Dominant C 3 tussock grasses are resilient to the re‐introduction of fire in long‐unburned temperate grasslands

Autor: Karina L. Salmon, John W. Morgan
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Applied Vegetation Science. 23:149-158
ISSN: 1654-109X
1402-2001
DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12476
Popis: QUESTIONS: The recovery of dominant tussock grasses following fire is crucial as they contribute disproportionately to the structure and function of grasslands. To determine how resilient native grasslands are to the re‐introduction of fire, we quantify how fire affects the resprouting of the dominant C₃ tussock grasses in long‐unburned grasslands (Austrostipa spp.) and compare this to the recovery of C₄ tussock grasses (Themeda triandra) in grasslands that have had regular exposure to fire. We also quantify if these two grassland types burn in different ways as a result of their different dominant grass compositions. LOCATION: Temperate native tussock grasslands on the Victorian volcanic plain, Australia. METHODS: To determine how fire affects tussock mortality, and whether this differs between C₄ (regularly) and C₃ (long‐unburned) grasslands, tussocks were permanently marked pre‐fire and re‐censused for survival and growth at seven weeks after fire. To assess whether C₃ grasslands burn in a different way to C₄ grasslands, fire behaviour was quantified at 11 sites. RESULTS: Fire behaviour was similar in both grassland types. Both C₃ and C₄ grass tussocks were resilient to fire, despite decades of fire suppression in C₃ grasslands. Tussock mortality was low (
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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