Fire and legume germination in a tropical savanna: ecological and historical factors.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

In many flammable ecosystems, physically dormant seeds show dormancy-break patterns tied to fire, but the link between heat shock and germination in the tropical savannas of Africa and South America remains controversial. Seed heat tolerance is important, preventing seed mortality during fire passage, and is usually predicted by seed traits. This study investigated the role of fire frequency (ecological effects) and seed traits through phylogenetic comparison (historical effects), in determining post-fire germination and seed mortality in legume species of the Cerrado, a tropical savanna-forest mosaic.

Methods

Seeds of 46 legume species were collected from three vegetation types (grassy savannas, woody savannas and forests) with different fire frequencies

SUBMITTER: Daibes LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6612942 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature