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Local versus regional intraspecific variability in regeneration traits
B Moreira1, C Tavsanoglu, J G Pausas
1Department of Plant Ecology, Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CIDE-CSIC), IVIA Campus, Moncada, Valencia, Spain.
Oecologia
|September 22, 2011
Summary
In fire-prone Mediterranean ecosystems, local factors like recurrent fires create more plant trait variability within populations than broader biogeographical differences between regions. This highlights fire
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Plant Science
Background:
- Intraspecific trait variability is crucial for ecosystem function but the drivers of this variability (local vs. regional processes) remain unclear.
- Biogeographical factors influence trait variation between distant populations, while local disturbances like fire may shape variability at a finer scale.
- Fire-prone ecosystems, such as the Mediterranean Basin, offer a unique context to study the interplay of local and regional processes on plant traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relative importance of local (within-region) versus regional (between-region) processes in generating intraspecific variability of fire-related regeneration traits.
- To test the hypothesis that local fire-driven heterogeneity in Mediterranean ecosystems leads to greater local intraspecific trait variability than regional biogeographical differences.
Main Methods:
- Assessed intraspecific variability in seed size, seed dormancy, and fire-stimulated germination (heat and smoke) for two Mediterranean species: Cistus salviifolius and Lavandula stoechas.
- Selected six populations per species across two distant regions (Anatolian and Iberian Peninsulas) to represent regional and local scales.
- Employed linear mixed-effect models to decompose and compare trait variability at regional (between-region) and local (within-region) levels.
Main Results:
- For both studied species, intraspecific variability in regeneration traits was significantly higher at the local scale (within regions) compared to the regional scale (between regions).
- This pattern persisted despite significant biogeographical and climatic differences between the eastern and western Mediterranean regions.
Conclusions:
- Recurrent fires in Mediterranean ecosystems are a primary driver of intraspecific variability in plant regeneration traits, overriding broader biogeographical influences.
- Fire acts as a significant ecological and evolutionary process shaping plant trait diversity and biodiversity in fire-prone environments.
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