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Do Wildfires Promote Woody Species Invasion in a Fire-Adapted Ecosystem? Post-fire Resprouting of Native and Non-native Woody Plants in Central Argentina

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Abstract

We asked whether prescribed fire could be a useful management tool to reduce invasion by non-native plants in an ecosystem where native plants are supposed to be adapted to fires. Specifically, we compare the post-fire resprouting response of native and non-native woody species in Chaco Serrano forest of central Argentina. The measurements were carried out in five burnt areas where we selected ten native and seven non-native species. Our response variables were (1) post-fire survival, (2) types of resprouts, and (3) the growth of the resprouts. Our main results show that one year after the fire, survivals of native and non-native species were 0.84 and 0.89, respectively, with variances in survival seven times smaller in the native species group. Type of resprout was also less variable in native species, while growth of the resprouts was similar in native and non-native groups. We interpret that in most cases, the burning a forest with mixed native and non-native plants through prescribed fires will not differentially stop the invasion by non-native woody species even in ecosystems which are presumed to be relatively resistant to fires such as our study area.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Verga E, Petrochelli D, and Fioretti N for helping in the field. We also thank Mestre L, Pollice J, Lett I, Capó E, Chartier M, and Ibarra I for the ideas, discussions, and advice on an earlier version of the manuscript. Nori J assisted in the preparation of the map. We also acknowledge the associate editor and two anonymous reviewers, who made important suggestions that have improved the manuscript. Our work was supported by Rufford Small Grants and CONICET (PIP#11220120100164CO). DR is researcher of CONICET.

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Correspondence to M. Lucrecia Herrero.

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Herrero, M.L., Torres, R.C. & Renison, D. Do Wildfires Promote Woody Species Invasion in a Fire-Adapted Ecosystem? Post-fire Resprouting of Native and Non-native Woody Plants in Central Argentina. Environmental Management 57, 308–317 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0616-8

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