Increased fire severity alters initial vegetation regeneration across Calluna-dominated ecosystems

Grau-Andrés, Roger; Davies, G. Matt; Waldron, Susan; Scott, E. Marian; Gray, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6785-0590. 2019 Increased fire severity alters initial vegetation regeneration across Calluna-dominated ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Management, 231. 1004-1011. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.113

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.113

Abstract/Summary

Calluna vulgaris-dominated habitats are valued for ecosystem services such as carbon storage and for their conservation importance. Climate and environmental change are altering their fire regimes. In particular, more frequent summer droughts will result in higher severity wildfires. This could alter the plant community composition of Calluna habitats and thereby influence ecosystem function. To study the effect of fire severity on community composition we used rain-out shelters to simulate drought prior to experimental burns at two Calluna-dominated sites, a raised bog and a heathland. We analysed species abundance in plots surveyed ca. 16 months after fire in relation to burn severity (indicated by fire-induced soil heating). We found that fire severity was an important control on community composition at both sites. Higher fire severity increased the abundance of ericoids, graminoids and acrocarpous mosses, and decreased the abundance of pleurocarpous mosses compared to lower severity fires. At the raised bog, the keystone species Sphagnum capillifolium and Eriophorum vaginatum showed no difference in regeneration with fire severity. Species and plant functional type beta-diversity increased following fire, and was similar in higher compared to lower severity burns. Our results further our understanding of the response of Calluna-dominated habitats to projected changes in fire regimes, and can assist land managers using prescribed fires in selecting burning conditions to achieve management objectives.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.113
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0301-4797
Additional Keywords:	wildfire, moorland, prescribed fire, peatland, community composition, Ericoid, dwarf shrub, non-metric multidimensional scaling, beta-diversity
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	20 Dec 2018 11:49 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/521904

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.113

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

0301-4797

Additional Keywords:

wildfire, moorland, prescribed fire, peatland, community composition, Ericoid, dwarf shrub, non-metric multidimensional scaling, beta-diversity

NORA Subject Terms:

Ecology and Environment