small-scale variation in fuel loads differentially affects two co-dominant bunchgrasses in a species-rich pine savanna小规模的燃料装载不同的变化会影响两个共显性bunchgrasses物种松树稀树大草原.pdfVIP

Small-Scale Variation in Fuel Loads Differentially Affects Two Co-Dominant Bunchgrasses in a Species-Rich Pine Savanna 1 ¤a 1,2 1 1¤a 1¤b Paul R. Gagnon * , Kyle E. Harms , William J. Platt , Heather A. Passmore , Jonathan A. Myers 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America, 2 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama Abstract Ecological disturbances frequently control the occurrence and patterning of dominant plants in high-diversity communities like C4 grasslands and savannas. In such ecosystems disturbance-related processes can have important implications for species, and for whole communities when those species are dominant, yet mechanistic understanding of such processes remains fragmentary. Multiple bunchgrass species commonly co-dominate disturbance-dependent and species-rich pine savannas, where small-scale fuel heterogeneity may influence bunchgrass survival and growth following fires. We quantified how fire in locally varying fuel loads influenced dynamics of dominant C4 bunchgrasses in a species-rich pine savanna in southeastern Louisiana, USA. We focused on two congeneric, co-dominant species (Schizachyrium scoparium and S. tenerum) with similar growth forms, functional traits and reproductive strategies to highlight effects of fuel heterogeneity during fires. In experimental plots with either reduced or increased fuels versus controls with unmanipulated fuels, we compared: 1) bunchgrass damage and 2) mortality from fires; 3) subsequent growth and 4) flowering. Compared to controls