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Fire reduces eucalypt forest flowering phenology at the landscape-scale
Dan J Dixon1, John M A Duncan2, J Nikolaus Callow1
1School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, WA, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Honey Bee Products, Yanchep 6035, Western Australia, Australia.
The Science of the Total Environment
|June 18, 2023
Summary
Fire significantly reduces flowering in Corymbia calophylla trees, with recovery taking years. High-severity fires cause the most impact, affecting forest resilience and biodiversity.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Forestry
- Remote Sensing
Background:
- Plant phenology, the timing of reproductive events, is influenced by fire disturbance.
- Climate change is increasing fire frequency and intensity, impacting forest ecosystems.
- Directly assessing fire's effect on phenology is challenging due to confounding factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the impact of fire history (time since fire and severity) on Corymbia calophylla flowering.
- To understand landscape-scale phenological responses to fire in a Mediterranean-climate forest.
- To inform forest management strategies under changing fire regimes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized CubeSat-derived crown-scale flowering data for landscape analysis.
- Employed a quasi-experimental design comparing fire perimeters (treatment) with adjacent past fire perimeters (control).
- Analyzed fire severity (crown scorch) and time since fire over a 15-year period.
Main Results:
- Fire reduced the proportion of flowering trees at the landscape scale.
- Flowering recovery rate was estimated at 0.15% per year.
- High-severity fires (>20% canopy scorch) had a significant negative effect, while understory burns did not.
Conclusions:
- Fire, particularly high-severity events, negatively impacts Corymbia calophylla reproduction.
- Managed fuel reduction burns can influence tree reproductive success.
- Findings highlight the broad impact of fire on forest resiliency and biodiversity.
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