Rarity and nutrient acquisition relationships before and after prescribed burning in an Australian box-ironbark forest.

ABSTRACT: Nutrient cycling is greatly influenced by dominant plants that contribute high amounts of leaf litter to soils; however, less-dominant and rare species can play keystone roles in nutrient cycling if they have unique nutrient acquisition traits and provide high-quality litter. In many parts of the world, wildfire is likely to become more frequent and intense under a changing climate. The effect this will have on plant rarity and on species with unique nutrient acquisition traits, and thus nutrient cycling, remains poorly understood. Working within an Australian box-ironbark forest, we determined if a relationship existed between species rarity and the uniqueness of their leaf nutrient profiles, and if this relationship changed after prescribed burning. We created an index of species rarity

SUBMITTER: Patykowski J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6007787 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature