Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/4937
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dc.contributor.authorWright, Boyden
dc.contributor.authorClarke, Peter Jen
dc.date.accessioned2010-03-09T15:37:00Z-
dc.date.issued2009-
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Vegetation Science, 20(4), p. 663-674en
dc.identifier.issn1654-1103en
dc.identifier.issn1100-9233en
dc.identifier.issn1104-7402en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/4937-
dc.description.abstractQuestions: The relationship between fire, aridity and seed banks is poorly understood in plant community ecology. We tested whether there was a close correspondence between the seed bank and standing vegetation composition with time-since-fire in a desert. We also examined whether longer-lived species showed seed limitation relative to more ephemeral species, as this could influence grass-woody ratios in a major biome. Location: Dune hummock grasslands/shrublands of central Australia. Methods: The effects of time-since-fire on floristic and functional group composition were examined by comparing plots unburned since 1984 against plots that had been burned in 2002. Three methods were used to quantify seed abundances: a germination trial using heat and smoke application, a flotation method, and a sieving method. Results: Seed bank densities were very low (<3000m⁻²). Species similarity between the seed bank and standing vegetation was high at sites recently burned (0.86) and low in sites long-since burned (0.52). The relative abundance of ephemeral species in the seed bank peaked in recently burned plots, but the relative abundance of seeds of woody species did not match the pattern of abundance in the standing vegetation. Remarkably, the dominant perennial grasses and woody species were either absent from the seed bank or present at extremely low abundances. Discussion: Differences in the relative abundance of ephemeral species between standing vegetation and seed bank relate to the post-fire succession process. The small soil pool of seed from woody species may be explained by allocation to belowground carbohydrate storage over seed production. Field observations suggest, however, that production of strongly dormant seed can be prolific and that high levels of seed predation make this system strongly seed-limited. The discovery of this seed bank syndrome indicates that shifts in grass-woody ratios can be driven by the juxtaposition of unpredictable seed rain and fire events in these desert dunes. However, estimates of grass-woody ratios due to changing fire regimes will be difficult to predict.en
dc.languageenen
dc.publisherOpulus Pressen
dc.relation.ispartofJournal of Vegetation Scienceen
dc.titleFire, aridity and seed banks: What does seed bank composition reveal about community processes in fire-prone desert?en
dc.typeJournal Articleen
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.01051.xen
dc.subject.keywordsTerrestrial Ecologyen
dc.subject.keywordsLandscape Ecologyen
local.contributor.firstnameBoyden
local.contributor.firstnamePeter Jen
local.subject.for2008060208 Terrestrial Ecologyen
local.subject.for2008050104 Landscape Ecologyen
local.subject.seo2008960805 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scalesen
local.profile.schoolSchool of Environmental and Rural Scienceen
local.profile.schoolSchool of Environmental and Rural Scienceen
local.profile.emailbwright4@une.edu.auen
local.profile.emailpclarke1@une.edu.auen
local.output.categoryC1en
local.record.placeauen
local.record.institutionUniversity of New Englanden
local.identifier.epublicationsrecordune-20100222-131831en
local.publisher.placeSwedenen
local.format.startpage663en
local.format.endpage674en
local.identifier.scopusid70249103517en
local.peerreviewedYesen
local.identifier.volume20en
local.identifier.issue4en
local.title.subtitleWhat does seed bank composition reveal about community processes in fire-prone desert?en
local.contributor.lastnameWrighten
local.contributor.lastnameClarkeen
dc.identifier.staffune-id:bwright4en
dc.identifier.staffune-id:pclarke1en
local.profile.orcid0000-0002-6322-4904en
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.identifier.unepublicationidune:5053en
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
local.title.maintitleFire, aridity and seed banksen
local.output.categorydescriptionC1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journalen
local.search.authorWright, Boyden
local.search.authorClarke, Peter Jen
local.uneassociationUnknownen
local.year.published2009en
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science
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