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A study from the University of Melbourne suggests that restoring Indigenous cultural burning practices could prevent catastrophic bushfires in Australia’s southeast forests. Researchers led by Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher found that colonial-era land use, rather than climate change alone, is responsible for fueling dangerous fire conditions. The study identifies a "catastrophic fire loop" wherein forest thickening due to the cessation of Indigenous burning practices has made landscapes more susceptible to severe fires driven primarily by climate factors today.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A new study led by Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher from the University of Melbourne reveals that colonial land use changes have created a "catastrophic wildfire loop" in south-east Australia, making it more vulnerable to bushfires. The research, published in *Nature*, examines 1,000 years of vegetation and fire history at Purghagoolah lake in Croajingolong National Park, Victoria, using pollen and charcoal particles from sediment cores. Prior to colonization, the landscape was managed by Indigenous practices that kept it open and less prone to severe fires. However, after the removal of traditional custodians like the Gunaikurnai people due to colonization, dense forests developed, leading to more intense wildfires. The study suggests restoring cultural burning techniques could help mitigate these effects.
Written for “Colonisation and Australian Bushfires” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 64250: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-07
Restoring Indigenous cultural burning could help break a 'catastrophic fire loop' plaguing Australia's southeast forests, a new study has found.
uncertain
study → restore → forests
Researchers reconstructed the past millennium of vegetation, fire and erosion in Victoria's Croajingolong National Park in East Gippsland, one of the country's most fire-prone forests.
asserted
Researchers → reconstruct → forests
The study, published on Thursday by the University of Melbourne, found long-term environmental shifts should not be blamed on climate change alone, with the crisis linked to colonial land use.
asserted
crisis → publish → use
'Climate records show that seasons of comparably dangerous fire weather, such as those seen during Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday, occurred in the region repeatedly before colonisation, yet the open landscape maintained by cultural burning protected the land from catastrophic fire,' lead author Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher said.
asserted
Fletcher → show → fire
'When colonisation ended that care, the forest expanded and thickened across the region, loading the landscape with fuel.
asserted
forest → end → fuel
It is that transformation that has handed control of fire to climate.
asserted
that → hand → climate
The study was sparked by the 2019-20 Black Summer fires, which burned through more than 1.5 million hectares and claimed the lives of five people in Victoria.
asserted
which → spark → Victoria
Researchers worked with several Aboriginal communities, focusing on wetlands, lakes and forests.
asserted
Researchers → work → wetlands
A conceptual model labelled a 'catastrophic fire loop' was also developed and found to be affecting many parts of southeast Australia.
asserted
model → label → Australia
A new study found Indigenous cultural burning once kept Australian landscapes open and reduced the risk of catastrophic bushfires, with researcher Michael-Shawn Fletcher warning colonisation allowed forests to thicken and fuel loads to build
The paper also suggests that restoring cultural burning practices and supporting Traditional Owners to care for country are essential to mitigating fire risk.
uncertain
Owners → find → risk
This disruption followed the British arrival and the removal of Aboriginal people from country.
asserted
disruption → follow → country
You have a change in fire regime.
asserted
You → have → regime
You have hotter fires as shrubs increase in response to being let free from not having that continual low intensity fire,' Prof Fletcher said.
asserted
Fletcher → have → fire
'That hotter fire triggers eucalypt recruitment and thickening, that then triggers more fire and we now have these forests stuck in this loop which is now fuelled and driven largely by climate.
asserted
which → trigger → climate
The paper also suggests that restoring cultural burning practices and supporting Traditional Owners to care for country are essential to mitigating fire risk.
uncertain
Owners → suggest → risk
Gunaikurnai elder Uncle Russell Mullett, from the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Corporation, said his ancestors were born with towera (fire) as part of practical daily life on country.
asserted
ancestors → say → country
'Not treating country with towera, country becomes extremely dangerous for Gunaikurnai, animals and plants,' Mr Mullett said.
asserted
Mullett → treat → Gunaikurnai
'Studies such as this provide firm scientific evidence to support towera land management initiatives for country.'
asserted
Studies → provide → country
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