Wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana) survival and reproduction after fire in a long-unburned pine savanna.

ABSTRACT: Restoring fire regimes is a major goal of biodiversity conservation efforts in fire-prone ecosystems from which fire has been excluded. In the southeastern U.S.A., nearly a century of fire exclusion in pine savannas has led to significant biodiversity declines in one of the most species-rich ecosystems of North America. In these savannas, frequent fires that support biodiversity are driven by vegetation-fire feedbacks. Understory grasses are key components of these feedbacks, fueling the spread of fires that keep tree density low and maintain a high-light environment. When fire is reintroduced to long-unburned sites, however, remnant populations of bunchgrasses might experience high mortality from fuel accumulation during periods of fire exclusion. Our objective was to quantify fire effect

SUBMITTER: Fill JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7889326 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature