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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): A. Mojzes; P. Csontos; T. Kalapos
Publication Date: May 20, 2015

Relationships between seed germination response to plant-derived smoke and various plant traits (habitat requirements, life form, seed morphology, seed bank type) were analysed for 97 species of the Hungarian flora using published data. It was hypothesized that smoke-responsive species those displaying enhanced germination in response to smoke differ from non-responsive species smoke having an indifferent or inhibitory effect on germination in habitat requirements and/or certain life history traits. To our knowledge, no such comparison has previously been reported for a European flora. We found that species indicating disturbance and those preferring soils rich or moderately rich in nitrogen were more frequent in the smoke-responsive group (80% and 41%, respectively) than in the non-responsive group, while the non-responsive group contained a high percentage of natural species (i.e. species dominant or characteristic in natural plant communities; 47%) and species indicative of nutrient poor (38%) or (sub)mesotrophic (38%) soils. Annuals or biennials (67%) dominated the smoke-responsive group, whereas in the non-responsive group these short-lived species and perennial herbs were equally abundant (43% each). There was a tendency for higher frequency of long-term persistent seed bank among smoke-responsive species (78%) than in the non-responsive group (54%). These findings suggest that smoke-stimulated germination is associated with only a few specific plant traits for species from a semiarid temperate region of Europe, but highlight the frequent occurrence of smoke-enhanced germination among short-lived, nitrophilous or disturbance tolerant species. These results can contribute to a better understanding of post-fire regeneration of plant communities, and could also be considered during vegetation restoration or weed management. © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Citation: Mojzes, A., P. Csontos, and T. Kalapos. 2015. Is the positive response of seed germination to plant-derived smoke associated with plant traits? Acta Oecologica, v. 65-66, p. 24-31. 10.1016/j.actao.2015.05.001.

Cataloging Information

Regions:
Keywords:
  • ecological indicator values
  • Europe
  • fire management
  • forest management
  • Hungary
  • life form
  • plant communities
  • post fire recovery
  • regeneration
  • seed dormancy
  • seed germination
  • seed properties
  • seeds
  • smoke effects
  • smoke management
  • temperate species
  • weeds
  • weeds
  • wildfires
Tall Timbers Record Number: 31320Location Status: Not in fileCall Number: AvailableAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 53810

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.