INIBIOMA   20415
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN BIODIVERSIDAD Y MEDIOAMBIENTE
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Fire as stimulant of shrub recruitment in northwestern Patagonian (Argentina) grasslands.
Autor/es:
DUDINSZKY N. & L. GHERMANDI
Revista:
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Editorial:
SPRINGER TOKYO
Referencias:
Lugar: Tokyo; Año: 2013 vol. 28 p. 981 - 990
ISSN:
0912-3814
Resumen:
Abstract One strategy of plant survival during post-fire
succession is to persist and regenerate by recruiting new
individuals from a fire-resistant seed bank. The heat,
smoke, and charcoal released during plant combustion
may act (individually or in combination) as a cue for
post-fire seed germination. Fabiana imbricata is a shrub
that forms persistent seed banks in the northwestern
Patagonian grasslands and shows a high recruitment
from seeds during post-fire succession. Mathematical
models showed that this species is advancing over the
grasslands in response to fires. To corroborate these
findings, we studied the role of fire on F. imbricata seed
germination. In order to achieve this, a factorial experiment
was designed in laboratory conditions to study the
effect of heat, charcoal, smoke, scarification, and their
interactions on F. imbricata seed germination. Seeds
treated with the higher temperatures required a longer
period of time to germinate, thus, significantly affecting
the mean germination time. Total germination percentages
in F. imbricata were significantly enhanced by
smoke and scarification, but the interaction of heat,
smoke, and scarification was more important than the
effect of each fire factor alone. The positive response to
fire cues exhibited by F. imbricata indicates that this
species would have an adaptive advantage to colonize
these grasslands if fire frequency increased, as predicted
for this environment. Hence, fire will contribute to the
grassland encroachment by this species and, therefore,
to the loss of biodiversity and productivity of northwestern
Patagonian grassland