Current fire management practices in the fire-prone vegetation of sout
h-eastern Australia are based mainly on the concept of hazard reductio
n via the use of periodic low-intensity fires to maintain the amount o
f flammable fuel within specified (low) limits. We examined the possib
le conflict between the requirements of fire management for hazard red
uction and requirements for species conservation in the dry-sclerophyl
l shrublands and woodlands of the Sydney region. Our data indicate tha
t potentially severe fire hazard (fine fuel loads of greater than or e
qual to t.ha(-1)) can reappear in the woodland and shrubland vegetatio
n within 2-4 years after low-intensity fires, such as are typical of t
he fuel-reduction burns usually prescribed. Our data also show that lo
w-intensity fires will have significant effects on the species composi
tion of the communities if they occur with an inter-fire interval of l
ess than 7-8 years, causing a significantly reduced abundance of long-
lived woody shrub species. There is thus a clear conflict in south-eas
tern Australia between fire management practices based solely on presc
ribed burning for hazard reduction and the fire management practices n
ecessary to maintain ecosystem biodiversity, and this conflict is grea
test for fire-sensitive shrub species. The conflict between these two
vegetation management objectives cannot be resolved by a simple compro
mise, as prescribed fires with inter-fire intervals any greater than 4
years will allow a potentially severe fire hazard to exist, while a b
urning regime with any inter-fire intervals less than 8 years will res
ult in loss of biodiversity. This conflict means that it will probably
not be possible to achieve simultaneously both hazard reduction and s
pecies conservation for any specified managed area. Copyright (C) 1996
Elsevier Science Limited.