Total extent of 2019/20 bushfires*

"Habitat degradation, climate change and disease threaten frogs globally. In this, they have much in common with humans … Perhaps humanity should reflect on the fate we share with wildlife, and act."

*Source: National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Database Note: Vast fires burn each year in northern Australia. The southeast Australia fires were far hotter and more destructive.

Our field cameras melted in the bushfires. When we opened them, the results were startling Benjamin Scheele, David Newell, Jodi Rowley, Michael McFadden

Total habitat of the 119 species identified as in need of immediate intervention following the fires

Australia is a land of fire, and plants and animals have learnt to adapt. But under climate change, fires are becoming more frequent, severe and widespread. That means wildlife and landscapes may never fully recover.

Photo: Darryl Whitaker/DELWP

"The intensity, ferocity and speed of the fires meant nothing was spared. The former forest floor was literally a trail of death and destruction – dead and charred kangaroos, wallabies, deer, possums and birds were everywhere."

"Sadly, all the known western populations of this enigmatic spider were destroyed. I am yet to find any survivors in the fire ground, but it is early days."

Before and after: see how bushfire and rain turned the Macquarie perch's home to sludge Lee Baumgartner, Katie Doyle, Luiz G M Silva, Luke Pearce, Nathan Ning

I'm searching firegrounds for surviving Kangaroo Island Micro-trapdoor spiders. 6 months on, I'm yet to find any Jess Marsh

Photo: Taronga Zoo

Months after the last fire was extinguished, satellite imagery shows the bush is growing back. Here’s what it looked like in three of the key bushfire hotspots on November 1 2019, before the worst of the fires.

NSW South Coast

But amid the devastation there are stories of adrenalin-fuelled wildlife rescues and ingenious conservation efforts.

"Late last year, bushfires are thought to have ripped through more than half the Kaputar rock skink’s habitat. We don’t yet know what this means for its survival, but the outlook is not good."

Photo: Warren Frey/AAP

East Gippsland

A few months ago, science gave this rare lizard a name – and it may already be headed for extinction Jodi Rowley

In the days after the fires, scientists identified these 119 animal species that required urgent intervention. Without it, extinction of the species was a real possibility.

Photo: Marta Yebra, ANU

Blue Mountains

Photo: James Gourley/AAP

Photo: Tony Mitchell

Photo: State Government of Victoria/AAP

Note: VSPI data has not been calibrated and is indicative only

Last summer’s bushfires hit an already drought-ravaged landscape. They were fuelled by strong winds and record-shattering temperatures.

But even by mid-2020, areas that were severely affected were already showing signs of vegetation recovery.

December 30 2019

By the time of the peak of the fires in each region, the devastation was clear.

No other disaster in living memory has caused such profound damage to Australia’s biodiversity. Some 471 plant, 213 invertebrate and 92 vertebrate species have been identified as needing urgent intervention. In some cases, 100% of a species’ distribution was burnt.

January 25 2020

"Emergency helicopter rescues aren't usually part of a day's work for conservation scientists. But for eastern bristlebirds, a potential disaster loomed."

Our helicopter rescue may seem a lot of effort for a plain little bird, but it was worth it Rohan Clarke, Katherine Selwood, Rowan Mott

May 4 2020

Written and edited by Nicole Hasham. Species profiles edited by Anthea Batsakis. Interactive by Wes Mountain. Additional editing and assistance by Sunanda Creagh, Ben Clarke and Michael Lund  VSPI imagery provided by Chris Rudiger and Marta Yebra, with assistance from Aakash Chhabra. The priority species list was instigated by the Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, set up to support the Australian Government’s bushfire response. This series forms part of a project supported by a grant from the Ross Trust.

For researchers and scientists who’ve spent their careers working to protect an endangered species, the carnage was devastating.

Photo: Marta Yebra (ANU)

May 5 2020

Healthy vegetation

June 18 2020

"We’ve been developing the use of heat-detecting drones to find koalas at night. This efficient method will save on costs. It will also help better assess koala numbers."

After last summer's fires, the bell tolls for Australia’s endangered mountain bells Kingsley Dixon

Australia roared into 2020 as a land on fire. The loss of life and property was devastating and so too was the damage to nature. By the end of the fire season 18.6 million hectares of land was destroyed.  So what's become of animal and plant survivors in the months since? Flora, Fauna, Fire tells that story. In some charred landscapes, endangered plants and animals were miraculously spared. Elsewhere, flames left the land seared and silent, stripped of life. Read of the scientists coaxing nature back to life. See satellite maps showing how the land has sprouted since the fires, and explore the animal, plant and invertebrate species now at greatest risk of extinction. It will be years, if not decades, until we know how nature will mend after Australia's Black Summer. But here's the story so far.

"After 45 minutes we'd collected 68 healthy stocky galaxias. Woohoo! Further downstream we collected 74 more. By now, fire burned along the stream edge."

"Though the fires have retreated, the once thriving populations of mountain bells are reduced to blackened stems. It is indescribably sad to see."

Heat-detecting drones are a cheaper, more efficient way to find koalas Ryan R. Witt, Adam Roff, Chad T. Beranek, Lachlan G. Howell

Double trouble: this plucky little fish survived the bushfires, but there's worse to come Mark Lintermans

Disturbed vegetation

VSPI imagery courtesy Marta Yebra (ANU), Chris Rudiger (Monash) and James Hilton (CSIRO/Data61), with thanks to Aakash Chhabra.

 "To see our efforts - and more importantly, most of the long-term unburnt habitat these bees rely on - destroyed by the 2020 fire was utterly devastating."

Increasingly frequent fires threaten this shiny green carpenter bee - and the wildflowers it pollinates Katja Hogendoorn, Remko Leijs, Richard V. Glatz

"I looked through the microscope at the insides of a dead smoky mouse, and could barely believe my eyes. Thousands of tiny smoke particles lined its lungs."

The mystery of the mouse that died of smoke inhalation, despite being nowhere near a fire Andrew Peters

Vegetation Structure Perpendicular Index (VSPI) quantifies the disturbance caused by fire relative to health vegetation and its subsequent recovery to its normal state.

After the flames subsided, scientists surveyed the devastated firegrounds, anxious about what they’d find.

Photo: David Crossling/AAP

By the time of the peak of the fires in each region, the destruction was clear.

*Source: National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Database Note: Vast fires burn each year in northern Australia. The southeast Australia fires were far hotter and more destructive.

After last summer's fires, the bell tolls for Australia’s endangered mountain bells Kingsley Dixon

Australia roared into 2020 as a land on fire. The loss of life and property was devastating and so too was the damage to nature. By the end of the fire season 18.6 million hectares of land was destroyed. So what's become of animal and plant survivors in the months since? Flora, Fauna, Fire tells that story. In some charred landscapes, endangered plants and animals were miraculously spared. Elsewhere, flames left the land seared and silent, stripped of life. Read of the scientists coaxing nature back to life. See satellite maps showing how the land has sprouted since the fires, and explore the animal, plant and invertebrate species now at greatest risk of extinction. It will be years, if not decades, until we know how nature will mend after Australia's Black Summer. But here's the story so far.

But amid the wreckage there are stories of adrenalin-fuelled wildlife rescues and ingenious conservation efforts.

Months after the last fire was extinguished, satellite imagery shows the bush is growing back. Here’s what it looked like in the NSW South Coast on November 1 2019, before the worst of the fires.

Last summer’s bushfires hit an already drought-ravaged landscape. They were fuelled by strong winds and record-shattering temperatures.

Flora,

fire

Tracking Australia's recovery from a catastrophic summer

fauna,

Tracking Australia's recovery from a catastrophic summer.

Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP

Photo: Marta Yebra

Written and edited by Nicole Hasham. Species profiles edited by Anthea Batsakis. Interactive by Wes Mountain. Additional editing and assistance by Sunanda Creagh, Ben Clarke and Michael Lund.  VSPI imagery provided by Chris Rudiger, Marta Yebra and James Hilton, with assistance from Aakash Chhabra. The priority species list was instigated by the Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, set up to support the Australian Government’s bushfire response. This series forms part of a project supported by a grant from the Ross Trust. Thanks also to the Friends of The Conversation whose donations helped to make this happen.

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Written and edited by Nicole Hasham. Species profiles edited by Anthea Batsakis. Interactive by Wes Mountain. Additional editing and assistance by Sunanda Creagh, Ben Clarke and Michael Lund.  VSPI imagery provided by Chris Rudiger, Marta Yebra and James Hilton, with assistance from Aakash Chhabra. The priority species list was instigated by the Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, set up to support the Australian Government’s bushfire response. This series forms part of a project supported by a grant from the Ross Trust. Thanks also to the Friends of The Conversation whose donations helped to make this happen.