Fire and herbivory shape belowground bud banks in a semi-arid African savanna

Bombo, Aline Bertolosi; Siebert, Frances; Fidelis, Alessandra

doi:10.2989/10220119.2021.1982004

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In the Cerrado, the below‐ground bud bank density responds directly to the below‐ground bud‐bearing organs' density. There is a tendency for a decrease in bud density related to the decrease in bud‐bearing organ densities (Bombo, Appezzato‐da‐Glória, & Fidelis, 2022; Bombo, Siebert, & Fidelis, 2022). This tendency can be explained by the fact that buds are connected to their parental plants, being tied to the longevity of the organ (Ott et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many ecosystems, such as South African savannas, North American prairies, and Brazilian southern Campos , the below‐ground bud bank plays key roles in plant community regeneration after disturbances (Benson & Hartnett, 2006; Fidelis et al, 2014; Scogings & Sankaran, 2020; Siebert et al, 2019; Bombo, Appezzato‐da‐Glória, & Fidelis, 2022; Bombo, Siebert, & Fidelis, 2022). In this context, our study reveals novelties regarding below‐ground bud bank dynamics in the Cerrado by analyzing differences in below‐ground bud bank size and densities of bud‐bearing organs throughout one annual cycle of rainy and dry seasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the knowledge that bud banks are vital for grassy ecosystem regeneration after disturbances, few studies addressed plant community responses by looking at the below‐ground perspective. Some studies pointed out that the exclusion of fire for longer periods may decrease below‐ground bud‐bearing organ diversity and bud density (Fidelis et al, 2014; Bombo, Appezzato‐da‐Glória, & Fidelis, 2022; Bombo, Siebert, & Fidelis, 2022) in most of the forb bud bank, which may affect the plant community's resilience. Although we know that resprouting from the below‐ground bud bank is one of the major regeneration strategies in tropical savannas, there is no information on how seasonality would affect the reserve of buds along the year, which in turn, could affect the regeneration potential of the vegetation after disturbance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonality affects the below‐ground bud bank dynamics of the Cerrado

Ferraro

Silva

Martins

et al. 2022

J Vegetation Science

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Question: How does seasonality affect the below-ground bud bank dynamics in open savannas from the Cerrado and the density of below-ground bud-bearing organs?As the Cerrado is subject to marked seasonality, many herbaceous plants may lose their above-ground biomass during the dry season, and regenerate it later in the rainy period through resprouting from below-ground buds. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that seasonality may directly affect bud bank dynamics and below-ground bud-bearing organs, with a larger bud bank size and higher densities of below-ground organs in the rainy season.Location: Open savannas of the Cerrado, southeastern Brazil. Methods:The bud bank was sampled in three open areas of the Cerrado. In each area, 10 plots were established, and, within each plot, the biomass was sampled to 10 cm below-ground level. In the lab, buds and below-ground organs were counted. We fitted generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to test the differences in the bud bank and the below-ground organ densities between the dry and rainy seasons. Results:The bud bank size was smaller in the dry season. Buds found in the dry season suggest they were developed in the rainy season and remained dormant, not forming new shoots. Non-woody rhizomes of caespitose grasses were more abundant during the rainy season. Xylopodia and woody rhizome densities were not significantly affected by seasonality.Conclusions: Bud bank dynamics in the Cerrado is affected by seasonality. There is a decrease in bud bank density in the dry season, suggesting that buds were developed into new branches in the rainy season, but not all of them develop into new shoots in the same season. Thus, the bud bank evaluated in the dry season probably is formed by an accumulation of dormant preformed buds, highlighting the occurrence of a resprouting dynamic of native species of the Cerrado in the rainy season.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonality affects the below‐ground bud bank dynamics of the Cerrado

Ferraro

Silva

Martins

et al. 2022

J Vegetation Science

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“…Endemics were predominantly perennial herbaceous plants with seasonal shoot reduction due to frost, fire, or herbivory. Most of the endemics were expected to have this life-form, as the herbaceous flora of southern African grassy biomes is renowned for their resprouting ability in response to severe endogenous disturbances (Bombo et al, 2022). Noteworthy is that only four of these herbaceous endemics were graminoids and the rest were forbs.…”

Section: Life-forms Among the Endemicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Limpopo–Mpumalanga–Eswatini Escarpment—Extra-Ordinary Endemic Plant Richness and Extinction Risk in a Summer Rainfall Montane Region of Southern Africa

Clark

Burrows²,

Turpin³

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Climatic, edaphic, and topographic differences between mountains and surrounding lowlands result in mountains acting as terrestrial islands with high levels of endemic biota. Conservation of mountains is thus key to successful biodiversity conservation. The Limpopo–Mpumalanga–Eswatini Escarpment (LMEE) in South Africa and the Kingdom of Eswatini is one of the largest components of southern Africa’s Great Escarpment. Despite botanical collecting effort over 150 years, there has never been a holistic and comprehensive synthesis of plant endemics data for the LMEE. For the first time, we define the LMEE as an orographic entity, covering 53,594 km2; it forms a contiguous highland area from the Pongola River in the south, north to the Woodbush area, and includes rugged western Eswatini. Using exhaustive literature mining, coupled with combined decades of fieldwork by the authors, and up-to-date taxonomic assessments of the 46 undescribed species, we provide the first robust list of plant endemics for the LMEE. The LMEE has 496 endemic plant taxa, comprising 10.7% of the provisional flora (4,657 taxa). This is more than double the endemic plant taxa in the Drakensberg Mountain Centre (DCM), and may be the richest concentration of montane endemics in southern Africa outside of the Core Greater Cape Floristic Region. Grassland hosts the largest number of endemics (74.2%), followed by Savanna (26.6%), then Forest (7.7%). Most endemics of conservation concern occur in Grassland (68.4%), in which one is Extinct and two are Extinct in the Wild. Evolutionary partitioning between Grassland, Savanna and Forest is suggested by low introgression of Biomes at family and genus level, and by a dominance of life-forms adapted to open habitats. High threat statuses for Grassland endemics can be attributed to the historical transformation of almost 20% of Grassland to forestry pre-1990, and ongoing degradation of primary Grassland. With conservation area coverage only 11.1% of the LMEE, the exceptional richness of the endemic flora—combined with major conservation threats—suggest that the LMEE should become a major focus of conservation effort between South Africa and Eswatini as a matter of urgency.

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“…The propagation system of plants consists of a bud bank and seed bank and together play a crucial role in the maintenance and regeneration of vegetation. The influence of environmental factors on the establishment and dynamics of bud bank becomes a hot research issue, including fire, moisture, soil conditions, light, and so on [27][28][29][30]. Benson et al studied the effects of two different fire frequencies on the bud banks in North American tallgrass prairie.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genotypic Diversity Affects Age Structure of Tiller and Rhizome of Leymus chinensis Population, But Not Age Structure of Bud

Zhou,

Xie,

Rong

et al. 2023

Phyton

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The effect of genotypic diversity on the age structure and bud bank of the Leymus chinensis population has not yet been demonstrated. This experiment was designed to study the age structure of the tiller, rhizome, and bud of L. chinensis at genotypic diversity levels of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12. A total of 64 communities were established in this experiment, following the principle of randomized block experimental design. The results indicated that genotypic diversity had a significant or obviously significant effect on the cumulative length of rhizomes of 2a and 4a, dry matter accumulation of rhizomes of 1a and 2a, tiller number of 1a, tiller productivity of 3a, but had no significant effect age structure of buds. As the levels of genotypic diversity increased, the proportion of the cumulative length of rhizomes with 4a decreased and then increased, and dry matter accumulation of rhizomes with 1a and 2a gradually increased while the number of tillers with 1a gradually decreased, when the gradient of genotypic diversity increased. At the 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 genotype diversity levels, the number of tillers, the cumulative length of rhizomes, and dry matter accumulation in rhizomes and buds were all age structures of expanding type. However, tiller productivity was an expanding or stable age structure at levels of 1, 2, 4, 8 genotypic diversity, while it was a declining age structure at the 12 genotype diversity gradient. An appropriate genotypic diversity is conducive to maintaining the growth and stability of the age structure of L. chinensis population, but too high a gradient of genotypic diversity can have a negative impact on the population age structure. This study provided that an appropriate number of genotypic diversity contributes to the stability of the population.

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Fire and herbivory shape belowground bud banks in a semi-arid African savanna

Cited by 11 publications

References 76 publications

Seasonality affects the below‐ground bud bank dynamics of the Cerrado

Seasonality affects the below‐ground bud bank dynamics of the Cerrado

The Limpopo–Mpumalanga–Eswatini Escarpment—Extra-Ordinary Endemic Plant Richness and Extinction Risk in a Summer Rainfall Montane Region of Southern Africa

Genotypic Diversity Affects Age Structure of Tiller and Rhizome of Leymus chinensis Population, But Not Age Structure of Bud

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