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Postfire regeneration of resprouting mountain fynbos shrubs: differentiating obligate resprouters and facultative seeders

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Abstract

Plant species in Mediterranean-type climate regions have a diversity of traits that facilitate their persistence under a given fire regime. Obligate resprouters (OR) are dependent on resprouting to persist through a burn episode, as their seeds are killed by fire. Facultative seeders (FS) combine strategies by resprouting and recruiting new seedlings after fire. We hypothesised that these life history differences would lead to differential resprout success and we predicted that OR would be more successful than FS. We performed a 2-year study to assess resprout success of co-occurring Western Cape mountain fynbos FS and OR species, and to determine predictors of resprout success following a wildfire. All the FS species recruited seedlings postfire, whereas the OR did not. OR demonstrated near complete (99 %) survival after 2 years and all resprouted within 4 months postfire. In contrast, only 81 % of FS resprouted with only 65 % surviving 2 years postfire. Numerous factors were linked to resprout success: decreased lignotuber exposure and pre-fire vigour (number of pre-fire shoots) were significantly associated with postfire resprouting, while early resprouting (days to first resprout) and growth rate were significant predictors of post-resprout survival. The difference in resprout survival between the FS and OR may also be partially due to phylogenetic differences. These findings confirm the heterogeneity and complexity of postfire resprouting and support the distinction of OS and FS life history types.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Louise De Roubaix for permission to conduct the study in the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve; Hedi Stummer, Gurli Armbruster and Hanna Glanvill for assisting in the field; Prof. Martin Kidd from the Centre for Statistical Consultation, Dept of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa for assistance with the statistical analyses. This work was supported by a National Research Foundation scholarship to (KEM), the Andrew Mellon Foundation to (RBP) and a National Science Foundation Grant (IOS-0845125) to (RBP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    K. E. Marais, S. M. Jacobs & K. J. Esler

  2. Department of Biology, California State University, Bakersfield, CA, 93311, USA

    R. B. Pratt & A. L. Jacobsen

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  1. K. E. Marais
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  2. R. B. Pratt
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  3. S. M. Jacobs
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  4. A. L. Jacobsen
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  5. K. J. Esler
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Correspondence to K. E. Marais.

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Communicated by Neal Enright.

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Marais, K.E., Pratt, R.B., Jacobs, S.M. et al. Postfire regeneration of resprouting mountain fynbos shrubs: differentiating obligate resprouters and facultative seeders. Plant Ecol 215, 195–208 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0289-4

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