present and changed condition. This project will also increase our understanding of the effects of fire on species considered to be fire intolerant and will provide methodological innovations for species distribution modelling.