BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH: Turning up the heat: the impacts of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion on fire behaviour in northern Australian savannas

Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion significantly alters fire behavior in northern Australian savannas, increasing radiant heat and char height of woody vegetation even at low fire-line intensity. This study quantified changes in fire severity by comparing native grass savanna and invaded sites, using metrics like Byram’s fire-line intensity (If), fuel load, scorch height (SH), and char height (CH). Gamba grass, with its greater biomass (11.6 t ha−1 vs. 3.6 t ha−1 in native grasses) and height (4 m vs. 0.5 m), led to substantially higher CH for a given If, unlike native grass fires. The findings highlight the ecological consequences of gamba grass invasion, which currently covers 10,000–15,000 km² and is projected to expand to 380,000 km², threatening native savanna biota adapted to low-intensity fires.

Setterfield, S. A., Rossiter‐Rachor, N. A., Hutley, L. B., Douglas, M. M., & Williams, R. J. (2010). BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH: Turning up the heat: the impacts of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion on fire behaviour in northern Australian savannas. Diversity and Distributions, 16(5), 854–861. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2010.00688.x