Effects of Fire Season and Soil Fertility on Clonal Growth in a Pyrophilic Forb, Pityopsis graminifolia (Asteraceae)

Brewer, J. Stephen; Platt, William

doi:10.2307/2445761

Cited by 35 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…In their foundational review and experimental study, Streng et al (1993) demonstrated a significant effect of fire season on the fruiting and flowering of almost all dominant grasses, including wiregrass; those burned during the growing season (April-August) exhibited significantly greater reproduction (Streng et al 1993). Reproductive success in Pityopsis graminifolia (Narrowleaf silkgrass) was greatest after May fires (Brewer and Platt 1994), and many other fall-flowering species such as those in the genera Stylosanthes and Liatris respond positively to growing season fires (Platt et al 1991). Moreover, seed production of the dominant grasses, including wiregrass, is greatest after fires occurring May-July (Rodriguez andBohn 2011, Shepherd et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reproductive response of an endemic bunchgrass indicates historical timing of a keystone process

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Restoration of the Pinus palustris (longleaf pine)-wiregrass ecosystem of the southeastern United States requires information on reference conditions such as the historical fire regime. Aristida beyrichiana (wiregrass), a keystone perennial bunchgrass, was historically widespread throughout the southeast, but its dependence upon growing season fires for sexual reproduction hastened its decline in the face of decades of human fire suppression. The reproductive response of wiregrass is described by patterns of meristem allocation between competing life history strategies (i.e., vegetative growth vs. sexual reproduction). The temporal link between fire and flowering indicates this allocation was optimized to the historical fire regime through selection. In this study, we used the observed allocation of wiregrass reproductive effort to sexual reproduction as the response variable to examine reproductive response to fire season, using plant size as a covariate. Sexual reproduction was positively associated with plant size. Plants burned during early summer (May-June) produced a greater proportion of inflorescences than did those burned in early spring (March-April) or in late summer (August). Using state records of natural (lightningignited) and anthropogenic (human-ignited) fires from historical (1933)(1934)(1935)(1936)(1937)(1938)(1939)(1940)(1941)(1942)(1943)(1944)(1945)(1946) and contemporary (1998-2010) periods we found that the distribution of maximum wiregrass reproductive output most closely reflected the distribution of historical fires with natural ignition sources. Moreover, while the monthly distributions of historical and contemporary fires were different for anthropogenic ignitions, they did not differ for fires with natural ignitions. Our predictions of peak allocation based upon the biology of wiregrass provide strong support for the use of wiregrass as an indicator of the historical fire season (early summer). Efforts to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem should therefore consider the biological response of wiregrass in planning prescribed fires.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reproductive response of an endemic bunchgrass indicates historical timing of a keystone process

et al. 2012

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“…During this period, significant variation in the frequency and season of lightning may have occurred. It is also assumed that indigenous people have not significantly influenced season of burn -or plant response to season of burn -in this ecosystem (Platt et al 1988;Brewer and Platt 1994b). In other ecosystems, humans have exerted significant control over fire regimes within time frames capable of influencing natural selection (Bird and Cali 1998;Loope and Anderton 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of fire regime on legume reproduction in longleaf pine savannas: is a season selective?

2000

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The biodiversity of fire-dependent ecosystems is increasingly threatened by habitat fragmentation and fire suppression. Reducing species loss requires that salient features of natural fire regimes be incorporated into managed regimes. Lightning-season burns have been emphasized as the critical component of disturbance regimes that maintain native biodiversity within endangered longleaf pine savannas, the most diverse plant community in North America. Over evolutionary time, lightning-season fire is thought to have exerted strong selection pressure on plant pollinator interaction, flower production, and seedling establishment. In this study, season of burn had no effect on pollination activity of native legumes. Contrary to the conventional paradigm, we found a wide range of reproductive responses among dominant legumes in response to the season of burn treatments, suggesting that a variable fire season, rather than a single season of burn, is appropriate to maintain a greater variety of native species. We propose that varying the components of fire regimes, rather than selecting a particular fire regime, is likely to be important to conserve biodiversity in this and other fire-dependent communities.

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“…Habitat data were also subjected to principal component analysis and canonical discriminant analysis. To present the relationship between habitat variables and seedling species graphically, an ordination of results obtained from the previous discriminant analysis was done (Brewer & Platt, 1994). Results from discriminant analysis were based on untransformed values of all dependent variables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seedling habitat structure in dry Chaco forest (Argentina)

Páez

Marco

2000

Journal of Arid Environments

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Effects of Fire Season and Soil Fertility on Clonal Growth in a Pyrophilic Forb, Pityopsis graminifolia (Asteraceae)

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

The reproductive response of an endemic bunchgrass indicates historical timing of a keystone process

The reproductive response of an endemic bunchgrass indicates historical timing of a keystone process

The effects of fire regime on legume reproduction in longleaf pine savannas: is a season selective?

Seedling habitat structure in dry Chaco forest (Argentina)

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