Post-fire primary production and plant community dynamics in chaparral stands exposed to varying levels of nitrogen deposition

High levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to southern California chaparral shrublands may interact with fire to affect biomass production and plant species composition during secondary succession. To determine the potential interactions between post fire recovery and N deposition we compared rates of aboveground net primary production (ANPP), shrub growth, and the relative abundance of Adenostoma fasciculatum, other sub-dominant shrubs, and herbaceous species of three chaparral stands exposed to different levels of atmospheric N deposition over the first 3 years of post-fire succession. Our data suggest that rates of ANPP (gdw m(-2) month(-1)) and aboveground N storage (gN m(-2) month(-1)) for these chaparral stands were not related to N deposition even though sites exposed to high levels of N deposition had significantly higher rates of shrub growth (gdw plant(-1) month(-1)) and N uptake (gN plant(-1) month(-1)). However, high-N stands were composed of larger shrubs with a lower density, and this trade-off between shrub size and density may explain the low correlation between N deposition and post-fire ANPP. Differences in relative plant species abundance between sites were significantly correlated with N deposition exposure, where stands exposed to high N deposition had a lower relative abundance of A. fasciculatum and a higher relative abundance of other shrub and herbaceous species. While many factors can affect rates and patterns of post-fire recovery, these results suggest that chronic exposure to N deposition may significantly alter plant growth and species composition in successional chaparral stands.

Flowering phenology of invasive alien plant species compared with native species in three Mediterranean-type ecosystems

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Flowering phenology is a potentially important component of success of alien species, since elevated fecundity may enhance invasiveness. The flowering patterns of invasive alien plant species and related natives were studied in three regions with Mediterranean-type climate: California, Spain and South Africa's Cape region.

METHODS

A total of 227 invasive-native pairs were compared for seven character types across the regions, with each pair selected on the basis that they shared the same habitat type within a region, had a common growth form and pollination type, and belonged to the same family or genus.

KEY RESULTS

Invasive alien plant species have different patterns of flowering phenology from native species in the three regions. Whether the alien species flower earlier, later or at the same time as natives depends on the climatic regime in the native range of the aliens and the proportion of species in the invasive floras originating from different regions. Species invading at least two of the regions displayed the same flowering pattern, showing that flowering phenology is a conservative trait. Invasive species with native ranges in temperate climates flower earlier than natives, those from Mediterranean-type climates at the same time, and species from tropical climates flower later. In California, where the proportion of invaders from the Mediterranean Basin is high, the flowering pattern did not differ between invasive and native species, whereas in Spain the high proportion of tropical species results in a later flowering than natives, and in the Cape region early flowering than natives was the result of a high proportion of temperate invaders.

CONCLUSIONS

Observed patterns are due to the human-induced sympatry of species with different evolutionary histories whose flowering phenology evolved under different climatic regimes. The severity of the main abiotic filters imposed by the invaded regions (e.g. summer drought) has not been strong enough (yet) to shift the flowering pattern of invasive species to correspond with that of native relatives. It does, however, determine the length of the flowering season and the type of habitat invaded by summer-flowering aliens. Results suggest different implications for impacts at evolutionary time scales among the three regions.