No allocation trade-offs between flowering and sproutingin the lignotuberous,Mediterranean shrub Erica australis

Trade-offs between allocation to sexual or vegetative regeneration capacity are well established as a driving force in the life history patterns of plants in fire-prone environments. However, it is not known whether such trade-offs exist in plants which after aboveground removing disturbances, such as fire, may regenerate by sexual (seeding) or asexual (sprouting) mechanisms. We evaluated whether in the fire-recruiting resprouter Erica australis, which after fire can regenerate by seedling establishment or resprouting, a larger investment in flowers and seeds prior to being disturbed by clipping its aboveground parts would decrease subsequent sprouting, that is, its vegetative regeneration capacity. We analysed the relationships between flower and seed production and the ensuing production and growth of sprouts of six plants from thirteen different sites in central-western Spain. We found no significant relationships between measures of sexual reproductive effort and resprout production and growth 6 months after clipping the aboveground parts of the plants. No evidence of trade-offs between sexual and asexual efforts was found. Furthermore, no significant relationship was found between lignotuber total non-structural carbohydrates and sexual reproductive effort. In addition, 2 years after the disturbance, resprout biomass was positively and significantly correlated with sexual reproductive effort prior to the disturbance. This indicates that growth of resprouts was higher at the sites where plants made a greater reproductive effort. The sites that were more favourable to producing flowers and seeds could also be more favourable to resprouting.