| Notes: |
In the prologue, Pyne goes to great lengths to articulate the deep history of aridity--as in millions of years--in Australiap.4 "Australtian aridity was seasonal, episodic, and chronic." Scleromorphs - small tough evergreen leaves that hoarded nutrients and water dominated the flora, are very compatible with fire. p. 6 talks about the frequent flux of aridity encouraged organisms that thrived amid disturbance. re lightning fires "What is required is...the intereaction between lightning with appropirate fuels properly cured and dried". Fire regime was likely well established before human presence. p.8 Aridity vastly expanded fire's potential habitats. p.9 "Different communities [of plants] revealed different patterns of fire starts, spread, frequency, timing and intensity". Eucalyptus accompanied sudden rise in charcoal 20,000-7500 ya. in Myrtaceae family. p.20 "those inherited traits for contending with deteriorating soils and unreliable water preadapted the genus to survive fire"
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