Tree-Limit Ribbons in the Snowy Mountains, Australia: Characterization and Recent Seedling Establishment

Green, Ken; Venn, Susanna

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-44.2.180

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Dispersal is short, largely confined to within a few widths of the canopy [15]. It is a "niche persister" [18] due to its capacity to re-occupy sites after disturbance, a trait most likely derived from the severe climatic conditions which constrain seedling establishment at high elevations [32][33][34][35]. The ability of E. pauciflora to resprout suggests that reoccupancy after disturbance by fire is likely to be high.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpine treeline ecotone stasis in the face of recent climate change and disturbance by fire

et al. 2020

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How species respond to climate change will depend on biological characteristics, species physiological limits, traits (such as dispersal), and interactions with disturbance. We examine multi-decadal shifts in the distribution of trees at the alpine treeline in response to regional warming and repeated disturbance by fire in the Victorian Alps, south-east Australia. Alpine treelines are composed of Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila (Snow Gum, Myrtaceae) species. The location and basal girth of all trees and saplings were recorded across treelines at four mountains in 2002 and 2018. We quantify changes in treeline position (sapling recruitment above treeline) over time in relation to warming and disturbance by fire, and examine changes in stand structure below treeline (stand density, size class analyses). Short-distance advance of the treeline occurred between 2002 and 2018, but was largely restricted to areas that were unburned during this period. No saplings were seen above treeline after two fires, despite evidence that saplings were common pre-fire. Below treeline, subalpine woodland stands were largely resilient to fire; trees resprouted from lignotubers. However, small trees were reduced in number in woodlands when burned twice within a decade. Population dynamics at the alpine treeline were responsive to recent climate change, but other factors (e.g. disturbance) are crucial to understand recruitment trends. Establishment of saplings above treeline was largely restricted to unburned areas. These results indicate fire is a strong demographic filter on treeline dynamics; there is a clear need to frame alpine treeline establishment processes beyond just being a response to climate warming. Long lag periods in treeline change may be expected where recurrent disturbance is a feature of the landscape. OPEN ACCESSCitation: Naccarella A, Morgan JW, Cutler SC, Venn SE (2020) Alpine treeline ecotone stasis in the face of recent climate change and disturbance by fire. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231339. https://doi.org/ 10.

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Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpine treeline ecotone stasis in the face of recent climate change and disturbance by fire

et al. 2020

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“…Sub-alpine forests are dominated by E. pauciflora and its subspecies, which occurs between 1400 and 1900 m a.s.l. at the altitudinal tree limit in Australia, covering approximately 300 000 ha of mountainous terrain (Ferrar et al 1988;Slatyer & Noble 1992;Costermans 2009;Green & Venn 2012). E. pauciflora stands are generally classified as open forests, reaching maximum heights of 20-30 m with 30-70% foliage projective cover, although they also often form sparser (10-30% cover) low open woodlands at higher elevations (Specht 1970;Williams & Costin 1994;Costermans 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequent wildfires erode tree persistence and alter stand structure and initial composition of a fire‐tolerant sub‐alpine forest

Fairman

Bennett

Tupper

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

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Question Frequent severe wildfires have the potential to alter the structure and composition of forests in temperate biomes. While temperate forests dominated by resprouting trees are thought to be largely invulnerable to more frequent wildfires, empirical data to support this assumption are lacking. Does frequent fire erode tree persistence by increasing mortality and reducing regeneration, and what are the broader impacts on forest structure and understorey composition? Location Sub‐alpine open Eucalyptus pauciflora forests, Australian Alps, Victoria, Australia. Methods We examined tree persistence and understorey composition of E. pauciflora open forests that were unburned, burned once, twice or three times by high‐severity wildfires between 2003 and 2013. At each of 20 sites (five per fire frequency class) we assessed extent of top‐kill and mortality of eucalypt clumps, spatial configuration of surviving and dead clumps, densities of new and lignotuberous eucalypt seedlings, and shrub and grass cover. Results At least 2 yr after the last wildfire, proportions of top‐killed E. pauciflora stems were significantly higher, and densities of live basal resprouts significantly lower, at sites burned two or three times compared to once burned or unburned sites. Clump death increased to 50% of individuals at sites burned by three short‐interval wildfires, which led to changes in live tree patchiness, as indicated by nearest‐neighbour indices. Increased tree mortality was not offset by seedling recruitment, which was significantly lower at the twice‐ and thrice‐burned sites relative to single‐burn sites – although seedling recruitment was also influenced by topography and coarse woody debris. In addition to changes in the tree layer, the prominence of understorey shrubs was substantially reduced, and the frequency of grasses markedly increased, after two, and particularly three wildfires. Conclusions Our study provides strong empirical evidence of ecologically significant change in E. pauciflora forests after short‐interval severe wildfires, namely, erosion of the persistence niche of resprouting trees, and a shift in understorey dominance from shrubs to grasses. Our findings highlight the need to consider the impacts of compounded perturbation on forests under changing climates, including testing assumptions of long‐term persistence of resprouter‐dominated communities.

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“…Unlike "extensive ribbon forests," which occur as closely associated, repeating strips of forests (Buckner 1977), tree-limit ribbon forests occur singly and near upper treeline. Bekker and Malanson (2008) considered tree-limit ribbon forests the least studied and poorest understood of the ribbon forest types, documented in the Northern Hemisphere only for the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada (similar ribbon forests of Eucalyptus were described from Australia, where ecological conditions are much different; Green and Venn 2012). These rarer types of ribbon forest occur on solifluction terraces or structurally defined bedrock ridges (Holtmeier 1985;Butler et al 2003).…”

Section: Ribbon Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

A complex patterned-ground ecosystem in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA supports unusual habitat for American pika

Millar

Westfall

2021

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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This material is published by permission of the Idaho National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517. The U.S. Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, non-exclusive, and irrevocable worldwide licence in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.

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Tree-Limit Ribbons in the Snowy Mountains, Australia: Characterization and Recent Seedling Establishment

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

Alpine treeline ecotone stasis in the face of recent climate change and disturbance by fire

Alpine treeline ecotone stasis in the face of recent climate change and disturbance by fire

Frequent wildfires erode tree persistence and alter stand structure and initial composition of a fire‐tolerant sub‐alpine forest

A complex patterned-ground ecosystem in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA supports unusual habitat for American pika

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