Premium
Logging and fire regimes alter plant communities
Author(s) -
Bowd Elle J.,
Lindenmayer David B.,
Banks Sam C.,
Blair David P.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.864
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-5582
pISSN - 1051-0761
DOI - 10.1002/eap.1693
Subject(s) - salvage logging , sclerophyll , disturbance (geology) , ecology , logging , plant community , biology , ecosystem , resistance (ecology) , fire regime , pioneer species , environmental change , climate change , forest ecology , ecological succession , paleontology , mediterranean climate
Disturbances are key drivers of plant community composition, structure, and function. Plant functional traits, including life forms and reproductive strategies are critical to the resilience and resistance of plant communities in the event of disturbance. Climate change and increasing anthropogenic disturbance are altering natural disturbance regimes globally. When these regimes shift beyond the adaptive resilience of plant functional traits, local populations and ecosystem functions can become compromised. We tested the influence of multiple disturbances, of varying intensity and frequency, on the composition and abundance of vascular plant communities and their respective functional traits (life forms and reproductive strategies) in the wet sclerophyll, Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans forests of southeastern Australia. Specifically, we quantified the effect of the type and number of disturbances (including fires, clearcut logging, and salvage logging) on plant community composition. We found that clearcut and salvage logging and the number of fires significantly influenced plant community composition and functional traits. Specifically, multiple fires resulted in lower populations of species that depend on on‐site seeding for persistence. This includes the common tree species Eucalyptus regnans , Pomaderris aspera , and Acacia dealbata . In contrast, clearcut and salvage logged sites supported abundant on‐site seeder species. However, species that depend on resprouting by surviving individuals, such as common and keystone “tree ferns” Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis , declined significantly. Our data have important implications for understanding the relationship between altered disturbance regimes and plant communities and the respective effects on ecosystem function. In a period of rapid global environmental change, with disturbances predicted to increase and intensify, it is critical to address the impact of altered disturbance regimes on biodiversity.