Summer bushfires you didn’t hear about
Posted on: Sun 24 Mar 2019
In January 2019, fires burned across a 100-kilometre length of the Tjoritja National Park in the West MacDonnell Ranges, extending nearly to the edge of Alice Springs.
These fires affected an area comparable to the recent Tasmanian fires, but attracted relatively little national attention. This is partly because the fires in Tasmania were so unusual – but some scientists believe the fires in central Australia were just as unexpected.
But recent research highlights the new danger posed by buffel grass, a highly invasive foreigner sweeping across inland Australia and able to grow fast without much water.
To find out more Barometer’s Des Lawrence spoke to Christine Schlesinger, Senior Lecturer, in Environmental Science, at Charles Darwin University
The summer bushfires you didn’t hear about, and the invasive species fuelling them
Produced by Des Lawrence
Image: CSIRO
