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Dr. Antonio Parra
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain

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0 Climate Change
0 Drought
0 Fire
0 ecophysiology
0 Functional plant ecology

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Journal article
Published: 01 June 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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In fire-prone ecosystems, changes in rainfall after fire could differentially affect seeders and resprouters, thus leading to long-lasting impacts on the vegetation. Climate change in the Mediterranean region is projected to reduce precipitation, expand the summer drought and increase fire danger. Understanding the sensitivity to changes in rainfall during the post-fire regeneration stage is critical to anticipate the impacts of climate change on Mediterranean-type areas of the world. Here, we investigated how species differing in post-fire regeneration strategy (seeders vs resprouters) responded to rainfall changes in a Cistus-Erica shrubland of central Spain. Drought treatments were implemented using a system of automatic rainout shelters with an irrigation facility before (one season) and after (four years) burning a set of experimental plots. Treatments applied were: environmental control (natural rainfall), historical control (mimicking the long-term rainfall), moderate drought (-25% rainfall), and severe drought (-45% rainfall). Plant demography and vigour (main woody shrubs), as well as abundance (shrubs and herbs) were monitored during the first four years after fire. The first post-fire year was the key period for the recovery of seeders (Cistus ladanifer and Rosmarinus officinalis), and their recruitment, cover and size significantly decreased with drought. However, density four years after fire was larger than unburned and it was significantly correlated with emergence during the first year, indicating that population controls were more on emergence than on establishment. In contrast, resprouters (Erica arborea, Erica scoparia and Phillyrea angustifolia) were hardly affected by drought. Plant community dynamics in the burned control plots progressively converged with the unburned ones, while that in the drought-treated plots lagged behind them, maintaining a higher cover, richness and diversity of herbs. This post-fire "herbalization" due to drought might facilitate an untimely fire, before seeders would reach sexual maturity, which could have major implications for the maintenance of the community.

ACS Style

Antonio Parra; José M. Moreno. Drought differentially affects the post-fire dynamics of seeders and resprouters in a Mediterranean shrubland. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 626, 1219 -1229.

AMA Style

Antonio Parra, José M. Moreno. Drought differentially affects the post-fire dynamics of seeders and resprouters in a Mediterranean shrubland. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 626 ():1219-1229.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Antonio Parra; José M. Moreno. 2018. "Drought differentially affects the post-fire dynamics of seeders and resprouters in a Mediterranean shrubland." Science of The Total Environment 626, no. : 1219-1229.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2016 in Environmental and Experimental Botany
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Reproductive output and seed traits can be altered by water availability during seed formation and maturation, which could affect the population recovery after fire of seeders (i.e., species regenerating from seeds). This is important for species in fire-prone, dry areas that are projected to encounter reduced total precipitation and longer annual drought with climate change. Here we determine the sensitivity of several reproductive processes to drought in Cistus ladanifer, a plant widely distributed in the shrublands of the western part of the Mediterranean Basin. Three levels of annual drought were simulated in a shrubland by means of a rainout shelter and an irrigation system in 6 × 6 m plots. Fruits and seeds from drought-exposed mother plants were collected, and reproductive output, seed size and anatomy studied. Seeds non-exposed/exposed to fire cues (heat plus smoke) were germinated at five levels of water stress (Ψs = 0.0 to −0.50 MPa). Hydrotime modeling was applied to germination under water stress. Plant growth was sensitive to drought, but reproductive output, seed size, dormancy and viability were not. Drought significantly affected seed anatomy, increasing the palisade layer at the micropyle. Drought in the maternal plants, in interaction with seed exposure to fire cues, significantly reduced final germination. Water stress during germination decreased final germination, independent of maternal plant drought, and interacted with fire cues to decrease germination when exposed. Hydrotime modeling confirmed that fire cues made seeds highly sensitive to water stress (Ψb (50) = −0.25 MPa). Post-germination viability was reduced in seeds from drought-treated maternal plants that were exposed to fire cues and germinated under water stress. Reproductive output showed low plasticity in response to drought. However, the effects of drought in the mother plant affected seed anatomy and germination in interaction with fire cues. The conclusion is that exposing C. ladanifer maternal plants to drought arguably increases seed sensitivity to water limitations during germination after fire.

ACS Style

D. Chamorro; A. Parra; J.M. Moreno. Reproductive output, seed anatomy and germination under water stress in the seeder Cistus ladanifer subjected to experimental drought. Environmental and Experimental Botany 2016, 123, 59 -67.

AMA Style

D. Chamorro, A. Parra, J.M. Moreno. Reproductive output, seed anatomy and germination under water stress in the seeder Cistus ladanifer subjected to experimental drought. Environmental and Experimental Botany. 2016; 123 ():59-67.

Chicago/Turabian Style

D. Chamorro; A. Parra; J.M. Moreno. 2016. "Reproductive output, seed anatomy and germination under water stress in the seeder Cistus ladanifer subjected to experimental drought." Environmental and Experimental Botany 123, no. : 59-67.