Effects of sowing native herbaceous species on the post-fire recovery in a heathland |
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| Institution: | 1. John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, Berkeley, CA, USA;2. Department of Geography, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA;3. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA;4. Geos Institute, Ashland, OR, USA;5. Department of Geography, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA;6. Program in Ecology and Department of Geography, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA;1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA;2. Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA;3. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA;1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China;2. Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506–0225, USA;3. Department of Plant and Soil, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546–0312, USA |
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| Abstract: | Erica australis heathlands in León province (NW Spain) have high resilience to disturbances and their post-fire recovery is very fast. The risk of soil erosion is high in the first few months after fire. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects on post-fire succession of sowing grass (Agrostis capillaris and Festuca rubra) and legume (Lotus corniculatus) seeds in a heathland burned by a summer wildfire, and to determine the most suitable native herbaceous species combination for protecting the soil in the first few phases of recovery. Fifteen permanent 4 m2 plots are established in the burned area; four treatments and a control (unsown) are applied, each with three replicates. Three similar unburned plots are also considered (unburned control). Total cover is significantly higher in the sown plots in relation to the control in the first few months after sowing, but there are no differences after 18 months. Lotus corniculatus appears only in the first year and has no effect on the total cover. F. rubra appears earlier than Agrostis capillaris, but decreases significantly in cover after 18 months. Shrub species have the highest cover in the control plots and the lowest in the Agrostis plots. The correspondence analysis shows that the trend for vegetation in all plots reaches similar species composition by the time of final sampling. The last sampling of sown plots shows greater similarity to the control plots than the sampling of these plots within the first year. The fast initial growth of F. rubra, together with its decrease and subsequent low cover from the second year, make it more preferable than Agrostis capillaris for purposes of soil protection. However, additional research, both species- and site-specific, is necessary, as different responses due to different post-fire conditions and pre-fire species composition can have important implications on community dynamics. |
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