Drought, fire and grazing precursors to large‐scale pine forest decline

Connor, Simon; Araújo, João; Boski, Tomász; Gomes, Ana; Gomes, Sandra Domingues; Leira, Manel; Freitas, Maria da Conceição; Andrade, César; Morales‐Molino, César; Franco-Múgica, Fátima; Akindola, Rufus B.; Vannière, Boris

doi:10.1111/ddi.13261

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 113 publications

(195 reference statements)

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“…We found that post‐fire herbivory reduced plant species richness, diversity, and evenness and increased plant dominance measures. This was expected as foraging pressure by large herbivores has been shown to decrease diversity and increase species dominance in other ecosystems (Bakker et al, 2006 ; Connor et al, 2021 ; Tuft et al, 2012 ). This finding confirms that increased foraging pressure from large herbivores following a wildfire also results in a more depauperate vegetation community, consistent with previous studies of smaller prescribed/experimental burns (Foster et al, 2015 ; Parkins et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Post‐fire pickings: Large herbivores alter understory vegetation communities in a coastal eucalypt forest

Chard

Foster

Lindenmayer

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Fire and herbivores alter vegetation structure and function. Future fire activity is predicted to increase, and quantifying changes in vegetation communities arising from post‐fire herbivory is needed to better manage natural environments. We investigated the effects of post‐fire herbivory on understory plant communities in a coastal eucalypt forest in southeastern Australia. We quantified herbivore activity, understory plant diversity, and dominant plant morphology following a wildfire in 2017 using two sizes of exclosures. Statistical analysis incorporated the effect of exclusion treatments, time since fire, and the effect of a previous prescribed burn. Exclusion treatments altered herbivore activity, but time since fire did not. Herbivory reduced plant species richness, diversity, and evenness and promoted the dominance of the most abundant plants within the understory. Increasing time since fire reduced community diversity and evenness and influenced morphological changes to the dominant understory plant species, increasing size and dead material while decreasing abundance. We found the legacy effects of a previous prescribed burn had no effect on herbivores or vegetation within our study. Foraging by large herbivores resulted in a depauperate vegetation community. As post‐fire herbivory can alter vegetation communities, we postulate that management burning practices may exacerbate herbivore impacts. Future fire management strategies to minimize herbivore‐mediated alterations to understory vegetation could include aggregating management burns into larger fire sizes or linking fire management with herbivore management. Restricting herbivore access following fire (planned or otherwise) can encourage a more diverse and species‐rich understory plant community. Future research should aim to determine how vegetation change from post‐fire herbivory contributes to future fire risk.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Post‐fire pickings: Large herbivores alter understory vegetation communities in a coastal eucalypt forest

Chard

Foster

Lindenmayer

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Nearby, a few grains were equally found in Mesolithic and Neolithic levels at Lake Racout (French Pyrenees) [ 27 , 28 ]. Secale -type pollen was sporadic in Southwestern Iberia, namely in the sites of Barbaroxa de Baixo (Setúbal) and Lagoa Travessa I (Setúbal), in Neolithic contexts [ 27 , 29 , 30 ]. Numerous palynological studies have been carried out in Northwest Iberia (e.g.…”

Section: Rye In Iberiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Secale , Secale -type, and Secale cereale pollen grains are recurrent in Bronze and Iron Age deposits, appearing in more sites and Iberian areas than in the previous periods (e.g. [ 29 , 30 , 37 – 43 ]). Still, the general pattern is identical, with the exception of the record from Chan de Lamoso, which suggests a more consistency of Secale pollen from the Middle Bronze Age onwards, although discontinuous events were equally noted [ 37 ].…”

Section: Rye In Iberiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The introduction and spread of rye (Secale cereale) in the Iberian Peninsula

et al. 2023

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Some of the earliest Western European macroremains of rye (Secale cereale) have been recently recovered in Northwest Iberia. However, the chronological and cultural contexts of these remains have not been yet exhaustively analysed. To address this gap of research, previous and unpublished assemblages have been reviewed and analysed through an analytical set of methods: biometry, radiocarbon dates and integrating the remains of rye in the broad archaeobotanical record of the region. Results show the earliest macroremains of rye in the Iberian Peninsula date to a period between the 3rd century and the first half of the 1st century BCE. Rye was usually found in assemblages dominated by spelt and other cereals, in whose fields it was likely acting as a weed. There is no record of rye for about the two following centuries, after which it is probably reintroduced, now as a crop. It is found in several sites from the 3rd-4th centuries CE onwards, suggesting it is a staple crop as in other regions in Europe. Significant differences in grain size are only recorded in a 10th-11th century settlement, suggesting few changes in grain morphometry before Medieval times.

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“…Post‐fire vegetation recovery is influenced by plant functional traits and the prevailing weather conditions (Connor et al, 2021). European beech is an ecologically and economically important forest species in Europe (Prislan et al, 2019; Thiel et al, 2014; Urrutia‐Jalabert et al, 2021), but F. sylvatica contributes also to water and nutrient cycles, influences soil development and habitat structures (Chapin et al, 2002), and plays the role of an ecosystem engineer in many European forests (Azuara et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of high diversity beech forest in the eastern Carpathians

Lestienne

Jamrichová

Kuosmanen

et al. 2023

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim In recent decades, a surge in the number of significant and uncontrolled wildfires has occurred worldwide. Global warming may amplify this trend and threaten most ecosystems worldwide. Deciduous forests are characterized by high plant diversity, and understanding their long‐term dynamics is crucial to anticipate changes in these ecosystems during ongoing global warming. The aim of this study is to understand how European beech forests have colonized the inner Eastern Carpathians and how changes in fire regime and human activities have affected their biodiversity. Location Inner Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Slovakia. Taxon Plantae, gymnosperms, angiosperms. Methods Peat core was extracted from the centre of Ďurova mláka mire in 2018. A multi‐proxy approach has been applied to investigate the development of beech forest. Charcoal analysis has been done each centimetre to reconstruct the fire signal. Pollen analysis has been done at 2 cm resolution to reconstruct the vegetation composition and dynamics, and the variation in palynological richness (PRI), evenness and turnover has been analysed. Macro‐remains analysis has been performed at 10 cm resolution to add more information about the local vegetation. Results Low diversity spruce forest was dominant until 5200 cal. BP during a fire‐prone period due to specific climatic conditions (drier climate than the following period). The higher fire frequency and intensity following this period is simultaneous with the first expansion of Fagus which indicate that Fagus could occupy post‐fire habitats, at least at the local scale. However, its dominance coincided with major gaps in fire events from 3900 cal. BP. The PRI has increased during the transition from spruce to beech forest highlighting the importance of beech forests in maintaining plant biodiversity. However, the stronger increase in the richness is synchronous with the increase in human activities around 2000 cal. BP, and then 350 cal. BP. Main Conclusions Climate‐driven fire frequency has been a natural driver of vegetation changes in the Carpathians by promoting the emergence of high diversified beech forest. These changes were significantly modified by later increase in human activities.

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Drought, fire and grazing precursors to large‐scale pine forest decline

Cited by 15 publications

References 113 publications

Post‐fire pickings: Large herbivores alter understory vegetation communities in a coastal eucalypt forest

Post‐fire pickings: Large herbivores alter understory vegetation communities in a coastal eucalypt forest

The introduction and spread of rye (Secale cereale) in the Iberian Peninsula

Development of high diversity beech forest in the eastern Carpathians

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