Spatio‐temporal patterns in post‐burn succession on Brittany heathlands

Abstract

AbstractHeathlands in the Paimpont area, Brittany, were ravaged by numerous fires in the summer of 1976. The period in which the fires occurred, and their intensity had important consequences for recolonization processes. In the tall Ulex europaeus heathland described in this paper, fire occurred relatively late (mid‐July), and was of high intensity. Colonisation was mainly from propagules, often from species foreign to the original heathland.Plant succession together with vertical and horizontal structure was studied in permanent plots over 13 yr. Three stages were distinguished. Vertical structure varied greatly among the three stages. It was very simple in the colonisation phase, became more complicated during the competition phase, but became simpler again in the stabilisation phase. This was particularly evident for the moss layer, which, 13 yr after the fire, was made up of Polytrichum commune alone. Mosses showed interspecific competition with size as the decisive factor: the large mosses gradually eliminated the smaller ones.Horizontal structure was studied using spatial autocorrelation, which provided some indication of the distinctive ‐ness and scale of spatial pattern. Some species were weakly aggregated such as Ceratodon purpureus, Polytrichum pili‐ferum, and P. juniperinum, whileothers, like the P. formosum‐P. commune complex, Agrostis curtisii and Ulex minor were strongly aggregated.In the current community, 13 yr after the fire, a mosaic can be distinguished with three components: (1) a moss layer of Polytrichum commune on which a herbaceous layer, dominated by Agrostis curtisii has developed; (2) a birch wood (both Betulapéndula and B. pubescens), which established on the Polytrichum ‐ Agrostis combination; (3) patches of Ulex minor heathland, with a few Frica and Calluna plants.Extreme simplicity and stability are the two prominent features of the present vegetation state.