Background to the Project 'The Use of Fire in Land Management in Eastern Indonesia and Northern Australia'

摘要

Eastern Indonesia has a semi-arid climate with large areas of savanna vegetation, and consequently the region is fire-prone. The land is used mainly for low-yielding subsistence agriculture and the region faces major problems of land degradation and forest degeneration. Fire is a fundamental component of traditional and current land management. Prescribed fire is used in slash and burn cultivation, for land clearing, weed control and to increase nutrient status. Fire is also used to promote new grass growth for cattle grazing and to provide some protection from wildfire. Some fire regimes have undesirable effects. Some fire and grazing regimes encourage the invasion of grazing lands by shrubs, threaten lives, property and forestry reserves, and contribute to regional atmospheric pollution. fire has impacts on soil and water conservation, which all affect the long-term productivity of the land.