Fire-mediated germination syndromes in Leucadendron (Proteaceae) and their functional correlates.

ABSTRACT: A mechanistic understanding of fire-driven seedling recruitment is essential for effective conservation management of fire-prone vegetation, such as South African fynbos, especially with rare and threatened taxa. The genus Leucadendron (Proteaceae) is an ideal candidate for comparative germination studies, comprising 85 species with a mixture of contrasting life-history traits (killed by fire vs able to resprout; serotinous vs geosporous) and seed morphologies (nutlets vs winged achenes). Individual and combined effects of heat and smoke on seed germination of 40 species were quantified in the laboratory, and Bayesian inference applied to distinguish biologically meaningful treatment effects from non-zero, but biologically trivial, effects. Three germination syndromes were identified based

SUBMITTER: Newton RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8241639 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature