Indigenous Fire Stewardship to Revitalize Disrupted Ecosystems

Abstract

This commentary highlights the significance of Bowd et al.'s (2025) study with Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal community members in quantifying the effects of Indigenous Fire Stewardship on plant biocultural diversity in southeastern Australia's box-gum grassy woodlands. Their work is a model for bridging ecological science and Indigenous stewardship in restoring fire-adapted ecosystems. Accelerating and scaling such efforts can counter the disruption of Indigenous practices, the spread of nonnative species, the intensification of wildfires, and other global changes.