This image is of a prescribed prairie burn to remove accumulated dead vegetation and to release seeds from dormancy. By opening the woodlands to more sunlight, the fires prepare the soil for new spring growth.

There is a big debate about prescribed burning in the national parks of Australia as a way to reduce the dead matter load that would fuel a bush fire. Prescribed burning is sometimes known as back burning in Australia. It is means deliberate burning being carried out in the name of ‘hazard reduction’ – in order to reduce the available ‘fuel’ (native vegetation) for potential future wildfires or bush arson.

Thousands of hectares are burnt in a free-for-all and thousands of native animals are roasted. Mosaic burning is too labour intensive and the typically inaccessible gullied terrain and thick forested vegetation of many national parks makes mosaic burning impracticable and too costly. Often this is all about operational efficiency, not ecological biodiversity.