|
|
|
|
If you’ve ever wandered through bushland and heard the crunch of dried leaves and twigs underfoot, you can probably imagine how a small flame in the litter bed can turn into a full-blown bushfire.
But understanding the mechanics of this is another matter. Jamie Burton, a PhD Candidate at the University of Melbourne, found the potential for flames to ignite and spread across the litter bed has a lot to do with the shape and size of leaves.
When curly leaves – such as from oak trees – pack on the forest floor, they leave air gaps which provide fuel for bigger fire. On the other hand, straighter leaves — such as from conifers with small needles — create less aerated litter beds, which lead to slower moving fires.
As Burton writes, learning which plants produce less flammable litter is important for fire management, such as selecting which to plant around houses, and for landscaping in fire-prone areas.
|
Anthea Batsakis
Deputy Editor: Environment + Energy
|
|
|
Shutterstock
Jamie Burton, University of Melbourne; Alexander Filkov, University of Melbourne; Jane Cawson, University of Melbourne
New research found curly leaves on the forest floor create litter beds with more air gaps. And this fuels bigger fires.
|
Shutterstock
Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute; Anika Stobart, Grattan Institute
The federal government has announced A$850 million for 10,000 additional home-care packages, as part of $1 billion for aged care. Here's why that's not nearly enough.
|
Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash
Susan Harris Rimmer, Griffith University; Kate McGuire, Griffith University; Neeraj Gill, Griffith University
Student mental health was already an issue before the pandemic. And then students felt the strain on all fronts as studies went online and they lost jobs and social contacts.
|
Luisa Denu / Unsplash
Ben Mather, University of Sydney; Dietmar Müller, University of Sydney; Jo Condon, University of Melbourne; Maria Seton, University of Sydney; Oliver Nebel, Monash University
From far north Queensland to the southern tip of Tasmania, there is a common geological mechanism that links Eastern Australia’s volcanic history.
|
Shutterstock
Ian Musgrave
Evidence is mounting that suggests a link between cooking with gas and asthma in children.
|
shutterstock.
Krystian Seibert, Swinburne University of Technology
Christmas is the most popular time for Australians to give to charity. But it's important to do some research first.
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Isaac Gross, Monash University
Australia is being paid to borrow. For those funds at least, borrowing is the opposite to a burden on the budget.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Tof Eklund, Auckland University of Technology
Netflix is making a live action series based on Assassin's Creed. With its promise of endless return and varied historical settings, the game has been an enduring success.
-
Maria Nugent, Australian National University
Badtjala woman and visual artist Fiona Foley looks back at Australian history, and her own art making, in this powerful new book.
|
|
Education
|
-
Cath Pearn, Australian Council for Educational Research
For years you may have been adding and subtracting numbers in your head in a certain way, but these strategies were never formally taught at school. Now they are, and they all have names.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Rebecca Allen, Swinburne University of Technology; Mohsen Shamohammadi, Swinburne University of Technology; Ryan James Turner, Swinburne University of Technology; Vivek Gupta, Swinburne University of Technology
There's an extensive range of telescopes, mounts and accessories on the market, and trying to pick from it might have you seeing stars. Here's what the experts suggest.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Jacqueline Lau, James Cook University; Sarah Ruth Sutcliffe, James Cook University
Decision-makers, locally and globally, must balance management of pandemics with a recognition that fish and fishing communities are essential to local well being.
|
|
| |
Featured jobs
|
|
|
|
— Melbourne VIC, Australia
|
|
— Melbourne VIC, Australia
|
|
— Townsville City, QLD, Australia
|
|
|
|
Featured Events & Courses
|
|
8 week online course by BehaviourWorks Australia, Victoria, Australia — Monash University
|
|
Level 21, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
|
|
|
Online, Online, Victoria, 3145, Australia — Monash University
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
