DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2317g
title: Data from: Assessing the sensitivity of biodiversity indices used to inform fire management

description: Biodiversity indices are widely used to summarise changes in the
 distribution and abundance of multiple species and measure progress
 towards management targets. However, the sensitivity of biodiversity
 indices to the data, landscape classification and conservation values
 underpinning them are rarely interrogated. There are limited studies to
 help scientists and land managers use biodiversity indices in the presence
 of fire and vegetation succession. The geometric mean of species’ relative
 abundance or occurrence (G) is a biodiversity index that can be used to
 determine the mix of post-fire vegetation that maximizes biodiversity. We
 explored the sensitivity of G to i) type of biodiversity data, ii)
 representation of ecosystem states, iii) expression of conservation values
 and iv) uncertainty in species’ response to landscape structure. Our case
 study is an area of fire-prone woodland in southern Australia where G is
 used in fire management planning. We analysed three data sets to determine
 the fire responses of 170 bird, mammal and reptile species. G and fire
 management targets were sensitive to the species included in the analysis.
 The optimal mix of vegetation successional states for threatened birds was
 more narrowly defined than the optimal mix for all species combined. G was
 less sensitive to successional classification (i.e. number of states);
 although classifications of increasing complexity provided additional
 insights into desirable levels of heterogeneity. Weighting species by
 conservation status or endemism influenced the mix of vegetation states
 that maximized biodiversity. When a higher value was placed on threatened
 species the importance of late successional vegetation was emphasized.
 Representing variation in individual species’ response to vegetation
 structure made it clearer when a decrease in G was likely to reflect a
 significant reduction in species occurrences. Synthesis and applications.
 Data, models and conservation values can be combined using biodiversity
 indices to make robust environmental decisions. Combining different types
 of biodiversity data using composite indices, such as the geometric mean,
 can improve the coverage and relevance of biodiversity indices. We
 recommend that evaluation of biodiversity indices for fire management
 verify how index assumptions align with management objectives, consider
 the relative merits of different types of biodiversity data, test
 sensitivity of ecosystem state definitions and incorporate conservation
 values through species weightings.
description: Species_data_Triodia&ChenopodMalleeTwo data files, one for species recorded in Triodia Mallee and the other for species recorded in Chenopod Mallee. The data is the relative occurrence or abundance of each species by vegetation stage for the three alternate models of vegetation succession (3-stage, 4-stage and 6/7-stage). Species are listed by data type; presence-absence (PA), presence-only (PO) or expert estimates (EE). Some species are present in more than one data type.