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To resprout or not to resprout

January 25th, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

Resprouting is a mechanism that allows individual plants to persist in disturbance-prone ecosystems. It is often considered a binary trait, defining species as resprouters or non-resprouters [1]. Although this dichotomous classification accounts for a high proportion of the interspecific variability in resprouting, it does not account for the intraspecific variability, as not all individuals of resprouting species successfully resprout [2], even if they are subject to a similar disturbance. In a recent paper, we proposed a conceptual model that disaggregates the process of resprouting into three sequential steps: initial ability to resprout, resprouting vigour and post-resprouting survival [3]. Intraspecific variability in resprouting supported the importance of: a) the pre-disturbance state of the plant (i.e. plant size and stored resources) on the initial ability to resprout and on the resprouting vigour, and b) the initial post-disturbance capacity to acquire resources (i.e., resprouting vigour) on the post-resprouting survival. The proposed three-step model of resprouting provides a mechanistic description of the factors driving intraspecific variability in resprouting.

Figure: Probability of initiating resprouting (as a function of starch concentration in roots), resprouting vigor (as a function of pre-disturbance plant size), and survival (as a function of the resprouting vigor), for Linum suffruticosum [see pictures] in the Valencia (eastern Spain). From Moreira et al. (2012) [2]

References

[1] Pausas, J.G., Bradstock, R.A., Keith, D.A., Keeley, J.E. & GCTE Fire Network. 2004. Plant functional traits in relation to fire in crown-fire ecosystems. Ecology 85: 1085-1100. [jstor | pdf]

[2] Catry F.X., Rego F., Moreira F., Fernandes F.M., Pausas J.G. 2010. Post-fire tree mortality in mixed forests of central Portugal. For. Ecol. Manage. 206: 1184-1192. [doi | pdf | post]

[3] Moreira B., Tormo J, Pausas J.G. 2012. To resprout or not to resprout: factors driving intraspecific variability in resprouting. Oikos [doipdf]

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