River Flows Are a Reliable Index of Forest Fire Risk in the Temperate Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia

River flows serve as a reliable indicator of forest fire risk in the temperate Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), Australia. A 60-year record of daily river flows from two rivers—Franklin and Davey—reveals strong correlations with landscape soil moisture, enabling the identification of seasonal fire risk patterns. The study demonstrates that low river flows, particularly around February, correspond to increased fire risk, with fires occurring in at least one month during most summers since 1954 in the Franklin catchment and nearly every summer since 1964 in the Davey catchment. This relationship allows managers to use river flow thresholds as a simple yet effective tool for assessing landscape-scale fire risk, providing critical insights for climate-adaptive forest management strategies.

Bowman, D. M. J. S., & Williamson, G. J. (2021). River Flows Are a Reliable Index of Forest Fire Risk in the Temperate Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. Fire, 4(2), 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire4020022