Suchergebnisse

Wildfires underpin the dynamics and diversity of many ecosystems worldwide, and plants show a plethora of adaptive traits for persisting recurrent fires. Many fire-prone ecosystems also harbor a rich fauna; however, knowledge about adaptive traits to fire in animals remains poorly explored. We review existing literature and suggest that fire is an important evolutionary driver for animal diversity because (1) many animals are present in fire-prone landscapes and may have structural and phenotypic characters that contribute to adaptation to these open landscapes; and (2) in some cases, animals from fire-prone ecosystems may show specific fire adaptations. While there is limited evidence on morphological fire adaptations in animals, there is evidence suggesting that different behaviors might provide a rich source of putative fire adaptations; this is because, in contrast to plants, most animals are mobile, unitary organisms, have reduced survival when directly burnt by fire and can move away from the fire. We call for research on fire adaptations (morphological, behavioral, and physiological) in animals, and emphasize that in the animal kingdom many fire adaptations are likely to be behavioral. While it may be difficult to discern these adaptations from other animal behaviors, making this distinction is fundamental if we want to understand the role of fire in shaping biodiversity. Developing this understanding is critical to how we view and manage our ecosystems in the face of current global and fire regime changes. ; This research was funded by the project FILAS (CGL2015-64086-P) from the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) and the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from the Valencia government (Generalitat Valenciana, Spain) ; Peer reviewed

Functional trait databases are emerging as crucial tools for a wide range of ecological studies across the world. Here, we provide a database of functional traits for vascular plant species of the Mediterranean Basin. The database includes 25,764 individual records of 44 traits from 2,457 plant taxa distributed in 119 taxonomic families. This database (BROT 2.0) is an updated and enlarged version of a previous database (BROT 1.0; 8,263 records, 14 traits, 952 taxa). Trait data were obtained from a comprehensive literature review, plus some field and experimental observations. All records are fully referenced and, in many cases, include geographic coordinates. The database is structured to include different levels of accuracy of trait information for each entry. BROT 2.0 should facilitate testing hypotheses on plant functional ecology within the Mediterranean Basin, and comparing this region with other ecosystems worldwide. The BROT 2.0 database and its trait definitions can be used as a template for creating similar trait databases in other regions of the world. ; The Scientific Research Unit of Hacettepe University funded several mutual visits by the authors (FBB-2015-7251, FBD-2017-13864, FBB-2017-14948). BROT 2.0 was performed under the framework of the FILAS (CGL2015-64086-P, Spanish government) and PROMETEO/2016/021 (Valencia Government) projects. ; Peer reviewed

Natural and anthropogenic fires have historically been part of the Mediterranean Basin (MB). As a result of this long exposure to fires, MB flora has developed various strategies to persist under recurrent fires. One of these strategies is to survive and regenerate by resprouting and another is through post-fire seedling recruitment. For species that recruit seedlings after a fire there is evidence that fire-related germination cues are implicated in the process of triggering seedling emergence from soil-stored seeds. In some species, particularly in Cistaceae and Fabaceae, germination is stimulated by heat. Fire-related chemical germination cues, such as smoke, charcoal, and nitrogenous compounds (collectively termed 'smoke'), have also been recognised as promoting seed germination in MB flora. However, the role of smoke in the germination of MB plant species has received less attention and recognition than the role of heat-shock and is generally seen as having a relatively limited role as a post-fire germination cue in MB flora. Our hypothesis is that this is due to the fact that research on smoke-stimulated germination in the MB region has been limited and poorly addressed, and this is biasing our view on the role of smoke in MB flora. Using available literature, we first analyse the role of smoke in the germination of MB flora and discuss some of the issues that limit our understanding of its role on the flora of the region. We point to gaps in the literature and provide suggestions for further research. We conclude that differences in evidence of smoke-stimulated germination in MB flora when compared with other Mediterranean regions may not reflect real ecological or evolutionary differences among these regions but are likely the consequence of the limited number of well-designed studies in the MB. ; BM was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [grant number SFRH/BPD/90277/2012]. This work was performed under the framework of the TREVOL and FILAS projects (CGL2012-39938-C02-01, CGL2015-64086-P) from the Spanish Government and the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from the Valencia government (Generalitat Valenciana). CIDE is supported by CSIC, Generalitat Valenciana and the University of Valencia. ; Peer reviewed

4 páginas, 1 figura. ; Studies examining plant flammability descriptors as fire-adaptive traits are normally formulated within the framework of inclusive fitness theory. In such framework, flammability- enhancing traits are considered to favour individuals if the elevated flammability confers fitness benefits. In post-fire seeder species (i.e., those with fire-stimulated germination from a persistent seed bank), higher flammability could increase the recruitment opportunities for the offspring of the individual with enhanced flammability by increasing the chance of opening spaces and by producing the necessary cues for triggering germination from the seedbank. ; This work was funded by the VIRRA project (CGL2009-12048/BOS) from the Spanish government. B.M. is supported by a grant from the Fundaçao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/41343/2007). We thank V. M. Santana for providing the data for Fig. 1, and G. A. Alessio, G. Corcobado, M. C. Castellanos, J. E. Keeley and D. Schwilk for helpful commentson the manuscript. ; Peer reviewed

9 páginas, 4 figuras, 4 tablas. ; In dry areas such as Mediterranean ecosystems, fluctuations in seed production are typically explained by resource (water) availability. However, acorn production in cork oak (Quercus suber) populations shows a very low relationship to weather. Because cork oak trees produce acorns with different maturation patterns (annual and biennial), we hypothesized that acorn production in coexisting individuals with a different dominant acorn maturation type should respond differently to climatic factors and that disaggregating the trees according to their acorn-maturation pattern should provide a more proximal relation to weather factors. We assessed acorn production variability in fragmented cork oak populations of the eastern Iberian Peninsula by counting the total number of acorns in 155 trees during an 8-year period. An initial assessment of acorn production variability in relation to weather parameters yielded very low explained variance (7%). However, after the trees were grouped according to their dominant acorn maturation pattern, weather parameters were found to account for 44% of the variability in acorn crops, with trees with annual acorns exhibiting mast fruiting in years with reduced spring frost and shorter summer droughts and trees with biennial acorns showing the opposite pattern. Thus, conditions that negatively affect annual production could be beneficial for biennial production (and vice versa). The results highlight the importance of the resource-matching hypothesis for explaining acorn production in Quercus suber and suggest that different seed maturation types within a population may allow the species to deal with highly variable weather conditions. They also emphasize the importance of understanding acorn maturation patterns for interpreting masting cycles. ; We thank Cristina Beseler and Aina Blasco for collaborating in the Weld sampling and Patricio García-Fayos for insights on an early version of manuscript. This work was funded by the European project CREOAK (QLRT-2001-01594) and the Spanish projects VARQUS (CGL2004-04325/BOS) and GRACCIE (Consolider- Ingenio2010). CEAM-UMH is supported by Generalitat Valenciana, Bancaixa, and the Spanish government (GRACCIE Consolider-Ingenio2010); CIDE is supported by Generalitat Valenciana, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Valencia. The study complies with the current laws of Spain. ; Peer reviewed

Wildfires are often perceived as destructive disturbances, but we propose that when integrating evolutionary and socioecological factors, fires in most ecosystems can be understood as natural processes that provide a variety of benefits to humankind. Wildfires generate open habitats that enable the evolution of a diversity of shade‐intolerant plants and animals that have long benefited humans. There are many provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that people obtain from wildfires, and prescribed fires and wildfire management are tools for mimicking the ancestral role of wildfires in an increasingly populated world. ; This work was performed under the framework of the Spanish Government's FILAS project (CGL2015‐64086‐P) and the PROMETEO/2016/021 project of the Generalitat Valenciana. We thank JM Kane and T Kimball for comments on the manuscript. ; Peer reviewed

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

9 páginas, 6 figuras, 1 tabla. ; Ecologists, biogeographers, and paleobotanists have long thought that climate and soils controlled the distribution of ecosystems, with the role of fire getting only limited appreciation. Here we review evidence from different disciplines demonstrating that wildfire appeared concomitant with the origin of terrestrial plants and played an important role throughout the history of life. The importance of fire has waxed and waned in association with changes in climate and paleoatmospheric conditions. Well before the emergence of humans on Earth, fire played a key role in the origins of plant adaptations as well as in the distribution of ecosystems. Humans initiated a new stage in ecosystem fire, using it to make the Earth more suited to their lifestyle. However, as human populations have expanded their use of fire, their actions have come to dominate some ecosystems and change natural processes in ways that threaten the sustainability of some landscapes. ; This work has been partially financed by the Spanish projects PERSIST (CGL2006-07126/BOS) and GRACCIE (SCD2007-00067, Consolider-Ingenio 2010, CEAM). Centro de Investigación sobre Desertificación is financed by Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the University of Valencia, and Generalitat Valenciana. We thank the reviewers for their insights. This research was part of the US Geological Survey Multi-hazards Demonstration Project. Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US government. ; Peer reviewed

7 páginas, 2 figuras, 2 tablas. ; Recurrent wildWres constitute a major selecting force in shaping the structure of plant communities. At the regional scale, Wre favours phenotypic and phylogenetic clustering in Mediterranean woody plant communities. Nevertheless, the incidence of Wre within a Wre-prone region may present strong variations at the local, landscape scale. This study tests the prediction that woody communities on acid, nutrient-poor soils should exhibit more pronounced phenotypic and phylogenetic clustering patterns than woody communities on fertile soils, as a consequence of their higher Xammability and, hence, presumably higher propensity to recurrent Wre. Results conWrm the predictions and show that habitat Wltering driven by Wre may be detected even in local communities from an already Wre-Wltered regional Xora. They also provide a new perspective from which to consider a preponderant role of Wre as a key evolutionary force in acid, infertile Mediterranean heathlands. ; This work has been partially supported by projects VAMPIRO (CGL2008-05289-C02-01/BOS) and PERSIST (CGL2006-07126/BOS), Wnanced by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, and project P07-RNM-02869, Wnanced by the Junta de Andalucía regional government (Spain). Fieldwork was carried out under permission and complied with legal requirements of the Andalusian regional government. ; Peer reviewed

In recent decades, fires in Mediterranean Europe have become larger and more frequent. This trend has been driven by socioeconomic changes that have generated rural depopulation and changes in traditional land use. Within the Mediterranean Basin, the most contrasting socioeconomic conditions are found by comparing southern European with North African countries, and thus our hypothesis is that this difference generates contrasting fire regimes between the two regions. Specifically, we predict that current fire regimes in Mediterranean Africa resemble past fire regimes in the Mediterranean Europe when rural activities dominated the landscape. To test our hypothesis, we compared fire statistics from the western Rif (northern Morocco, 1988–2015) and from Valencia (eastern Spain, 1880–2014). The results suggest that the Rif has a typical Mediterranean fire regime with fires occurring in the hot, dry summer season. However, fires are very small and the annual proportion of burnt area is very low, compared to the current regime in Valencia (post-1970s). The current Rif fire size class distribution matches the fire regime in Valencia prior to the 1970s before the collapse of the rural population and when fires were fuel-limited. The shift in the recent decades in fire regime observed in different countries of the Mediterranean Europe (from small, fuel-limited fires to drought-driven fires) can be identified when moving from the southern to the northern rim of the basin. That is, most spatial and temporal variability in fire regimes of the Mediterranean Basin is driven by shifts in the amounts of fuel and continuity imposed by changes in socioeconomic drivers. ; The authors would like to thank HCEFLCD and ENFI for providing fire information for the Rif and the Spanish government for the fire data of Valencia. This work has been performed under the framework of the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from Generalitat Valenciana. ; Peer reviewed

Despite the abundance of plants that benefit from fire in Mediterranean ecosystems, little is known about the possible presence of fire-favoured insects (other than bark beetles). For two years we sampled invertebrates after two large wildfires in eastern Spain and demonstrate that two flower beetle species, Protaetia morio and P. oblonga (Cetoniidae), show a pyrophilous behaviour. These beetles were much more numerous after the fires than in unburnt plots around the fire perimeter; in addition, these species tended to increase in number with the distance from the fire perimeter and with fire recurrence, especially P. morio. These results were maintained for the two postfire years sampled. The results for the beetles do not support the hypothesis of postfire colonization, but that local populations survived the fire as eggs or larvae protected in the soil (endogenous persistence). We propose that the increase in population size (compared with unburnt zones) could be driven by the reduction of their predator populations, as vertebrates that feed on these beetles were disfavoured by fire. That is, the results suggest that these flower beetle species benefit from fire because fire disrupts antagonistic interactions with their predators (predation release hypothesis). Given the omnipresence of small mammals, soil insects, and fires, the processes described here are likely to be general but unexplored. ; This paper has been funded by the FILAS project (CGL2015-64086-P) from the Spanish government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) and the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from the Valencia government (Generalitat Valenciana) ; Peer reviewed

In tropical landscapes, vegetation patches with contrasting tree densities are distributed as mosaics. However, the locations of patches and densities of trees within them cannot be predicted by climate models alone. It has been proposed that plant-fire feedbacks drive functional thresholds at a landscape scale, thereby maintaining open (savanna) and closed (forest) communities as two distinct stable states. However, there is little rigorous field evidence for this threshold model. Here we aim to provide support for such a model from a field perspective and to analyze the functional and phylogenetic consequences of fire in a Brazilian savanna landscape (Cerrado). We hypothesize that, in tropical landscapes, savanna and forest are two stable states maintained by plant-fire feedbacks. If so, their functional and diversity attributes should change abruptly along a community closure gradient. We set 98 plots along a gradient from open savanna to closed forest in the Brazilian Cerrado and tested for a threshold pattern in nine functional traits, five soil features, and seven diversity indicators. We then tested whether the threshold pattern was associated with different fire regimes. Most community attributes presented a threshold pattern on the savanna-forest transition with coinciding breakpoints. The thresholds separated two community states: (1) open environments with low-diversity communities growing in poor soils and dominated by plants that are highly resistant to high-intensity fires; and (2) closed environments with highly diverse plant communities growing in more fertile soils and dominated by shade-tolerant species that efficiently prevent light from reaching the understory. In addition, each state was associated with contrasting fire regimes. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that forests and savannas are two coexisting stable states with contrasting patterns of function and diversity that are regulated by fire- plant feedbacks; our results also shed light on the mechanism driving each state. Overall, our results support the idea that fire plays an important role in regulating the distribution of savanna and forest biomes in tropical landscapes. © 2013 by the Ecological Society of America. ; We are grateful to Fundaçao de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP; process: 2010/01835-0),Coordenaçao de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nı́vel Superior (CAPES; process: 1019-11-2), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientı́fico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and the Spanish Government (VIRRA and TREVOL projects, CGL2009- 12048/BOS, CGL2012-39938-C02-01) for financial support and the scholarships granted to the authors. ; Peer Reviewed

6 páginas, 2 figuras, 2 tablas. ; This work was financed by the VIRRA project (CGL2009-12048 ⁄ BOS) from the Spanish Government. G.A.A. is supported by a Juan de la Cierva scholarship (JDC 2009-5067; Spanish Government) and B.M. by an FCT grant (SFRH ⁄BD⁄ 41343 ⁄ 2007; Portuguese Government). CIDE is supported by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Generalitat Valenciana and the University of Valencia. We thank R. Bossi (CEAM, GRACCIE project, CONSOLIDERINGENIO 2010), E. Beltran, S. Paula, J. Chofre and O. González-Pelayo for their collaboration in the field and laboratory work, M. C. Castellanos for comments on an early version of the manuscript, and Fundación Caja Castellón-Bancaja for permission to work in Barranc dels Horts (Ares del Maestrat). ; Peer reviewed

28 páginas, 11 figuras. ; This chapter concerns the ecology and post-fire management of cork oak forests. It starts with a short overview of ecological and socio-economic context, continuing with an introduction on the cork oak post-fire regeneration strategies and the main factors affecting tree responses. Several post-fire management issues and alternatives, such as tree logging, assisting natural regeneration, reforestation, cork harvesting and pruning, or protecting against herbivory, are also presented and discussed. ; To all people who contributed in some way to the contents of this chapter, with special thanks to Francisco Rego, Paulo Fernandes and Thomas Curt. To Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PhD grant SFRH/BD/65991/2009), FFP (project Recuperação de Áreas Ardidas), EU (COST FP0701 and TRANZFOR), and the Spanish government (project VARQUS, CGL2004-4325/BOS). ; Peer reviewed

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