Colonial Practices Linked to Australia's Wildfire Vulnerability, Study Finds

A 1,000-year ecological reconstruction study published in Nature suggests Australia's wildfire crisis stems primarily from the colonial disruption of Indigenous fire management, rather than solely climate change. The research indicates that for over 800 years before British colonization, Indigenous Gunaikurnai people maintained stable woodlands through frequent, low-temperature 'cool' burning, highlighting the long-term impact of historical land management changes.