Influence of fire history and soil properties on plant species richness and functional diversity in a neotropical savanna

Acta Botanica Brasilica

Danilo Muniz Silva¹  Marco Antônio Batalha¹  Marcus Vinicius Cianciaruso² 

[1] ,Universidade Federal de São Carlos Departamento de Botânica São Carlos SP ,Brazil

关键词: cerrado;    complementarity;    fertility effect;    plant traits;    soil nitrogen;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0102-33062013000300005

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Differences in plant species richness and composition are associated with soil properties and disturbances such as fire, which can therefore be key determinants of species occurrence in savanna plant communities. We measured species richness, using nine plant functional traits and abundance to calculate three functional diversity indices. We then used model selection analyses to select the best model for predicting functional diversity and richness based on soil variables at sites with three different fire frequencies. We also calculated the community-weighted mean of each trait and used ordination to examine how traits changed across fire frequencies. We found higher species richness and functional dispersion at sites that were more fertile and where fire was frequent, and the opposite at such sites where fire was infrequent. However, soil properties influenced functional evenness and divergence only where fire was infrequent, with higher values where soils were poorer. Fire can change functional traits directly by hindering development of plants and indirectly by altering competition. Different fire frequencies lead to different plant-soil relationships, which can affect the functioning of tropical savanna communities. Functional diversity components and functional identity of the communities are both affected by fire frequency and soil conditions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
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