Comparative genet survival after fire in woody Mediterranean species |
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Authors: | Luis López-Soria Carles Castell |
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Institution: | (1) Department de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra Barcelona, Spain;(2) Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra Barcelona, Spain |
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Abstract: | Summary Using data from three fires in northeastern Spain, we tested a condition necessary to support the idea that fire has been
a factor in the evolution of the resprouting habit: populations of all resprouting species within a community should show
high levels of genet survival after fires and show a low coefficient of variation. Species with high mean survival values
were:Quercus ilex L.,Phillyrea latifolia L., andViburnum tinus L., with 88, 86 and 83% survival respectively; these groups had resprouts emerging from rootcrowns. Then followedArbutus unedo L. (75%),Pistacia lentiscus L. (73%),Erica arborea L. (77%),Erica multiflora L. (57%) andJuniperus oxycedrus L. (55%). This last group had resprouts from lignotubers or burls. These two groups also differed in the variability around
the mean: the first showed a lower coefficient of variation, 6–12, and the second ranged from 19 to 26. Slope exposure had
no significant influence on the process of resprouting, but soil depth did, with precipitation as a covariate. In the shallow
soil category, the difference in genet survival between southern and northern exposures was 14% (71% vs. 57%); while the difference
in the deep soil category was low, 5% (87% vs. 82%). There was no significant interaction. The component of variance for soils
was larger than that for species-specific effects; substantial overlap of the within-species variance indicated that species
responded as if they were a single hypothetical population, in which most of the variation in chances of survival was due
to the soil conditions. The possession of the resprouting habit did not ensure a high performance. Hence, we find weak support
for fire as a factor in the evolution of the resprouting habit. |
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Keywords: | Regenerative types Fire-adapted trait Resilience Evolutionary convergence Mediterranean climate |
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