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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30077
Title: | Mechanisms behind persistence of a fire-sensitive alternative stable state system in the Gibson Desert, Western Australia | Contributor(s): | Wright, Boyd (author) ; Albrecht, David E (author); Silcock, Jennifer L (author); Hunter, John (author) ; Fensham, Roderick J (author) | Publication Date: | 2019-08-01 | DOI: | 10.1007/s00442-019-04474-1 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30077 | Abstract: | Alternative vegetation types that switch from one to another under contrasting fire regimes are termed fire-mediated alternative stable states (FMASS). Typically, pyrophylic communities (i.e., vegetation assemblages favored by burning) dominate under high frequencies or intensities of fire. Conversely, fire-sensitive (pyrophobic) vegetation types persist under long fire-free conditions. As the persistence traits of plants of FMASS systems are generally poorly researched, threshold levels of pyric disturbance that trigger ‘state-switching’ are often unknown. Dense thickets of the obligate-seeder shrub waputi (Aluta maisonneuvei ssp. maisonneuvei [Myrtaceae]) form fire-retarding woody islands within highly flammable spinifex (Triodia spp.) grasslands in arid Australia. To examine the tolerance of Aluta thickets to burning, we investigated: (1) the influence of post-fire rainfall and fire severity on recruitment (a field study); (2) soil seedbank densities (a field study); and (3) fire-related dormancy cues in seeds (a germination trial). We found a positive relationship between recruitment and post-fire rainfall volume, and much higher mean recruitment at sites with high- (5.9 seedlings/m2) than low-severity-burnt (2.2 seedlings/m2) and unburnt shrubs (0.03 seedlings/m2). Post-fire regeneration was mediated by dense soil-borne seedbanks, and the germination trial indicated that smoke promoted germination. Although Aluta shrubs are invariably fire-killed, high-severity fires are unlikely to lead to state shifts from shrubland to grassland because of the ability of mature stands to regenerate from dense, fire-cued seedbanks. Nevertheless, given that Aluta seedlings are exceptionally slow-growing, post-fire droughts combined with fire-return intervals less than the Aluta primary juvenile period of c. 5 years could drive conversion from Aluta- to Triodia-dominated vegetation. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Oecologia, 191(1), p. 165-175 | Publisher: | Springer | Place of Publication: | Germany | ISSN: | 1432-1939 0029-8549 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 050205 Environmental Management | Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 410404 Environmental management | Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 960811 Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 180606 Terrestrial biodiversity | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Environmental and Rural Science |
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