Abstract
Knowing the abundance of different plant species provides insights into the properties of vegetation communities, such as flammability. Therefore, a fundamental goal in ecology is identifying environmental conditions affecting the abundance of plant species across landscapes. Water and light are important environmental moderators of plant growth, and by extension, abundance. In the context of understanding forest flammability, the abundance of a flammable plant species in terms of its cover or biomass can shape the flammability of the whole vegetation community. We conducted a glasshouse experiment to determine the impact of drought and shade on growth, biomass allocation and leaf morphology of forest wiregrass Tetrarrhena juncea R.Br., a rhizomatous perennial grass. When it is abundant, this species is known to contribute substantially to the flammability of eucalypt forest understories (via both ignitability and combustibility). Contrasting hypotheses in the literature predict that drought can have a weaker, stronger, or independent (uncoupled) impact on plant growth when light is limiting. We used a randomized complete block design with ten treatments from the combination of two water levels (drought, well-watered) and five light levels (100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%). Drought and shade were found to have independent effects on wiregrass growth, biomass allocation, and leaf morphology, supporting the uncoupled hypothesis. Growth showed greater plasticity in response to drought, while biomass allocation and leaf morphology showed greater plasticity in response to shade. Our results suggest that wiregrass is more likely to be abundant in terms of its cover and biomass when water is not limiting. Under these conditions, the increased wiregrass abundance could create a window of increased flammability for the forest ecosystem.
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Acknowledgements
This research was conducted as part of a PhD project. We thank Craig Baillie and Anna Maria Magda Demeterio for their assistance in the collection of wiregrass planting materials; Nicholas Osborne and Rowan Berry for preparing and maintaining the glasshouse, securing the needed materials for the experiment, and administering pesticides; Radames Gaspar Santos Anacleto for his help in wiregrass propagation; Melody Palbusa, Jane Paula Cruz and Karisse Perey for their help in the harvest process.
Funding
Funding was received through a Melbourne International Research Scholarship and the research project “Managing bushfire in Tall Mist Forests—fuel hazard and moisture relationships.” This project was managed within the integrated Forest Ecosystem Research program, a research program conducted by the University of Melbourne and funded by the Victorian Government’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). Additional funding was also obtained from Research Higher Degree (RHD) Student Research Accelerator Fund of the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.
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All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. GC carried out the research and data analysis. GC, CF, and TD contributed to the interpretation of data. GC drafted the manuscript. All authors reviewed, edited and approved the manuscript. TD, JC and GC acquired funding and resources for the study. All authors take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole.
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Cadiz, G.O., Cawson, J.G., Duff, T.J. et al. Independent effects of drought and shade on growth, biomass allocation and leaf morphology of a flammable perennial grass Tetrarrhena juncea R.Br. Plant Ecol 222, 877–895 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-021-01148-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-021-01148-y