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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra

@philzyl.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.9K following 51 posts

Fire scientist and forest ecologist learning how to cooperate with country. My work, thoughts and funding are independent, but I'm associated with Curtin University and ANU.

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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
The Jewish Council of Australia want to unite with the broader community to combat antisemitism as part of racism overall. Please read their proposal and sign here: petitions.getup.org.au/petitions/fr... @getup.org.au
petitions.getup.org.au
ADD YOUR NAME ✍️ We will not be divided after Bondi
On Sunday at Bondi we witnessed the appalling consequences of hatred and how it breeds radicalisation and violence. But as the Jewish community and the whole country grieved, some politicians went on ...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Our new study out today is all good news. Climate change is powerful, but forests have defended sensitive species from fire since Gondwana. If we join their resistance, we can end the fire apocalypse in some places. theconversation.com/in-1939-a-ro...
theconversation.com
In 1939, a Royal Commission found burning forests leads to more bushfires. But this cycle of destruction can be stopped
After devastating fires in 1939, authorities began burning forests to reduce fuel load. But we now know this creates conditions for even worse fires.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Our new paper in PNAS summarises why the push to 'salvage' log dead trees won't reduce the risk of fast wildfires as has been claimed. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
A top 10 cited article in the journal Functional Ecology! Our work on ecological control theory shows how forests can suppress fire if left undisturbed.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
CARTOON OF THE DAY
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
If you're on the NSW north coast and care about forests, come join us in Bellingen this Sunday.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Trump telling Zelenski "you're gambling with WWIII" is about the clearest threat we could have asked for. Look what you're going to do if you don't give me what I want.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Will Australia distance itself from the convicted felon proposing ethnic cleansing to turn their land into a "Riviera"? edition.cnn.com/2025/02/04/p...
edition.cnn.com
Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip and doesn’t rule out using American troops | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States “will take over” the Gaza Strip — possibly with the help of American troops — while the Palestinians who live there should leave, a stunning pr...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Trump's proposal for ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 25/01/2025
"Elon Musk could throw a nazi salute in the white house and media outlets would still try to rationalise it as an accident" feels like something I would tweet in 2019 and 30 guys named Andrew would tell me off for being hyperbolic
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
If you own shares in a company but work for the Government, is it ok to get the Government to buy up shares of that company so that the value of your shares goes through the roof? 🤔
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
If you can, this family needs help getting a car. gofund.me/967592c6
gofund.me
Donate to Need help with a car, organized by Tammie Perry
Hey there I'm a mother of 5 with 3 on the spectrum and I'm in need of help getting a car to get them… Tammie Perry needs your support for Need help with a car
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Professor Euan Ritchie FAMS @euanritchie.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Australians all let us rejoice For we are young and free...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
I met one of the guardians of the last unburnt snow gums.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Happy to be giving a keynote at ESA this year. 'Forests of refuge' explores the ways that Forests have built safe places since Gondwana, how we can side with them to rebuild, and how First Nations knew this long before us. esa2024.org.au/keynote-spea...
esa2024.org.au
Keynote Speakers – ESA 2024
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 08/12/2024
Collective punishment directed at Jewish-Australian places of worship, leading to the destruction of a building, is fundamentally wrong. Israel collectively punishing the people of Palestine, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of people, including thousands of children, is also wrong.
theguardian.com
PM and senior minister say Melbourne synagogue firebombing appears to be terrorism
Anthony Albanese and Murray Watt made the comments in the wake of the attack on Adass Israel but security agencies are yet to determine the motive
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
This is Takayna, one of the last remnants of Gondwana, hidden in the northwest of Lutruwita (Tasmania). Sustainable Forests Tasmania are clearing parts of it to replace the thousand year old Nothofagus with these eucalypts.
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Every single one should be charged with assisting a terrorist organisation. I’d strip citizenship as well. You chose who to fight for.
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Jonathan Green @greenj.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
This is a bit of a must watch. What even is journalism? www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/e...
abc.net.au
Ep 41 - Amsterdam riots - Media Watch
What really happened in Amsterdam’s soccer riots between supporters of Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv? We look at how the truth got lost in the rush to judgement.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Just horrendous. Between them, Trump and Netanyahu seem determined to wipe the Palestinians off the face of the Earth. It was terrible under Biden. It'll be even worse now. www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...
theguardian.com
Rightwing settlers in Israel welcome ‘dream team’ of Trump and his hardline appointments
Palestinian groups shocked by US president-elect’s favouring of outspoken supporters of far-right activists in the region
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Reposted by Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra
Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Oh damn. Brilliant by @michaelspicer.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa3i...
youtube.com
Labour Minister Questioned About Historical Trump Tweets
YouTube video by Michael Spicer
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Today's new publication led by @dadriscoll.bsky.social lays out the hard facts. Losses were 87–93% larger where fire has been frequent, regardless of the severity. Poor science led to frequent fire and caused massive mortality. www.abc.net.au/news/science...
abc.net.au
Prescribed burns are used to reduce bushfire risk. A new study suggests it has the opposite effect
Areas that had multiple fires prior to 2019–20 had greater biodiversity losses when Black Summer fires hit compared to areas that had burnt once or not at all beforehand.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
Government records in SW Western Australia show that the safest forests from wildfire are the ones they haven't burned for hazard reduction for decades. Government said our work was flawed, we addressed their criticisms, it made our case stronger. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
iopscience.iop.org
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
A low intensity prescribed burn nearly annihilated a population of a critically endangered species. I analysed what happened to find out why, and how bad science can lead to exactly the worst decisions in fire management. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Quantifying the direct fire threat to a critically endangered arboreal marsupial using biophysical, mechanistic modelling
Traditional metrics such as fuel load and fire intensity are poor predictors of direct bushfire impacts on fauna. This study presents a comprehensive mechanistic approach to model fire effects on fau....
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
Our work shows how forests have naturally reduced fire risk over millions of years, and how we can work with them to counter the impacts of climate change. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Mechanisms by which growth and succession limit the impact of fire in a south‐western Australian forested ecosystem
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
Our review early this year shows that forests very often naturally limit fire unless they are disturbed, such as by logging or fire. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Identifying and managing disturbance‐stimulated flammability in woody ecosystems
Many forest types globally have been subject to an increase in the frequency of, and area burnt by, high-severity wildfire. Here we explore the role that previous disturbance has played in increasing...
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Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 18/08/2024
Eighteen members of same family killed in Israeli strike on Gaza
theguardian.com
Eighteen members of same family killed in Israeli strike on Gaza
Dead included 11 siblings aged between two and 22, hospital says, as well as their parents and grandmother An Israel airstrike in Gaza has killed at least 18 people from the same family, even as mediators expressed optimism for an imminent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after 10 months of war. The airstrike on Saturday hit a house and adjacent warehouse sheltering displaced people at the entrance to the town of Zawaida, according to the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, to where casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter there counted the dead. Continue reading...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 23/04/2024
Many Australian forests had open understoreys when British invaders first saw them, but our study shows that some like the tall Mountain Ash were dense and felt impenetrable to many. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 24/10/2023
By the end of September, more than half of the world’s countries could fit inside the land burned this year in Canada. “I can’t think of any analogy for the extent to which the modern records were not only broken but destroyed here,” says climate scientist John Abatzoglou. Read more:
nytimes.com
‘It’s Like Our Country Exploded’: Canada’s Year of Fire
Endless evacuations, unimaginable smoke and heat, 45 million acres burned — is this the nation’s new normal?
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 25/10/2023
Sometimes you have to stop and cry for a little while before you get back to work.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 24/10/2023
I'll be talking about ways we can shift our thinking on fire in forests from colonisation to cooperation with country. This Thursday, Royal Society of Victoria. rsv.org.au/events/the-f...
rsv.org.au
The Future of Victoria's Native Forests - A Public Symposium - The Royal Society of Victoria
We seek to understand how the end of logging operations will change the way native forests need to be managed into the future.
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 15/10/2023
My talk on decolonising fire science at the Royal Society of Victoria was featured recently on ABC's Big Ideas. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
abc.net.au
Decolonising Australia's fire science - ABC listen
For fire scientist Philip Zylstra, there are a lot of myths contained in the modern approach to containing bushfires in Australia. Namely, that management practices after colonisation continued pre-co...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 26/09/2023
We're running out of time to get our act together on fire in Australia; join me here tomorrow night Perth time for some straight talking. www.wildflowersocietywa.org.au/event/webina...
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 26/09/2023
Climate change is driving disastrous impacts of fire, but the risk is that it becomes cover for destructive management. Now more than ever we need to wise up. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires - Na...
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
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Adj. A/Prof. Philip Zylstra @philzyl.bsky.social · 25/09/2023
Lake Elysium and Mt Geryon. I'm feeling that ache to be back.
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