Bioturbation by a reintroduced digging mammal reduces fuel loads in an urban reserve: dataset

These data were used in the following research article:
Ryan CM, Hobbs RJ and Valentine LE (in press) Bioturbation by a reintroduced digging mammal reduces fuel loads in an urban reserve. Ecological Applications.

We examined how the reintroduction of a medium-sized native Australian digging marsupial bandicoot, quenda (Isoodon fusciventer), in an urban reserve in Perth, Western Australia, altered microhabitat and surface fuel loads. The amount of digging by quenda, microhabitat and litter loads were measured and estimated in open plots (that allowed quenda access) and closed plots (fenced to exclude quenda). Estimated surface fuel loads were subsequently used to estimate rate of fire spread (ROS) under different fire conditions.

本数据集用于以下研究论文：
Ryan CM、Hobbs RJ与Valentine LE（已接收待刊）：《重新引入掘穴哺乳动物可降低城市保护区燃料负荷》，载于《Ecological Applications》。
本研究以澳大利亚西部珀斯某城市保护区内重新引入的中型本土掘穴有袋类——昆达袋狸（quenda, Isoodon fusciventer）为研究对象，探究其如何改变微生境与地表燃料负荷。
研究人员在开放样地（允许昆达袋狸自由进入）与封闭样地（设置围栏以排除昆达袋狸）中，对昆达袋狸的掘穴强度、微生境特征及枯落物负荷进行了测量与估算。
后续基于估算得到的地表燃料负荷，研究人员进一步推演了不同火情条件下的火蔓延速率（rate of fire spread, ROS）。