In the past fire ecology literature in the tropics has focused mostly on the role of fire within the savanna biome. The fire ecology of tropical wetlands has been largely neglected. This thesis attempts to redress this imbalance by examining the fire behaviour of the wetlands in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. Wetland burning has become a critical management issue in the Park, particularly since the eradication of the feral Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus) from the Park. Fuel loads, which had been previously suppressed by grazing and trampling, have increased substantially, and this has subsequently affected the fire ecology of the region. This thesis investigates aspects of fire ecology in the Mclaleucafloodplain communities of Kakadu. It examines Aboriginal people's contemporary use and knowledge of fire, as well as the fire behaviour and impact of fires both set by Aboriginal people and from other sources of ignition. In addition, a 'Wetland Burning Index' (WBI) is compiled in order to examine some of the interactions between wetland fuel, weather and fire behaviour. A range of ecological and ethnoecological methodologies are employed in order to measure fire behaviour in situ rather than approximating specific fire regimes under experimental conditions. The thesis assesses the effectiveness and practicability of these methods. A description of wetland fire behaviour is also given, and includes a range of fire types and phenomena. Aboriginal names of fires, and related terms, are also detailed (in the Gundjeihmi language), some of which have not been previously documented. The study concludes by discussing how indigenous people's knowledge of fire can contribute to the field of wetland fire ecology. It also discusses how different fire types can be used to manage tropical wetland ecosystems.

No description available.

The Kukkal basin, Tamil Nadu, India, receives most of its rain from the southwest monsoon (SWM). A sediment core from Kukkal Lake preserves a continuous sediment record from the early-Holocene to present (9000 yr BP to present). The present lake is situated at an elevation of similar to 1887m a.s.l., in a small basin that appears to have alternated between a and wetland depositional environment. Climate proxies, including sediment texture, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N, pollen and geochemical composition indicate a steady progression to wetter conditions, with two stepwise changes at about 8000, and between 3200 and 1800 yr BP. The change at 8000 yr BP appears to correspond to a brief (100-150years) dry spell recorded elsewhere in India. The change at 3200-1800 yr BP consisted in a rapid intensification of the SWM, and may correlate with the initiation of the Roman Warm Period'. There is no clear evidence of changes at the times of the Medieval Warm Period' (MWP') and the Little Ice Age' (LIA'). The C/N ratio of the sediments ranges from 14.02 to 8.31, indicating that the organic matter originated from a mixture of lacustrine algae, vascular and terrestrial plants. Chemical weathering indices (Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), and Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA)) are consistent with extreme silicate weathering. Pollen data show a development from savanna vegetation prior to about 8000 yr BP, followed by grassland with palms, the appearance of ferns just prior to 3200 yr BP and the establishment of the tropical humid forest between 3200 and about 1800 yr BP.