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Mineral nutrition and specific leaf area of plants under contrasting long-term fire frequencies: a case study in a mesic savanna in Australia

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Abstract

Key message

The association between frequent long-term fires and soil fertility may control the nutritional status and leaf scleromorphism of Australian savanna species.

Abstract

Fire frequency is considered to be a controlling factor for the structure of savanna vegetation, also affecting functional aspects of plants, yet studies contrasting long-term burnt and unburnt sites within the same area are rare. At fire-protected sites, one may expect to find woody vegetation with non-sclerophyllous leaves exhibiting a high nutrient concentration and growing on soils of high fertility. Using a burnt (14 times within the last 20 years) and an unburnt site (over the same period) within the same area of a mesic Australian savanna, we compared the soil fertility, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf macronutrient concentration of the exclusive (species that occur at a single site), common (species that occur at both sites) and total (exclusive and common species combined) sampled tree species from the two sites. The exclusive, common and total sampled tree species had a lower SLA when growing at the burnt site than at the unburnt site. Soil from the burnt site was less fertile than the soil from the unburnt site, and the plants from the burnt site exhibited lower leaf nutrient concentrations when compared with those from the unburnt site. The association between fire and soil fertility was consistent with the differences in leaf scleromorphism between the sites under contrasting fire frequencies.

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Acknowledgments

MCS acknowledges the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes) and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for PhD fellowships (Grants #2010/07809-1 and BEPE-FAPESP #2012/13762-3). GH (Grant #308902/2014-9) and LPCM (Grant #306119/2011-0 and #306243/2010-5) acknowledge the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for research productivity fellowships. The authors also thank Jon Schatz (CSIRO) for assistance in the field, and Laura Wendling for editorial advice.

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Author notes

  1. Marcelo Claro de Souza

    Present address: Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, USP, Av. do Café s/n, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-903, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Programa de Pós Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Univ Estadual Paulista, Unesp, Av. 24-A, 1515, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil

    Marcelo Claro de Souza

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Univ Estadual Paulista, Unesp, Via de Acesso Paulo Donato Castellani s/n, Jaboticabal, SP, 14884-900, Brazil

    Davi Rodrigo Rossatto

  3. CSIRO Land and Water Flagship, Darwin, NT, Australia

    Garry David Cook

  4. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Ryosuke Fujinuma & Neal William Menzies

  5. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Univ Estadual Paulista, Unesp, Av. 24-A, 1515, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil

    Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato & Gustavo Habermann

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  1. Marcelo Claro de Souza
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Correspondence to Marcelo Claro de Souza.

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Communicated by A. Franco.

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de Souza, M.C., Rossatto, D.R., Cook, G.D. et al. Mineral nutrition and specific leaf area of plants under contrasting long-term fire frequencies: a case study in a mesic savanna in Australia. Trees 30, 329–335 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1285-1

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