Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests

Abstract Fire is a global driver of ecosystem structure, function, and change. Problems common to fire scientists and managers worldwide include a limited knowledge of how multiple taxonomic groups within a given ecosystem respond to recurrent fires, and how interactions between fire regimes and env...

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Main Authors: Luke T. Kelly, Angie Haslem, Greg J. Holland, Steven W. J. Leonard, Josephine MacHunter, Michelle Bassett, Andrew F. Bennett, Matthew J. Bruce, Evelyn K. Chia, Fiona J. Christie, Michael F. Clarke, Julian Di Stefano, Richard Loyn, Michael A. McCarthy, Alina Pung, Natasha Robinson, Holly Sitters, Matthew Swan, Alan York
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-04-01
Series:Ecosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1781
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author Luke T. Kelly
Angie Haslem
Greg J. Holland
Steven W. J. Leonard
Josephine MacHunter
Michelle Bassett
Andrew F. Bennett
Matthew J. Bruce
Evelyn K. Chia
Fiona J. Christie
Michael F. Clarke
Julian Di Stefano
Richard Loyn
Michael A. McCarthy
Alina Pung
Natasha Robinson
Holly Sitters
Matthew Swan
Alan York
author_facet Luke T. Kelly
Angie Haslem
Greg J. Holland
Steven W. J. Leonard
Josephine MacHunter
Michelle Bassett
Andrew F. Bennett
Matthew J. Bruce
Evelyn K. Chia
Fiona J. Christie
Michael F. Clarke
Julian Di Stefano
Richard Loyn
Michael A. McCarthy
Alina Pung
Natasha Robinson
Holly Sitters
Matthew Swan
Alan York
author_sort Luke T. Kelly
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Fire is a global driver of ecosystem structure, function, and change. Problems common to fire scientists and managers worldwide include a limited knowledge of how multiple taxonomic groups within a given ecosystem respond to recurrent fires, and how interactions between fire regimes and environmental gradients influence biodiversity. We tested six hypotheses relating to fire regimes and environmental gradients in forest ecosystems using data on birds (493 sites), mammals (175 sites), and vascular plants (615 sites) systematically collected in dry eucalypt forests in southeastern Australia. We addressed each of these hypotheses by fitting species distribution models which differed in the environmental variables used, the spatial extent of the data, or the type of response data. We found (1) as predicted, fire interacted with environmental gradients and shaped species distributions, but there was substantial variation between species; (2) multiple characteristics of fire regimes influenced the distribution of forest species; (3) common to vertebrates and plants was a strong influence of temperature and rainfall gradients, but contrary to predictions, inter‐fire interval was the most influential component of the fire regime on both taxonomic groups; (4) mixed support for the hypothesis that fire would be a stronger influence on species occurrence at a smaller spatial extent; only for vertebrates did scale have an effect in the direction expected; (5) as predicted, vertebrates closely associated with direct measures of habitat structure were those most strongly influenced by fire regimes; and (6) the modeled fire responses for birds were sensitive to the use of either presence–absence or abundance data. These results underscore the important insights that can be gained by modeling how fire regimes, not just fire events, influence biota in forests. Our work highlights the need for management of fire regimes to be complemented by an understanding of the underlying environmental gradients and key elements of habitat structure that influence resource availability for plants and animals. We have demonstrated that there are general patterns in biotic responses to fire regimes and environmental gradients, but landscape management must continue to carefully consider species, scale, and the quality of biodiversity data to achieve biodiversity conservation in fire‐prone forests.
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spelling doaj.art-8493b38686334ec394d1fe9f5e1ee6bf2022-12-21T20:12:01ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252017-04-0184n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.1781Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forestsLuke T. Kelly0Angie Haslem1Greg J. Holland2Steven W. J. Leonard3Josephine MacHunter4Michelle Bassett5Andrew F. Bennett6Matthew J. Bruce7Evelyn K. Chia8Fiona J. Christie9Michael F. Clarke10Julian Di Stefano11Richard Loyn12Michael A. McCarthy13Alina Pung14Natasha Robinson15Holly Sitters16Matthew Swan17Alan York18School of BioSciences ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 AustraliaDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 AustraliaDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 AustraliaDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 AustraliaDepartment of Environment Land Water and Planning Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Heidelberg Victoria 3084 AustraliaCentre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Burwood Victoria 3125 AustraliaDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 AustraliaDepartment of Environment Land Water and Planning Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Heidelberg Victoria 3084 AustraliaCentre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Burwood Victoria 3125 AustraliaFire Ecology and Biodiversity Group School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Creswick Victoria 3363 AustraliaDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 AustraliaFire Ecology and Biodiversity Group School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Creswick Victoria 3363 AustraliaDepartment of Environment Land Water and Planning Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Heidelberg Victoria 3084 AustraliaSchool of BioSciences ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 AustraliaSchool of BioSciences ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 AustraliaDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 AustraliaFire Ecology and Biodiversity Group School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Creswick Victoria 3363 AustraliaFire Ecology and Biodiversity Group School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Creswick Victoria 3363 AustraliaFire Ecology and Biodiversity Group School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Creswick Victoria 3363 AustraliaAbstract Fire is a global driver of ecosystem structure, function, and change. Problems common to fire scientists and managers worldwide include a limited knowledge of how multiple taxonomic groups within a given ecosystem respond to recurrent fires, and how interactions between fire regimes and environmental gradients influence biodiversity. We tested six hypotheses relating to fire regimes and environmental gradients in forest ecosystems using data on birds (493 sites), mammals (175 sites), and vascular plants (615 sites) systematically collected in dry eucalypt forests in southeastern Australia. We addressed each of these hypotheses by fitting species distribution models which differed in the environmental variables used, the spatial extent of the data, or the type of response data. We found (1) as predicted, fire interacted with environmental gradients and shaped species distributions, but there was substantial variation between species; (2) multiple characteristics of fire regimes influenced the distribution of forest species; (3) common to vertebrates and plants was a strong influence of temperature and rainfall gradients, but contrary to predictions, inter‐fire interval was the most influential component of the fire regime on both taxonomic groups; (4) mixed support for the hypothesis that fire would be a stronger influence on species occurrence at a smaller spatial extent; only for vertebrates did scale have an effect in the direction expected; (5) as predicted, vertebrates closely associated with direct measures of habitat structure were those most strongly influenced by fire regimes; and (6) the modeled fire responses for birds were sensitive to the use of either presence–absence or abundance data. These results underscore the important insights that can be gained by modeling how fire regimes, not just fire events, influence biota in forests. Our work highlights the need for management of fire regimes to be complemented by an understanding of the underlying environmental gradients and key elements of habitat structure that influence resource availability for plants and animals. We have demonstrated that there are general patterns in biotic responses to fire regimes and environmental gradients, but landscape management must continue to carefully consider species, scale, and the quality of biodiversity data to achieve biodiversity conservation in fire‐prone forests.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1781Australiabiodiversitybirdsboosted regression treesclimatefire ecology
spellingShingle Luke T. Kelly
Angie Haslem
Greg J. Holland
Steven W. J. Leonard
Josephine MacHunter
Michelle Bassett
Andrew F. Bennett
Matthew J. Bruce
Evelyn K. Chia
Fiona J. Christie
Michael F. Clarke
Julian Di Stefano
Richard Loyn
Michael A. McCarthy
Alina Pung
Natasha Robinson
Holly Sitters
Matthew Swan
Alan York
Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
Ecosphere
Australia
biodiversity
birds
boosted regression trees
climate
fire ecology
title Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
title_full Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
title_fullStr Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
title_full_unstemmed Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
title_short Fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
title_sort fire regimes and environmental gradients shape vertebrate and plant distributions in temperate eucalypt forests
topic Australia
biodiversity
birds
boosted regression trees
climate
fire ecology
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1781
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