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Parra A, Pratt RB, Jacobsen AL, Chamorro D, Torres I, Moreno JM. Functional response and resistance to drought in seedlings of six shrub species with contrasting leaf traits from the Mediterranean Basin and California. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 43:1758-1771. [PMID: 37369036 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpad079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Extreme drought events during post-fire regeneration are becoming increasingly frequent in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Understanding how plants with different traits and origins respond to such conditions during early life stages is therefore critical for assessing the effect of climate change. Here, seedlings of three Cistus (semi-deciduous malacophylls from the Mediterranean Basin) and three Ceanothus (evergreen sclerophylls from California) species, two post-fire seeder genera with contrasting leaf traits, were subjected to complete water deprivation for 3 months in a common garden experiment. The leaf and plant structure and plant tissue water relations were characterized before the drought, and the functional responses (water availability, gas exchange and fluorescence) were monitored during the drought. Both genera exhibited contrasting leaf structure and tissue water relations traits, with higher leaf area and specific leaf area as well as higher osmotic potential at maximum turgor and turgor loss point in Cistus than Ceanothus. During drought, Ceanothus showed a more conservative use of water than Cistus, with a water potential less sensitive to decreasing soil moisture and a strong decline in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in response to water deficit, but also a level of fluorescence more responsive to drought than Cistus. However, we could not find a different degree of drought resistance between the genera. This was particularly clear between Cistus ladanifer L. and Ceanothus pauciflorus DC., the two most functionally contrasting species, but at the same time, the two most drought-resistant. Our findings demonstrate that species with different leaf traits and functional responses to water stress may not differ in their degree of drought resistance, at least during the seedling stage. This underlines the need to take general categorizations by genus or functional types with caution and to deepen our knowledge about the Mediterranean-type species ecophysiology, especially during early life stages, in order to anticipate their vulnerability to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Parra
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Av. Carlos III s/n, 45071 Toledo, Spain
| | - R Brandon Pratt
- Department of Biology, California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311, USA
| | - Anna L Jacobsen
- Department of Biology, California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311, USA
| | - Daniel Chamorro
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Av. Carlos III s/n, 45071 Toledo, Spain
| | - Iván Torres
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Av. Carlos III s/n, 45071 Toledo, Spain
| | - José M Moreno
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Av. Carlos III s/n, 45071 Toledo, Spain
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2
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Hopkins JR, Huffman JM, Jones NJ, Platt WJ, Sikes BA. Pyrophilic Plants Respond to Postfire Soil Conditions in a Frequently Burned Longleaf Pine Savanna. Am Nat 2023; 201:389-403. [PMID: 36848518 DOI: 10.1086/722569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
AbstractFire-plant feedbacks engineer recurrent fires in pyrophilic ecosystems like savannas. The mechanisms sustaining these feedbacks may be related to plant adaptations that trigger rapid responses to fire's effects on soil. Plants adapted for high fire frequencies should quickly regrow, flower, and produce seeds that mature rapidly and disperse postfire. We hypothesized that the offspring of such plants would germinate and grow rapidly, responding to fire-generated changes in soil nutrients and biota. We conducted an experiment using longleaf pine savanna plants that were paired on the basis of differences in reproduction and survival under annual ("more" pyrophilic) versus less frequent ("less" pyrophilic) fire regimes. Seeds were planted in different soil inoculations from experimental fires of varying severity. The more pyrophilic species displayed high germination rates followed by species-specific rapid growth responses to soil location and fire severity effects on soils. In contrast, the less pyrophilic species had lower germination rates that were not responsive to soil treatments. This suggests that rapid germination and growth constitute adaptations to frequent fires and that plants respond differently to fire severity effects on soil abiotic factors and microbes. Furthermore, variable plant responses to postfire soils may influence plant community diversity and fire-fuel feedbacks in pyrophilic ecosystems.
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van Blerk JJ, West AG, Altwegg R, Hoffman MT. Post-fire summer rainfall differentially affects reseeder and resprouter population recovery in fire-prone shrublands of South Africa. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 788:147699. [PMID: 34034189 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Summer rainfall can have strong effects on post-fire mediterranean-type shrubland recovery patterns, with potentially long-lasting implications on communities. Our three-year field rainfall manipulation experiment tested post-fire survival and physiological responses of reseeders and resprouters to contrasting summer rainfall patterns in Fynbos and Renosterveld shrublands in South Africa. Climate projections are uncertain for this region but indicate that increased convective summer rainfall events could occur. We irrigated treatment plots during the hottest summer months (i.e. Jan, Feb, March) to contrast the naturally dry summer conditions. This allowed for assessments of the potential limiting effects of summer drought on post-fire vegetation recovery and the responsiveness of vegetation to moisture inputs during this time. Natural summer droughts led to leaf dehydration, reduced photosynthesis and reduced photosynthetic capacity. This had a particularly severe effect on reseeders during the first summer after fire leading to high mortality rates. Summer irrigations strongly reduced levels of reseeder stress and mortality. Resprouters in both vegetation types were physiologically less sensitive to rainfall patterns and showed little drought-related mortality. Comparisons of final population sizes with emergence and survival patterns showed that summer rainfall during the first summer after fire had the potential to strongly alter reseeder population sizes. The physiological sensitivity of plants to summer rainfall patterns was higher in shrubland communities occurring on fine-textured, moderately fertile soils (e.g. Renosterveld). Shrublands occurring on sandy, nutrient-poor soils (e.g. Fynbos) were remarkably insensitive to summer drought after the first summer with lower irrigation responses. Our study demonstrated the potential for variation in post-fire summer rainfall to strongly affect reseeder and resprouter population recovery patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J van Blerk
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
| | - A G West
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - R Altwegg
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - M T Hoffman
- Plant Conservation Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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Pedrotta T, Gobet E, Schwörer C, Beffa G, Butz C, Henne PD, Morales-Molino C, Pasta S, van Leeuwen JFN, Vogel H, Zwimpfer E, Anselmetti FS, Grosjean M, Tinner W. 8,000 years of climate, vegetation, fire and land-use dynamics in the thermo-mediterranean vegetation belt of northern Sardinia (Italy). VEGETATION HISTORY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY 2021; 30:789-813. [PMID: 34720442 PMCID: PMC8550162 DOI: 10.1007/s00334-021-00832-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge about the vegetation history of Sardinia, the second largest island of the Mediterranean, is scanty. Here, we present a new sedimentary record covering the past ~ 8,000 years from Lago di Baratz, north-west Sardinia. Vegetation and fire history are reconstructed by pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal analyses and environmental dynamics by high-resolution element geochemistry together with pigment analyses. During the period 8,100-7,500 cal bp, when seasonality was high and fire and erosion were frequent, Erica arborea and E. scoparia woodlands dominated the coastal landscape. Subsequently, between 7,500 and 5,500 cal bp, seasonality gradually declined and thermo-mediterranean woodlands with Pistacia and Quercus ilex partially replaced Erica communities under diminished incidence of fire. After 5,500 cal bp, evergreen oak forests expanded markedly, erosion declined and lake levels increased, likely in response to increasing (summer) moisture availability. Increased anthropogenic fire disturbance triggered shrubland expansions (e.g. Tamarix and Pistacia) around 5,000-4,500 cal bp. Subsequently around 4,000-3,500 cal bp evergreen oak-olive forests expanded massively when fire activity declined and lake productivity and anoxia reached Holocene maxima. Land-use activities during the past 4,000 years (since the Bronze Age) gradually disrupted coastal forests, but relict stands persisted under rather stable environmental conditions until ca. 200 cal bp, when agricultural activities intensified and Pinus and Eucalyptus were planted to stabilize the sand dunes. Pervasive prehistoric land-use activities since at least the Bronze Age Nuraghi period included the cultivation of Prunus, Olea europaea and Juglans regia after 3,500-3,300 cal bp, and Quercus suber after 2,500 cal bp. We conclude that restoring less flammable native Q. ilex and O. europaea forest communities would markedly reduce fire risk and erodibility compared to recent forest plantations with flammable non-native trees (e.g. Pinus, Eucalyptus) and xerophytic shrubland (e.g. Cistus, Erica).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiziana Pedrotta
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Erika Gobet
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Schwörer
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Giorgia Beffa
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Butz
- Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hallerstraße 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Paul D. Henne
- U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver Federal Center, MS 980, P.O. Box 25046, Denver, CO 80225 USA
| | - César Morales-Molino
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Salvatore Pasta
- Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), Division of Palermo, National Research Council (CNR), Corso Calatafimi, 414, 90129 Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hendrik Vogel
- Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Baltzerstraße 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Elias Zwimpfer
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Flavio S. Anselmetti
- Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Baltzerstraße 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martin Grosjean
- Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hallerstraße 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Willy Tinner
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
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Regeneration of Riparian and Maritime Pine Forests after a Large Wildfire on the Largest Public Forest of Portugal. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12040477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Eighty-six percent of the largest Portuguese public forest, Leiria National Forest (Mata Nacional de Leiria—MNL), central west, was burned in a wildfire in October 2017. Most of the area was covered by maritime pine stands (Pinus pinaster Aiton) crossed by riparian forests along small-sized streams. This work aims to characterize the post-fire vegetation and evaluate its natural regeneration. Sampling was carried out c. 6 months after the fire in 28 plots distributed at pine stands (3.5 × 3.5 m2) and in 24 plots (5 × 20 m2) at stream channels and riverbanks. These latter surveys were repeated in 2019. Data include the floristic composition and cover data of pine stands and streams, and the number of pine seedlings. Six months after the fire, 60% and 93% of the pre-fire species were observed at streams and pine stands, respectively. Fire severity was not related to differences in flora composition, nor with species richness. Pine seedlings were significantly more abundant in pine stands >60 years old compared to younger (<25 y) stands, but no significant differences were observed in the regeneration of understory. On riparian landscapes, the germination and resprouting of invasive exotic species, such as Acacia sp., created dense vegetation formations with decreased native plant diversity and altered the ecosystem structure. Following large wildfires, such as the one in MNL, managers should prioritize preserving the natural regeneration potential in the soil and aerial seed banks.
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Physiological and Regenerative Plant Traits Explain Vegetation Regeneration under Different Severity Levels in Mediterranean Fire-Prone Ecosystems. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12020149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
In Mediterranean fire-prone ecosystems, plant functional traits and burn severity have decisive roles in post-fire vegetation recovery. These traits may reflect plant fitness to fire regimes in the Mediterranean Basin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of burn severity on post-fire vegetation regeneration through plant functional (physiological and regenerative) traits in two Mediterranean ecosystems: one more humid and colder (Cabrera in León province, NW Spain), and another characterized by a longer summer drought (Gátova in Valencia province, SE Spain). A total of 384 and 80 field plots (2 m × 2 m) were fixed in Cabrera and Gátova, respectively. In each burned plot, we quantified burn severity by means of the composite burn index (CBI), differentiating three severity levels (low, moderate, and high), and evaluated post-fire vegetation regeneration one and two years after wildfires. We measured the percentage cover of each species and classified them according to physiological (specific leaf area and N2-fixing capacity) and regenerative traits (reproductive strategy, bud bank location, and heat-stimulated germination). The main results showed that in Cabrera, burn severity had significant effects on vegetation cover independently of plant functional traits. In Gátova, burn severity effects differed among functional traits. In this site, the cover of plants with low specific leaf area and without heat-stimulation and N2-fixing capacity was negatively related to burn severity. On the contrary, the cover of N2-fixers and species with resprouting ability and heat-stimulated germination rose with increasing burn severity. In general, vegetation cover showed a more pronounced increased over time in the more humid area, mainly under the effect of high severity. The results of this research highlighted the importance of the use of plant functional traits as a driver to understand the response of different ecosystems to current fire regimes, which could be relevant for pre- and post-fire management.
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Hinojosa MB, Laudicina VA, Parra A, Albert-Belda E, Moreno JM. Drought and its legacy modulate the post-fire recovery of soil functionality and microbial community structure in a Mediterranean shrubland. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1409-1427. [PMID: 30681232 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The effects of drought on soil dynamics after fire are poorly known, particularly its long-term (i.e., years) legacy effects once rainfall returns to normal. Understanding this is particularly important for nutrient-poor soils in semi-arid regions affected by fire, in which rainfall is projected to decrease with climate change. Here, we studied the effects of post-fire drought and its legacy on soil microbial community structure and functionality in a Cistus-Erica shrubland (Spain). Rainfall total and patterns were experimentally modified to produce an unburned control (natural rainfall) and four burned treatments: control (natural rainfall), historical control (long-term average rainfall), moderate drought (percentile 8 historical rainfall, 5 months of drought per year), and severe drought (percentile 2, 7 months of drought). Soil nutrients and microbial community composition (ester-linked fatty acid approach) and functionality (enzyme activities and C mineralization rate) were monitored during the first 4 years after fire under rainfall treatments, plus two additional ones without them (six post-fire years). We found that the recovery of burned soils was lower under drought. Post-fire drought increased nitrate in the short term and reduced available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, soil organic matter, enzyme activities, and carbon mineralization rate. Moreover, drought decreased soil total microbial biomass and fungi, with bacteria becoming relatively more abundant. Two years after discontinuing the drought treatments, the drought legacy was significant for available phosphorus and enzyme activities. Although microbial biomass did not show any drought legacy effect, the proportion of fungi and bacteria (mainly gram-positive) did, being lower and higher, respectively, in former drought-treated plots. We show that drought has an important impact on soil processes, and that some of its effects persist for at least 2 years after the drought ended. Therefore, drought and its legacy effects can be important for modeling biogeochemical processes in burned soils under future climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Belén Hinojosa
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, Toledo, Spain
| | - Vito Armando Laudicina
- Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Parra
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, Toledo, Spain
| | - Enrique Albert-Belda
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, Toledo, Spain
| | - José Manuel Moreno
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, Toledo, Spain
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Ehmig M, Coiro M, Linder HP. Ecophysiological strategy switch through development in heteroblastic species of mediterranean ecosystems - an example in the African Restionaceae. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2019; 123:611-623. [PMID: 30475945 PMCID: PMC6417474 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcy194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Heteroblasty is a non-reversible morphological change associated with life stage change and has been linked to predictable environmental variation. It is present in several clades from mediterranean-type climates, such as African Restionaceae (restios). These have heteroblastic shoots: juvenile shoots are thin, branched and sterile (sterile shoots); adult shoots are thicker and less branched, and bear inflorescences (reproductive shoots). Ten per cent of the restios retain juvenile-like, sterile shoots as adults (neoteny). We hypothesize (1) that the two shoot types differ in ecophysiological attributes, and (2) that these shoot types (and the neoteny) are associated with different environments. METHODS We measured shoot mass per surface area (SMA), maximum photosynthetic capacity per biomass (Amass) and chlorenchyma to ground tissue ratio (CGR) of both shoot types in 14 restio species. We also calculated environmental niche overlap between neotenous and non-neotenous species using an improved multidimensional overlap function based on occurrence data, and linked shoot types with environments using a phylogenetic generalized linear model. KEY RESULTS Sterile shoots showed higher Amass, lower SMA and higher CGR than reproductive shoots. Neotenous and non-neotenous species overlapped ecologically less than expected by chance: neotenous species favoured more mesic, non-seasonal conditions. CONCLUSIONS We associate sterile shoot morphology with acquisitive ecophysiological strategies and reproductive shoots with conservative strategies. The heteroblastic switch optimizes carbon efficiency in the juvenile phase (by sterile shoots) in the mesic post-fire conditions. The adult shoots present a compromise between a more conservative strategy favourable under harsher conditions and reproductive success. Heteroblasty in seasonally arid, oligotrophic ecosystems with predictable, fire-driven shifts in water and nutrient availability might play a role in the success of restios and other species-rich lineages in mediterranean-type ecosystems. It may represent a previously unrecognized adaptation in mediterranean clades sharing similar conditions, contributing to their ecological and taxonomic dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merten Ehmig
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mario Coiro
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - H Peter Linder
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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9
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Dannenmann M, Díaz-Pinés E, Kitzler B, Karhu K, Tejedor J, Ambus P, Parra A, Sánchez-Martin L, Resco V, Ramírez DA, Povoas-Guimaraes L, Willibald G, Gasche R, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Kraus D, Castaldi S, Vallejo A, Rubio A, Moreno JM, Butterbach-Bahl K. Postfire nitrogen balance of Mediterranean shrublands: Direct combustion losses versus gaseous and leaching losses from the postfire soil mineral nitrogen flush. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:4505-4520. [PMID: 29995346 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Fire is a major factor controlling global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. While direct C and N losses caused by combustion have been comparably well established, important knowledge gaps remain on postfire N losses. Here, we quantified both direct C and N combustion losses as well as postfire gaseous losses (N2 O, NO and N2 ) and N leaching after a high-intensity experimental fire in an old shrubland in central Spain. Combustion losses of C and N were 9.4 Mg C/ha and 129 kg N/ha, respectively, representing 66% and 58% of initial aboveground vegetation and litter stocks. Moreover, fire strongly increased soil mineral N concentrations by several magnitudes to a maximum of 44 kg N/ha 2 months after the fire, with N largely originating from dead soil microbes. Postfire soil emissions increased from 5.4 to 10.1 kg N ha-1 year-1 for N2 , from 1.1 to 1.9 kg N ha-1 year-1 for NO and from 0.05 to 0.2 kg N ha-1 year-1 for N2 O. Maximal leaching losses occurred 2 months after peak soil mineral N concentrations, but remained with 0.1 kg N ha-1 year-1 of minor importance for the postfire N mass balance. 15 N stable isotope labelling revealed that 33% of the mineral N produced by fire was incorporated in stable soil N pools, while the remainder was lost. Overall, our work reveals significant postfire N losses dominated by emissions of N2 that need to be considered when assessing fire effects on ecosystem N cycling and mass balance. We propose indirect N gas emissions factors for the first postfire year, equalling to 7.7% (N2 -N), 2.7% (NO-N) and 5.0% (N2 O-N) of the direct fire combustion losses of the respective N gas species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Dannenmann
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Eugenio Díaz-Pinés
- Institute of Soil Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Kitzler
- Institute for Forest Ecology and Soils, Federal Research Centre for Forests, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kristiina Karhu
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Javier Tejedor
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- SoWa RI, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Per Ambus
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Antonio Parra
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain
| | | | - Victor Resco
- Centro de Investigación del Fuego, Toledo, Spain
- Department of Crop and Forest Sciences and AGROTECNIO Centre, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, Spain
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China
| | - David A Ramírez
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain
- International Potato Center, Lima, Peru
- Gansu Key Laboratories of Arid and Crop Science, Crop Genetic and Germplasm Enhancement, Agronomy College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
| | | | - Georg Willibald
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Rainer Gasche
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | | | - David Kraus
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Simona Castaldi
- Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanivitelli, DISTABIF, Caserta, Italy
- Far East Federal University (FEFU), Vladivostok, Russky Island, Russia
| | - Antonio Vallejo
- Departamento de Química y Tecnología de Alimentos, UPM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Agustín Rubio
- Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jose M Moreno
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain
- Centro de Investigación del Fuego, Toledo, Spain
| | - Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
- Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
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10
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Refsland T, Fraterrigo J. Fire increases drought vulnerability of
Quercus alba
juveniles by altering forest microclimate and nitrogen availability. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tyler Refsland
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation BiologyUniversity of Illinois Urbana Illinois
| | - Jennifer Fraterrigo
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation BiologyUniversity of Illinois Urbana Illinois
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois Urbana Illinois
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11
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Torres I, Parra A, Moreno JM, Durka W. No genetic adaptation of the Mediterranean keystone shrub Cistus ladanifer in response to experimental fire and extreme drought. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0199119. [PMID: 29924833 PMCID: PMC6010289 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In Mediterranean ecosystems, climate change is projected to increase fire danger and summer drought, thus reducing post-fire recruitment of obligate seeder species, and possibly affecting the population genetic structure. We performed a genome-wide genetic marker study, using AFLP markers, on individuals from one Central Spain population of the obligate post-fire seeder Cistus ladanifer L. that established after experimental fire and survived during four subsequent years under simulated drought implemented with a rainout shelter system. We explored the effects of the treatments on marker diversity, spatial genetic structure and presence of outlier loci suggestive of selection. We found no effect of fire or drought on any of the genetic diversity metrics. Analysis of Molecular Variance showed very low genetic differentiation among treatments. Neither fire nor drought altered the small-scale spatial genetic structure of the population. Only one locus was significantly associated with the fire treatment, but inconsistently across outlier detection methods. Neither fire nor drought are likely to affect the genetic makeup of emerging C. ladanifer, despite reduced recruitment caused by drought. The lack of genetic change suggests that reduced recruitment is a random, non-selective process with no genome-wide consequences on this keystone, drought- and fire tolerant Mediterranean species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván Torres
- Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Toledo, Spain
| | - Antonio Parra
- Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Toledo, Spain
| | - José M. Moreno
- Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Toledo, Spain
| | - Walter Durka
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, Department of Community Ecology, Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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Parra A, Moreno JM. Drought differentially affects the post-fire dynamics of seeders and resprouters in a Mediterranean shrubland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 626:1219-1229. [PMID: 29898529 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Revised: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In fire-prone ecosystems, changes in rainfall after fire could differentially affect seeders and resprouters, thus leading to long-lasting impacts on the vegetation. Climate change in the Mediterranean region is projected to reduce precipitation, expand the summer drought and increase fire danger. Understanding the sensitivity to changes in rainfall during the post-fire regeneration stage is critical to anticipate the impacts of climate change on Mediterranean-type areas of the world. Here, we investigated how species differing in post-fire regeneration strategy (seeders vs resprouters) responded to rainfall changes in a Cistus-Erica shrubland of central Spain. Drought treatments were implemented using a system of automatic rainout shelters with an irrigation facility before (one season) and after (four years) burning a set of experimental plots. Treatments applied were: environmental control (natural rainfall), historical control (mimicking the long-term rainfall), moderate drought (-25% rainfall), and severe drought (-45% rainfall). Plant demography and vigour (main woody shrubs), as well as abundance (shrubs and herbs) were monitored during the first four years after fire. The first post-fire year was the key period for the recovery of seeders (Cistus ladanifer and Rosmarinus officinalis), and their recruitment, cover and size significantly decreased with drought. However, density four years after fire was larger than unburned and it was significantly correlated with emergence during the first year, indicating that population controls were more on emergence than on establishment. In contrast, resprouters (Erica arborea, Erica scoparia and Phillyrea angustifolia) were hardly affected by drought. Plant community dynamics in the burned control plots progressively converged with the unburned ones, while that in the drought-treated plots lagged behind them, maintaining a higher cover, richness and diversity of herbs. This post-fire "herbalization" due to drought might facilitate an untimely fire, before seeders would reach sexual maturity, which could have major implications for the maintenance of the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Parra
- Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, E-45071 Toledo, Spain.
| | - José M Moreno
- Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, E-45071 Toledo, Spain.
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Karavani A, Boer MM, Baudena M, Colinas C, Díaz-Sierra R, Pemán J, de Luis M, Enríquez-de-Salamanca Á, Resco de Dios V. Fire-induced deforestation in drought-prone Mediterranean forests: drivers and unknowns from leaves to communities. ECOL MONOGR 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asaf Karavani
- Master Course Mediterranean Forestry and Natural Resources Management; Universitat de Lleida; E25198 Lleida Spain
| | - Matthias M. Boer
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment; Western Sydney University; Richmond New South Wales 2753 Australia
| | - Mara Baudena
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science Group; Utrecht University; P.O. Box 80115 3508 TC Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Carlos Colinas
- Department of Crop and Forest Sciences-AGROTECNIO Center; Universitat de Lleida; E 25198 Lleida Spain
| | - Rubén Díaz-Sierra
- Mathematical and Fluid Physics Department; Faculty of Sciences; Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia; Madrid 28040 Spain
| | - Jesús Pemán
- Department of Crop and Forest Sciences-AGROTECNIO Center; Universitat de Lleida; E 25198 Lleida Spain
| | - Martín de Luis
- Department of Geography and Regional Planning; University of Zaragoza; 50009 Zaragoza Spain
| | - Álvaro Enríquez-de-Salamanca
- Mathematical and Fluid Physics Department; Faculty of Sciences; Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia; Madrid 28040 Spain
| | - Víctor Resco de Dios
- Department of Crop and Forest Sciences-AGROTECNIO Center; Universitat de Lleida; E 25198 Lleida Spain
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