Vijay Kumar

Candidature

PhD Candidate

Thesis title

Comparative analysis of wildfire effects: Chir pine and eucalypt forest resilience in contrasting geographical regions

Research Project

Climate change is altering fire regimes globally, with increasing temperatures, prolonged droughts and changing rainfall patterns contributing to more frequent and severe wildfires. These changes can have profound effects on forest ecosystems by increasing tree mortality and disrupting the processes that enable forests to recover and regenerate after fire. However, the response of forests to altered fire regimes can vary considerably depending on fire history, environmental conditions, tree characteristics, and the ecological strategies of dominant species. Understanding these responses is increasingly important for predicting the resilience and long-term persistence of fire-prone forests under a changing climate.

My PhD research investigates how altered fire regimes influence tree mortality, post-fire recovery and regeneration across two contrasting fire-prone forest ecosystems in Australia and India. In south-eastern Australia, I examine eucalypt forests affected by the 2019-20 black summer bushfires to understand how fire timing, severity, environmental conditions and tree-level attributes influence tree mortality and subsequent recovery. In the Western Himalayas of India, I investigate how different combinations of fire frequency and severity affect chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) forests, focusing on key demographic processes including adult tree mortality, canopy seed bank and seedling recruitment. By integrating these processes across contrasting forest ecosystems, this research aims to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that determine forest resilience and persistence under changing fire regimes and provide information relevant to the conservation and management of increasingly fire-affected forests.

Supervisors

Associate Professor Rachael Nolan, Dr Christopher Gordon, Dr James W. Barker (DCCEEW)