Journal article
Fire can promote germination, recruitment and seed bank accumulation of the threatened annual grass Arthraxon hispidus
Australian Journal of Botany, Vol.68(6), pp.413-424
2020
Metrics
15 Record Views
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Abstract
Disturbance plays an important role in plant life history strategies and has been documented as both enhancing and threatening populations of the vulnerable grass Arthraxon hispidus (Thunb.) Makino (hairy jointgrass) on the NSW north coast. Mechanical disturbance (slashing) is often used in A. hispidus conservation management, but many Australian plants are adapted to fire-based disturbance regimes. In this study we undertook a field burning experiment, along with soil seed bank sampling and germination trials, to explore how fire influences A. hispidus population dynamics in terms of plant recruitment and seed bank fluctuations. We found that winter burning strongly promoted A. hispidus spring germination without entirely depleting the residual seedbank. Although drought affected our field study population, burning also led to increased adult cover and substantial seed bank replenishment the following autumn. Exposure to a smoke treatment almost doubled the germination rate of A. hispidus seeds in nursery trials. Our study suggests that appropriate burning regimes can help to maintain this species in the landscape, by both structural and chemical mechanisms, by enhancing plant recruitment and facilitating seed bank accumulation. However, some A. hispidus plants also successfully germinated, established, and reproduced in unburnt plots during our study, suggesting that populations of this species can persist without disturbance in some habitats, such as native wetland communities. We found that A. hispidus has a multi-year seed longevity and a persistent seed bank, providing the species a degree of resilience in the event of unpredictable disturbance regimes and climatic anomalies.
Details
- Title
- Fire can promote germination, recruitment and seed bank accumulation of the threatened annual grass Arthraxon hispidus
- Creators
- Laura WhiteClaudia CatterallKathryn Taffs
- Publication Details
- Australian Journal of Botany, Vol.68(6), pp.413-424
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing
- Grant note
- This work was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and funding provided by Clarence Property Corporation Limited.
- Identifiers
- 991012927078702368
- Copyright
- Journal compilation © CSIRO 2020
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; School of Environment, Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article