Scientists Link Australia's Mega-Fires to Colonial Practices, Not Just Climate Change
A new study suggests the cessation of Indigenous burning practices after European colonization primed Australia's forests for uncontrollable wildfires.
Scientists are pointing to the legacy of European colonization, rather than solely climate change, as a primary factor in Australia's recent devastating mega-fires. A study published in the journal Nature indicates that the disruption of Indigenous 'cultural burning' practices, which had maintained forest health for millennia, has left Australian woodlands primed for intense and uncontrollable wildfires.
Researchers argue that the arrival of European colonists in the 18th century, and the subsequent displacement and 'massacre' of Indigenous peoples, led to the cessation of traditional land management techniques. These practices involved frequent, small-scale burns that suppressed undergrowth, maintained open woodlands, and created diverse vegetation structures. Without this regular, low-intensity burning, forests became denser and accumulated highly flammable fuel.
Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher of the University of Melbourne, lead author of the study, stated, "The forest we protect there is in fact a product of colonisation, and it's that legacy that now imperils its very survival." He explained that before colonization, Indigenous peoples' land management practices meant that climate did not dictate wildfire intensity. However, the halt in these practices allowed forests to thicken, transforming the landscape into a tinderbox susceptible to extreme fires.
This shift has resulted in what scientists term a "catastrophic wildfire loop," where intense fires promote rapid regrowth of flammable vegetation, setting the stage for subsequent devastating blazes. The recovery time between major fires has drastically shortened, from approximately 40 years in the 1800s to just five years in the last decade.
Evidence for this historical shift was gathered from sediment samples from Lake Purghagoolah in Croajingolong National Park. Analyzing layers of soil, pollen, and charcoal spanning 1,000 years, researchers observed that before the 1800s, Indigenous burning maintained stable, open woodlands with infrequent, low-temperature fires. Following the disruption of these practices due to colonial violence and displacement, the sediment record shows a significant increase in shrub cover and eucalyptus, alongside a rise in the frequency and intensity of fires. The analysis revealed sediments consistent with barren, scorched land after the hotter blazes that became dominant.
The 2019-2020 "Black Summer" fires serve as a stark example, killing 33 people, destroying over 3,000 homes, impacting an estimated three billion animals, and burning 24 million hectares of land. These fires affected areas like Croajingolong National Park, a designated wilderness and biosphere reserve, highlighting the widespread impact even in seemingly protected zones.
While acknowledging that climate change exacerbates wildfire risk, the study emphasizes that the underlying conditions making these fires so destructive were established long before recent global warming trends. The researchers advocate for reintroducing managed burning practices, learning from Indigenous land management techniques, to mitigate the impacts of future fires and reduce the likelihood of high-intensity events.
Uncle Russell Mullett, an elder of the GunaiKurnai people, affirmed the historical significance of fire in Indigenous culture, stating, "Studies such as this provide firm scientific evidence to support towera [fire] land management initiatives for Country."