The effects of neighbors on the growth and survival of shrub seedlings following fire

Where plant species vie for limited resources, disturbances might preclude competition by releasing a flush of nutrients, or by reducing biomass and thereby diminishing the consumption of resources. However, if new seedlings colonize in clumps, they may still deplete resources within the local aggregations, which may then reduce their growth and survivorship. We investigated competition among seedlings in a burned area by examining the relationship between the performance of newly established shrub seedlings of Ceanothus impressus and (1) the proximity and (2) the identity of their near neighbors. We also investigated the relationship between neighbor proximity and the availability of water. Both survivorship and growth of C. impressus were positively associated with increasing distance to near neighbors, in a manner consistent with resource competition. The availability of water (as determined by pre-dawn xylem pressure potentials) tended to be greater when neighbors were farther away, providing evidence that water was a resource for which plants were competing. This conclusion is reinforced by the finding that the effects of neighbors were stronger in drought years, suggesting that yearly variation in the availability of an important resource (water) can affect the strength of competitive interactions. This suggests that after disturbances, when some resources are apparently abundant on a large scale, competition may be important in determining the small scale patterns of seedling growth and survival.     

Resprouting in the Mediterranean‐type shrub Erica australis afffected by soil resource availability

Abstract. Soil resource availability may affect plant regeneration by resprouting in disturbed environments directly, by affecting plant growth rates, or indirectly by determining allocation to storage in the resprouting organs. Allocation to storage may be higher in stressful, low resource‐supply soils, but under such conditions plant growth rates may be lower. These factors could act in opposite directions leading to poorly known effects on resprouting. This paper analyses the role played by soil resources in the production and growth of resprouts after removal of above‐ground plant tissues in the Mediterranean shrub Erica australis. At 13 sites, differing in substrate, we cut the base of the stems of six plants of E. australis and allowed them to resprout and grow for two years. Soils were chemically analysed and plant water potential measured during the summer at all sites to characterize soil resource availability. We used stepwise regression analysis to determine the relationships between the resprouting response [mean site values of the number of resprouts (RN), maximum length (RML) and biomass (RB)] and soil nutrient content and plant water potential at each site. During the first two years of resprouting there were statistically significant differences among sites in the variables characterizing the resprouting response. RML was always different among sites and had little relationship with lignotuber area. RN was less different among sites and was always positively correlated with lignotuber area. RB was different among sites after the two years of growth. During the first months of resprouting, RN and RML were highly and positively related to the water status of the plant during summer. At later dates soil fertility variables came into play, explaining significant amounts of variance of the resprouting variables. Soil extractable cations content was the main variable accounting for RML and RB. Our results indicate that resprout growth of E. australis is positively affected by high water availability at the beginning of the resprouting response and negatively so by high soil extractable cation content at later periods. Some of these factors had previously shown to be related, with an opposite sign, to the development of a relatively larger lignotuber. Indeed, RML and RB measured in the second year of resprouting were significantly and negatively correlated with some indices of biomass allocation to the lignotuber at each site. This indicates that sites favouring allocation to the resprouting organ may not favour resprout growth.     

Fire history of an isolated subalpine mountain range of the Intermountain Region,United States

Fire has historically been an important ecological component of forests in the Intermountain Region of the northwestern United States. This study is set in a small biogeographically disjunct mountain range. Our research objectives were to (1) investigate the historical frequency, severity, size, and spatial pattern of fire; (2) determine if and how fire regimes have changed since Euro-American settlement; and (3) compare how fire regimes of a small isolated range compare to nearby, but considerably larger, mountain agglomerations. Our findings suggest that this mountain range has historically supported fires typified by small size and high frequency, resulting in a high degree of spatial pattern complexity compared to mountain agglomerations. We also found disparity in size and burn severity solely within the study area based on the bisecting Continental Divide. Since the advent of Euro-American settlement in the 1870s, fire frequency and sizes of individual fires in the West Big Hole Range have significantly decreased resulting in an estimated 87% reduction in area burned. We discuss potential relationships of mountain range isolation and fire regimes in the Intermountain Region. Furthermore, we suggest that the relative small size of this mountain range predisposes it to greater anthropogenic effects upon fire occurrence.     

The influence of fire on the phenological behaviour of Mediterranean plant species in Bas-Languedoc (southern France)

Fire is an ancient ecological factor influencing the Mediterranean vegetation of southern France. The study was carried out on three areas to determine the phenological behaviour of plants with regard to fire. First we studied the flowering responses of perennials in relation to the time since fire: in a Quercus coccifera garrigue most species flower during the year following burning. In comparing species by species between burned and unburned areas most species did not show major differences in the phenological stages. However, fire did increase the number of inflorescences of grasses. A phenological synthesis showed that differences at the community level existed for the flowering stages between the burned areas and the unburned control sites during the first and second years following fire. The growth of some woody species was also studied; the elongation and growth of the plants were biggest during the first or second year after fire. The lack of differences in phenological response between burned and unburned plants may be an adaptive trait to fire.     

Primary production and accumulation of nutrients by the ground layer community of cerrado vegetation of central Brazil

Summary Net aerial primary production and accumulation of nutrients by the grasses and nongrasses of the ground layer community of a cerrado vegetation in central Brazil were determined in burnt and unburnt areas. The net aerial primary production of the ground layer community was 327 gm^–2 in the unburnt area and only 242 gm^–2 in the burnt area during the first year after fire. Grasses contributed 68 to 78% of the aerial biomass of the ground layer in the unburnt area. The live biomass in the burnt and unburnt areas was comparable by the end of the first dry period after the fire. The major part of N, P and K in the aerial biomass was in the grasses. The concentration of all nutrients in the aerial biomass was generally higher in the burnt area during the first year after the fire.     

Natural disturbance and treefalls in a pine-oak forest on the Peninsula of Baja California,Mexico

The magnitude of natural disturbances by treefalls and their spatial occurrence were studied in a pine-oak forest of Sierra de La Laguna, located at the southern part of the Peninsula of Baja California in Mexico.Twenty transects covering 4 ha, perpendicular to north- and south-facing slopes were sampled. The percentages of rocky outcrops, slope, orientation, and gap size created by treefalls were recorded. The mode of tree death, treefall direction, trunk length, and basal diameter were also measured. Data were analyzed using principal component analysis, one-way ANOVA, multiple comparison tests by contrasts, and chi-square independence tests.Results suggest that exogenous disturbances have an important effect in this community. A mean number of 80 gaps per ha was recorded comprising 18.1% of the observed area. Gap sizes were fitted to a lognormal distribution as 2.3±1.4 and patches were found to be created by single treefalls. Analysis of dead material shows that there are significant differences between numbers of fallen trees on N vs S facing slopes, and that forms of dead trees are significantly associated with species. Snapped trees represent 39.5% of treefalls, dead standing trees 26.4%, uprooted trees 20.5% and cut-down trees 0.9%. The frequency of occurrence of various forms of the dead trees suggests that the cause of mortality is primarily due to the high incidence of tropical hurricanes, and secondly to the combined effect of wind and natural fire which occurs during the rainy summer season.     

The effects of date of planting on field establishment of serotinous cape Proteaceae

Season of fire have marked effects on the germination and establishment of serotinous shrubs of the family Proteaceae in fynbos vegetation. To investigate reasons for this, we simulated the effects of different fire seasons by planting seeds into cleared fynbos and then followed their progress. Four species of Proteaceae were planted monthly at four sites over two and a half years. Exclosures were used to exclude rodent seed predators. Germination was confined largely to the three winter months (June–Aug.). Seeds planted from January–June had higher germination than those planted in the second half of the year. Higher levels of regeneration noted after fires in the first half of the year, were previously hypothesised to be results of predation. However, we obtained similar results despite the exclusion of seed predators. Monthly minimum temperature was strongly correlated with germination percentage but monthly rainfall was not. Loss of seed viability may be important, in determining post-fire seedling densities. Differential seedling mortality of earlier and late germinants appears to be unimportant in determining establishment levels. Our results nevertheless support the current practice of restricting management fires in fynbos to the summer-autumn period.     

Loss of aboveground forest biomass and landscape biomass variability in Missouri,US

Disturbance regimes and forests have changed over time in the eastern United States. We examined effects of historical disturbance (circa 1813 to 1850) compared to current disturbance (circa 2004 to 2008) on aboveground, live tree biomass (for trees with diameters ≥13 cm) and landscape variation of biomass in forests of the Ozarks and Plains landscapes in Missouri, USA. We simulated 10,000 one-hectare plots using random diameters generated from parameters of diameter distributions limited to diameters ≥13 cm and random densities generated from density estimates. Area-weighted mean biomass density (Mg/ha) for historical forests averaged 116 Mg/ha, ranging from 54 Mg/ha to 357 Mg/ha by small scale ecological subsections within Missouri landscapes. Area-weighted mean biomass density for current forests averaged 82 Mg/ha, ranging from 66 Mg/ha to 144 Mg/ha by ecological subsection for currently forested land. Biomass density of current forest was greater than historical biomass density for only 2 of 23 ecological subsections. Current carbon sequestration of 292 TgC on 7 million ha of forested land is less than half of the estimated historical total carbon sequestration of 693 TgC on 12 million ha. Cumulative tree cutting disturbances over time have produced forests that have less aboveground tree biomass and are uniform in biomass compared to estimates of historical biomass, which varied across Missouri landscapes. With continued relatively low rates of forest disturbance, current biomass per ha will likely increase to historical levels as the most competitive trees become larger in size and mean number of trees per ha decreases due to competition and self-thinning. Restoration of large diameter structure and forested extent of upland woodlands and floodplain forests could fulfill multiple conservation objectives, including carbon sequestration.     

Structural diversity indices based on airborne LiDAR as ecological indicators for managing highly dynamic landscapes

An objective, quantifiable index of structural biodiversity that could be rapidly obtained with reduced or no field effort is essential for the use of structure as universal ecological indicator for ecosystem management. Active remote sensing provides a rapid assessment tool to potentially guide land managers in highly dynamic and spatially complex landscapes. These landscapes are often dependent on frequent disturbance regimes and characterized by high endemism.We propose a modified Shannon–Wiener Index and modified Evenness Index as stand structural complexity indices for surrogates of ecosystem health. These structural indices are validated at Tall Timbers Research Station the site of one of the longest running fire ecology studies in southeastern U.S. This site is dominated by highly dynamic pine-grassland woodlands maintained with frequent fire. Once the dominant ecosystem in the Southeast, this woodland complex has been cleared for agriculture or converted to other cover types, and depends on a frequent (1- to 3-year fire return interval) low- to moderate-intensity fire regime to prevent succession to mixed hardwood forests and maintain understory species diversity. Structural evaluation of the impact of multiple disturbance regimes included height profiles and derived metrics for five different fire interval treatments; 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, mixed fire frequency (a combination of 2- and 4-year fire returns), and fire exclusion. The 3-dimensional spatial arrangement of structural elements was used to assess hardwood encroachment and changes in structural complexity. In agreement with other research, 3-year fire return interval was considered to be the best fire interval treatment for maintaining the pine-grassland woodlands, because canopy cover and vertical diversity indices were shown to be statistically higher in fire excluded and less frequently burned plots than in 1- and 2-year fire interval treatments. We developed a LiDAR-derived structural diversity index, LHDI, and propose that an ecosystem-specific threshold target for management intervention can be developed, based on significant shifts in structure and composition using this new index.Structural diversity indices can be valuable surrogates of ecosystem biodiversity, and ecosystem-specific target values can be developed as objective quantifiable goals for conservation and ecosystem integrity, particularly in remote areas.     

Effect of high temperatures and ash on germination of ten species from gorse shrubland

Seeds of ten species of Cistaceae, Ericaceae and Poaceae were examinated to compare their responses to high temperatures and ash, simulating the direct effect of fire on germination. A variable response to these factors between families and within species from the same family was detected.In Cistaceae, heat treatment pre-sowing stimulated germination. In Ericaceae, germination was stimulated by thermic shock, but a wide range of response was detected (between all four species), from Erica ciliari, very sensitive, to Daboecia cantabrica and Calluna vulgaris which showed no significant response. The range of reaction shown by the species of this family suggest that the size of the seeds is directly related to the difference in response, at least in species with a similar structure. In Poaceae, germination was not found to be dependent upon thermic shock.The effect of ash varies in magnitude. Although it decreased the germination percentage in all species, in Avenula marginata (Poaceae) the effect was not statistically significant, whilst in Ericaceae, particularly in those showing the highest levels of germination in the control (C. vulgaris and E. umbellata), the effect is to inhibit germination completely. In respect to the effect of ash the families could be arranged in the order Ericaceae>Cistaceae>Poaceae.Complex interactions between various dormancy types and seed size could explain these results. In species which depend on physical dormancy temperature has an important role. When other dormancy type is dominant in the control of germination, the medium characteristics could have a relevant role on seed response. In addition, the seed-size could determine the threshold of tolerance to temperature.