Synergistic interactions between leaf beetle herbivory and fire enhance tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) mortality |
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| Institution: | 1. Saint Francis University, 117 Evergreen Dr., Loretto, PA 15940, United States;2. University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, United States;3. U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Yosemite Field Station, El Portal Office, El Portal, CA 95318, United States;1. Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management, 008C Agricultural Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA;2. Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA;3. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Southern Institute of Forest Genetics, 23332 Success Rd., Saucier, MS 39574, USA;4. Forest Health Research and Education Center, 208 T.P. Cooper Hall, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA;5. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 607 Reserve St., Hot Springs, AR 71902, USA;1. Landcare Research, P.O. Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand;2. Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Manawatu Mail Centre, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand;3. Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand;4. Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;5. Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Bruce ACT 2617, Australia;6. Ministry of Primary Industries, Pastoral House, 25 The Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand;1. Key Laboratory of Eco-Enviroment-Related Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China;2. South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | The combined effects of herbivory and fire on plant mortality were investigated using prescribed burns of tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima Lebed) exposed to herbivory by the saltcedar leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae: Diorhabda carinulata Desbrocher). Tamarix stands in the Humboldt Sink (NV, USA) were divided into three treatments: summer burn (August 2006), fall burn (October 2006) and control (unburned), and litter depth was manipulated to vary fire intensity within burn seasons. A gradient of existing herbivory impact was described with three plant condition metrics prior to fire: reduced proportions of green canopy, percent root crown starch sampled at the height of the growing season (August 2006), and percent root crown starch measured during dormancy (December 2006). August root crown starch concentration and proportion green canopy were strongly correlated, although the proportion green canopy predicted mortality better than August root crown starch. December root crown starch concentration was more depleted in unburned trees and in trees burned during the summer than in fall burn trees. Mortality in summer burned trees was higher than fall burned trees due to higher fire intensity, but December root crown starch available for resprouting in the spring was also lower in summer burned trees. The greatest mortality was observed in trees with the lowest December root crown starch concentration which were exposed to high fire intensity. Disproportionate changes in the slope and curvature of prediction traces as fire intensity and December starch reach reciprocal maximum and minimum levels indicate that beetle herbivory and fire intensity are synergistic. |
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| Keywords: | Biological control Prescribed burning Synergism |
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