The effects of recent fire frequency and time-since-fire on plant community composition and species abundance in open-forest and woodland vegetation in Girraween National Park, south-east Queensland, Australia, were examined. Cover-abundance data were collected for shrub and vine species in at least 10 400-m(2) plots in each of four study areas. Study areas were within one community type and had burnt most recently either 4 or 9 years previously. Variations in fire frequency allowed us to compare areas that had burnt at least three times in the previous 25 years with less frequently burnt areas, and also woodlands that had experienced a 28-year interfire interval with more frequently burnt areas. Although species richness did not differ significantly with either time-since-fire or fire frequency, both these factors affected community composition, fire frequency being the more powerful. Moisture availability also influenced floristics. Of the 67 species found in five or more plots, six were significantly associated with time-since-fire, whereas 11 showed a significant difference between more and less frequently burnt plots in each of the two fire-frequency variables. Most species, however, did not vary in cover-abundance with the fire regime parameters examined. Even those species that showed a marked drop in cover-abundance when exposed to a particular fire regime generally maintained some presence in the community. Five species with the capacity to resprout after fire were considered potentially at risk of local extinction under regimes of frequent fire, whereas two species were relatively uncommon in long-unburnt areas. Variable fire regimes, which include interfire intervals of at least 15 years, could be necessary for the continuity of all species in the community.

/pdf/fire-frequency-and-time-since-fire-effects-on-the-open-3p4nuvmxz3.pdf

Fire frequency and time‐since‐fire effects on the open‐forest and woodland flora of Girraween National Park, south‐east Queensland, Australia

Fire is a globally distributed disturbance that impacts terrestrial ecosystems and has been proposed to be a global ''herbivore.'' Fire, like herbivory, is a top-down driver that converts organic materials into inorganic products, alters community structure, and acts as an evolutionary agent. Though grazing and fire may have some comparable effects in grasslands, they do not have similar impacts on species composition and community structure. However, the concept of fire as a global herbivore implies that fire and herbivory may have similar effects on plant functional traits. Using 22 years of data from a mesic, native tallgrass prairie with a long evolutionary history of fire and grazing, we tested if trait composition between grazed and burned grassland communities would converge, and if the degree of convergence depended on fire frequency. Additionally, we tested if eliminating fire from frequently burned grasslands would result in a state similar to unburned grasslands, and if adding fire into a previously unburned grassland would cause composition to become more similar to that of frequently burned grasslands. We found that grazing and burning once every four years showed the most convergence in traits, suggesting that these communities operate under similar deterministic assembly rules and that fire and herbivory are similar disturbances to grasslands at the trait-group level of organization. Three years after reversal of the fire treatment we found that fire reversal had different effects depending on treatment. The formerly unburned community that was then burned annually became more similar to the annually burned community in trait composition suggesting that function may be rapidly restored if fire is reintroduced. Conversely, after fire was removed from the annually burned community trait composition developed along a unique trajectory indicating hysteresis, or a time lag for structure and function to return following a change in this disturbance regime. We conclude that functional traits and species-based metrics should be considered when determining and evaluating goals for fire management in mesic grassland ecosystems.

/pdf/fire-and-grazing-in-a-mesic-tallgrass-prairie-impacts-on-1z89f4zqt4.pdf

Fire and grazing in a mesic tallgrass prairie: impacts on plant species and functional traits.

In seasonally dry regions of the world fire is a recurring disturbance but little is known of how fire interacts with granite outcrop vegetation. We hypothesize that the floristic composition in granite vegetation, usually attributed to the edaphic environment, may also reflect the impact of disturbances such as fire. Dramatic differences in floristic composition and cover over 13 years and two fires were observed in vegetation on a Western Australian granite outcrop. This was very marked in the first year following the two fires, with annuals and geophytes showing the greatest turnover of species. Even among the perennial shrubs there was considerable turnover in a number of obligate seeders. After the first fire the number of species declined for woody perennials, herbaceous perennials and annuals, remained unchanged for perennial grasses and sedges, and varied with highest richness 4 yr after fire for geophytes. Demographic studies of two endemic woody obligate seeders and three endemic mallee...

Impact of two wildfires on endemic granite outcrop vegetation in Western Australia

The recolonization of heathland habitats by small mammals after wildfire was examined in Nadgee Nature Reserve, south-eastern New South Wales. The first native small mammal to arrive was R. lutreolus. Thickets of tall vegetation were very important and these were colonized via a network of runways leading from one thicket to another. R. lutreolus were reproductively active at a lower body weight on previously empty (marginal) heathland habitats than in preferred habitats. After fire, abundance and species diversity of small mammals increased as habitats aged and grew in complexity. Survival was best on the most structurally complex habitats. Different requirements of habitat and water are suggested as the main reasons R. lutreolus were first to colonize heathland, rather than R. fuscrpes. It is also proposed that the lack of competition from Pseudomys spp. may cause R. lutreolus to switch from the usual 'late regeneration niche' to an 'early' one. Past studies have proposed the reduction in burning since European settlement as a cause of the decline in several pseudomyine species. This paper proposes that too frequent burning may have the same result.

Rattus-Lutreolus, Colonizer of Heathland After Fire in the Absence of Pseudomys Species

Cover and abundance of all understorey vascular plant species were studied on permanent plots on two areas (Maramingo and Reedy Creek) in the foothill forests of East Gippsland, eastern Victoria. The areas were harvested for sawlogs and pulpwood in 1976, and parts were burned to assist regeneration. Plots were assessed before harvesting and at intervals until 1980. Changes in total species composition were minimal, although there were many positive and negative changes in crown cover and abundance of individual species. Total cover of understorey vegetation was reduced initially but recovered well on both areas. By 1980, cover at Maramingo was slightly greater than the low levels before harvesting. Some species there were favoured by burning while others were not. At Reedy Creek the original dense understorey had not regenerated fully by 1980. Snig tracks had revegetated to 60% of original average cover but log landings were slower to revegetate. Introduced species were initially a very minor component of the vegetation on both areas: they remained so at Reedy Creek (confined mainly to tracks) but at Maramingo three species proliferated along with other small herbaceous plants.

Changes in the composition of understorey vegetation after harvesting eucalypts for sawlogs and pulpwood in East Gippsland

Changes in coastal heath vegetation were measured for 6 years following a wildfire and the data compared with the pre-fire vegetation. For the first 2 years changes were related to time; after that environmental factors dominated the process of regeneration. During the first 4 years plant species spread rapidly and maximum species diversity per plot was reached 4 years after the fire. About the same time many species consolidated their position in the community; this being shown by cover levels greater than before the fire for some species. Six years after the fire the vegetation is still dynamic and very different when compared with the heath before burning.

Succession following wildfire in coastal heathland (Nadgee Nature Reserve N.S.W.)

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Succession following wildfire in coastal heathland (Nadgee Nature Reserve N.S.W.)