Regeneration of Vegetation in the Brisbane Ranges After Fire and Infestation by Phytophthora cinnamomi

Dawson, Peter; Weste, Gretna; Ashton, D. H.

doi:10.1071/bt9850015

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…One exception to this is the conceptual model for multiple effects on extinction presented by Morton (1990) and for interactions with site factors as studied by Fensham (1990). Dawson et al (1985) examined the interaction between fire and infection by the fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi, while O'Dowd and Gill (1984) looked at predator saturation and site alteration post-fire. Kirkman and Sharitz (1994) have manipulated both fire and soil disturbance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of regeneration following burning, clearing or mineral sand mining at Tomago, NSW: I. Structure and growth of the vegetation

Fox

Taylor

et al. 1996

Australian Journal of Ecology

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We have begun a long-term ecological research project to address questions about the impact of multiple disturbances on the species richness of communities and whether multiple disturbances are additive or interactive. A protected water catchment area was chosen, which is subjected to fires, sand mining and clearing, and for which detailed records are available. The study area, at Tomago (32°52'S, 151°45'E), has forest, woodland, shrubland and swamp on a sand substrate, with the vegetated dunes forming part of a coastal embayment. Forty-four sites were located in forested areas that had undergone disturbance by either fire, sand mining or clearing. Sites of each disturbance type were grouped into four age classes: less than 1 year since disturbance, nominally 1991; 5 years, nominally 1986; 11 years, nominally 1980; and 17 years, nominally 1974. A set of burned sites, with the time of the last fire matched to the times of the other disturbances, was used as the control response. In this paper we describe the study area and sites, then examine the effects of each single disturbance on vegetation structure. Canopy cover increased with time and type of disturbance, with 17 year old cleared or mined sites similar to the cover of 11 year old burned sites. In the first two years after disturbance, burned sites had significantly more understorey vegetation than cleared or mined sites, but by 5 years all three were similar. The data presented here show that regeneration of mined sites at Tomago is substantially slower than regeneration following disturbance by fire, with the regeneration of cleared sites intermediate but closer to mining than fire. After 17 years regeneration, cleared and sand mined sites had not returned to the vegetation structure of the pre-disturbance state. Understorey height and the amount of vegetation on cleared or mined sites have not achieved the levels in the original forest, although canopy cover did seem to have reached pre-disturbance levels. Current rehabilitation techniques are more sophisticated than those used 17 years ago and continued monitoring of sites currently being rehabilitated may show a faster return to pre-disturbance states. Having established the hierarchy and nature of the response to each single disturbance here, we are now in a position to investigate the impact of multiple disturbances.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…August 1977 October 1985October 1985October 1986September 1986October 1986August 1980August 1980March 1982March 1982March 1974March 1974June 1976March 1976 *This site was later burned and is not used in analyses of habitat variables in this paper.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of regeneration following burning, clearing or mineral sand mining at Tomago, NSW: I. Structure and growth of the vegetation

Fox

Taylor

et al. 1996

Australian Journal of Ecology

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“…The Brisbane Ranges area was selected due to the well-documented history of infection with /? cinnamomi, along with previously described effects of the disease on the floristics and structure of the local plant communities (Weste & Taylor 1971;Dawson et al 1985;Weste 1986).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Sites were matched as closely as possible for vegeta- (Dawson et al 1985;Weste 1986Weste , 1994Weste & Ashton 1994). The loss of both the small shrubs and herbaceous species, as well as larger and more dominant plants, such as X. australis, has led to alterations in vegetation structure (Dawson et al 1985;Weste 1986Weste , 1994Weste & Ashton 1994).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The abundance of ground‐dwelling invertebrates in a Victorian forest affected by ‘dieback’(Phytophthora cinnamomi) disease

Newell

1997

Australian Journal of Ecology

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Phytophthora cinnamomi (cinnamon fungus) is a pathogenic soil fungus that infects plant communities along the southeastern coast of Australia and the southwestern corner of Western Australia. Infection of native plant communities with P cinnamomi regalarly leads to dramatic changes in both the structural and the floristic characteristics ofthese communities. This study aimed to assess the effect of P cinnamomi induced changes in plant community attributes upon the abundance and diversity of invertebrates in an area of open forest in the Brisbane Ranges, Victoria. Pitfall trapping was conducted continuously for 1 week within each season over a 3 year period. Invertebrates were sorted to order level, and abundances were compared between times (season and year) and infection status for taxa with normalized distributions (Coleoptera, Collembola, Dermaptera and ants). Non-parametric comparisons were made for other groups (Aranae, Blattodea, Diptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, ant 'morpho-species' and unidentified larvae) to assess differences on the basis of infection status. Significant differences on the basis of infection were uncommon and, where identified, elevated abundances were more commonly observed at sites infected by P. cinnamomi. Consistent temporal effects (season and year) were observed in normalized data sets. Abundances both within individual taxa and from pooled counts were generally weakly associated with ground-level habitat features. Overall, the impact of P. cinnamomi on vegetative structure and fioristics was not reflected in different abundances of ground-dwelling invertebrates.

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“…In natural ecosystems, propagules of P. cinnamomi are not uniformly distributed, but occur in a mosaic distribution and are found in the highest concentrations at the surface of unsuberised roots belonging to susceptible species (Dawson et al 1985) and high inoculum loads occur in the soil surrounding the collars of already infected plants, such as Banksia species (Shearer et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time since fire and average fire interval are the best predictors of Phytophthora cinnamomi activity in heathlands of south-western Australia

et al. 2014

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Fires are features of ecological communities in much of Australia; however, very little is still known about the potential impact of fire on plant diseases in the natural environment. Phytophthora cinnamomi is an introduced soil-borne plant pathogen with a wide host range, affecting a large proportion of native plant species in Australia and other regions of the world, but its interaction with fire is poorly understood. An investigation of the effects of fire on P. cinnamomiactivity was undertaken in the Stirling Range National Park of south-western Australia, where fire is used as a management tool to reduce the negative impact of wildfires and more than 60% of the park is infested with, and 48% of woody plant species are known to be susceptible to, P. cinnamomi. At eight sites confirmed to be infested with P. cinnamomi, the proportion of dead and dying susceptible species was used as a proxy for P. cinnamomi activity. Subset modelling was used to determine the interactive effects of latest fire interval, average fire interval, soil water-holding capacity and pH on P.cinnamomiactivity. It was found that the latest and average fire interval were the variables that best explained the variation in the percentage of dead and dying susceptible species among sites, indicating that fire in P. cinnamomi-infested communities has the potential to increase both the severity and extent of disease in native plant communities.

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Regeneration of Vegetation in the Brisbane Ranges After Fire and Infestation by Phytophthora cinnamomi

Cited by 24 publications

References 9 publications

Comparison of regeneration following burning, clearing or mineral sand mining at Tomago, NSW: I. Structure and growth of the vegetation

Comparison of regeneration following burning, clearing or mineral sand mining at Tomago, NSW: I. Structure and growth of the vegetation

The abundance of ground‐dwelling invertebrates in a Victorian forest affected by ‘dieback’(Phytophthora cinnamomi) disease

Time since fire and average fire interval are the best predictors of Phytophthora cinnamomi activity in heathlands of south-western Australia

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