How I became one of the world's top experts on fire research: despite all, when preparation meets opportunity, truth in science emerges
In: Ideas in ecology and evolution, Band 14
ISSN: 1918-3178
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In: Ideas in ecology and evolution, Band 14
ISSN: 1918-3178
n/a
In: Ideas in ecology and evolution, Band 13
ISSN: 1918-3178
Most of the Earth's vegetated surface is fireprone but the relevance of fire in understanding how nature works is not always recognized. We aim to show that, by adding the fire dimension to observations on biological phenomena, interpretations can be im-proved; how fire-related research can be used to answer 'fundamental' questions in ecology; and how theories/models developed for fireprone ecosystems can be applied to advancing disturbance ecology, biogeography and evolutionary biology more generally. We compiled lists from the world-wide web of the most highly cited papers in fire ecology, and examined papers that had been approached from multiple viewpoints, including fire. We show that great advances over the last 20 years have been made in our understanding of the pivotal role of fire as a driver of many ecological processes and a powerful selective agent/evolutionary trigger among biota. We document 21 sets of observations originally interpreted in the context of the two traditional dimensions, prevailing environment and biotic interactions, but can also be shown to have a strong, if not dominant, historical link to fire. We note that fire-related research is able to address 55 of the 100 questions considered 'fundamental' in ecology and that many have already received some attention in fireprone ecosystems. We show how theories/ models that had their origins in fireprone systems can be applied to other disturbance-prone systems and thus have wide application in ecology and evolutionary biology. Fire and other disturbances should be included as variables in research about possible critical environmental and biotic constraints controlling ecosystem function in general. Adding this third dimension to research endeavours greatly enriches our understanding of how nature works at the global scale in an era where ecosystems are changing rapidly and novel species-environmental interactions are emerging.
The key biophysical pressures shaping the ecology and evolution of species can be broadly aggregated into three dimensions: environmental conditions, disturbance regimes and biotic interactions. The relative importance of each dimension varies over time and space, and in most cases multiple dimensions need to be addressed to adequately understand the habitat and functional traits of species at broad spatial and phylogenetic scales. However, it is currently common to consider only one or two selective pressures even when studying large clades. We illustrate the importance of the all‐inclusive multidimensional approach with reference to the large and iconic plant family, Proteaceae: we review life‐history traits related to these three dimensions for the 46 genera occurring in Australia and show that this family can be considered the product of a long history of harsh environments, recurrent fires and strong faunal interactions. Because most Proteaceae species occur in fire‐prone ecosystems and possess fire‐adaptive traits that are both ancient and essential for their survival, disturbance by fire is likely to explain much of this family's ecology, evolution and distribution. Approaches that only examine prevailing environmental variables may fail to identify the mechanisms that drive a taxon's biogeography; they need to consider the likely mechanisms of adaptation and accept or reject plausible alternative hypotheses as the evidence allows. As multidisciplinary teams that consider all aspects of a taxon's ecology are assembled, and databases and numerical tools become increasingly available, studies on the ecology, biogeography and diversity of organisms at broader spatial and phylogenetic scales will arrive at more realistic conclusions. ; This work was performed under the framework of the FILAS project (CGL2015‐64086‐P) from the Spanish Government and the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from Generalitat Valenciana. ; Peer reviewed
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Despite long‐time awareness of the importance of the location of buds in plant biology, research on belowground bud banks has been scant. Terms such as lignotuber, xylopodium and sobole, all referring to belowground bud‐bearing structures, are used inconsistently in the literature. Because soil efficiently insulates meristems from the heat of fire, concealing buds below ground provides fitness benefits in fire‐prone ecosystems. Thus, in these ecosystems, there is a remarkable diversity of bud‐bearing structures. There are at least six locations where belowground buds are stored: roots, root crown, rhizomes, woody burls, fleshy swellings and belowground caudexes. These support many morphologically distinct organs. Given their history and function, these organs may be divided into three groups: those that originated in the early history of plants and that currently are widespread (bud‐bearing roots and root crowns); those that also originated early and have spread mainly among ferns and monocots (nonwoody rhizomes and a wide range of fleshy underground swellings); and those that originated later in history and are strictly tied to fire‐prone ecosystems (woody rhizomes, lignotubers and xylopodia). Recognizing the diversity of belowground bud banks is the starting point for understanding the many evolutionary pathways available for responding to severe recurrent disturbances. ; This work was performed under the framework of the FILAS project (CGL2015‐64086‐P) from the Spanish Government, the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from Generalitat Valenciana, the FONDECYT 1120458 project from the Chilean government and the project 2015/06743‐0 from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP). B.B.L.'s research has been supported by the Australian Research Council over many years. A.F. and B.A‐d‐G. received a productivity grant from CNPq (306170/2015‐9 and 303715/2014‐6). ; Peer reviewed
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In: JEMA-D-23-11233
SSRN
We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge. ; Funding Agencies|Australian Research CouncilAustralian Research Council [FT160100113, DE170100208, FT100100910]; National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)Australian GovernmentDepartment of Industry, Innovation and Science
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