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Post‐fire invasion and subsequent extinction of C onyza spp. in M editerranean forests is mostly explained by local factors
Author(s) -
Pino J,
Arnan X,
Rodrigo A,
Retana J
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
weed research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-3180
pISSN - 0043-1737
DOI - 10.1111/wre.12040
Subject(s) - vegetation (pathology) , ecology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , herbaceous plant , biology , local extinction , forestry , geography , biological dispersal , demography , medicine , paleontology , population , pathology , sociology
Summary This work explored the invasion patterns of C onyza species in M editerranean pine forests after fire and identified their main correlates through a temporal study approach. We hypothesised that wildfires might favour C onyza spp. invasion in these forests, but only transiently and depending on fire regime. We recorded C onyza spp. invasion and subsequent extinction in plots from species' occurrence and cover in vegetation surveys. We also explored the association of C onyza spp. presence and cover with a set of climatic, landscape and local (plot) factors using GLZ and GLM . We assessed changes in significant factors over time with a W ilcoxon test for paired samples. Evidence for C onyza spp. establishment was found in two‐thirds of the study plots, with an invasion peak 2 years after fire. Local factors related to resource availability, including high fire severity, low soil stoniness and total vegetation cover and high herbaceous cover, were significantly correlated with C onyza occurrence in plots at the invasion peak. However, C onyza cover was always low (≤6%) and populations did not persist more than several years, thus becoming rarer as plant cover increased. Landscape and climatic factors showed no association with C onyza occurrence. In conclusion, wildfires favour transient invasion of E uropean M editerranean pine forests by C onyza spp. Invasion is mostly enhanced by local fire severity and constrained by subsequent vegetation recovery, while it is poorly explained by climate and landscape, either current or historical.