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Fire induced structural change in a Western Australian Woodland
Author(s) -
HOPKINS A. J. M.,
ROBINSON C. J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1981.tb01288.x
Subject(s) - edaphic , woodland , ecology , vegetation (pathology) , geography , shrub , fire regime , biology , ecosystem , medicine , pathology , soil water
Long term effects of a single fire on eucalypt woodland vegetation in south‐western Australia are reported. The fire, which was about 40 years ago, converted the woodland to a mallee‐heath. Edaphic and floristic continuity across the clearly defined structural boundaries, established through sampling, supports the contention that the structural disjunction is the result of this fire. Regeneration is estimated to take up to 100 years, during which time the shrub stratum thins out and herbs and grasses become more abundant. Further episodes of fire are likely to reinforce the structural changes in the vegetation. This example of mallee‐heath is described as a pyric disclimax. It is suggested that some other Australian heath and mallee‐heath formations may be of similar successional status.