Sclerophyllous Research Articles

Rare plant species occurrence patterns are associated not with soil properties, but with frequent fire in a southeast Australian dry sclerophyll forest

AbstractQuestionSoil properties can play a crucial role in influencing the abundance and distribution of plant species. Fire regimes can also have substantial impacts on plant community composition. However, few studies have examined the effects of both fire regimes and soil properties on the occurrence of rare plant species. Here, we asked if rare species have specific soil and fire regime associations relative to common species, and if soil properties may explain potential fire effects.LocationBooderee National Park, southeastern Australia.MethodsWe collected soil cores and completed vegetation surveys on 42 sites in Sydney Coastal Dry Sclerophyll Forest vegetation. We tested for associations between the number of rare species and common species present in relation to three soil chemical properties (available phosphorus, ammonium and organic carbon), fire frequency, and time since fire.ResultsWe found that rare and common species were not associated with any of the examined soil properties. However, rare species were associated with sites with a high fire frequency, while common species were negatively associated with time since fire.ConclusionsOur results indicate that rare species’ occurrence patterns may be influenced by the direct effects of fire or mediated by multiple factors, rather than shaped solely by soil properties in our study area. Future work to understand the factors that underpin rare species’ occurrence patterns in response to fire is critical to develop fire management protocols that effectively conserve rare species in dry sclerophyll forests.

Impact of Phytophthora cinnamomi on the taxonomic and functional diversity of forest plants in a mediterranean‐type biodiversity hotspot

AbstractAimDiversity‐rich mediterranean‐type sclerophyllous forests are home to 20% of described species on Earth. In the Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) forest of southwest of Western Australia diversity is being reduced by extensive human use and the introduction of the plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. This study investigated the influence of P. cinnamomi infestation on the structure, taxonomic and functional diversity, and species composition of the forest.LocationJarrah forest of southwestern Australia.MethodsSpecies abundance, understorey cover and canopy cover were assessed along 22, 30 m long transects which crossed infested and non‐infested zones in five reserves in the jarrah forest. A trait database was assembled for 137 plants using 13 traits related to nutrient and carbon acquisition, disturbance tolerance and reproduction. The responses of canopy cover, understorey cover, species richness, Shannon diversity, evenness, abundance, and functional diversity for trait groups, and all groups combined were modelled against reserve and zone as fixed effects and transect and transect section as random effects. To assess the species composition, non‐metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination based on Jaccard resemblance and indicator species analyses were used.ResultsSignificantly higher understorey cover, species richness, Shannon diversity and evenness were recorded in non‐infested compared to infested zones, but there were no changes in the canopy cover and overall abundance. In non‐infested zones, the functional diversity of nutrient acquisition and reproductive traits was higher, but the functional diversity of carbon acquisition traits was lower. No difference in functional diversity was recorded in disturbance tolerance and overall traits between the two zones. NMDS ordination and analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) revealed a significant difference in the species composition between the two zones, and 11 indicator species significantly associated with infested and non‐infested zones were identified.ConclusionPhytophthora cinnamomi has significantly affected the forest structure, taxonomic and functional diversity, and species composition. Contrasting responses of functional trait groups obscured overall trait responses to P. cinnamomi.

Multi-taxon biodiversity responses to the 2019-2020 Australian megafires.

Conditions conducive to fires are becoming increasingly common and widespread under climate change. Recent fire events across the globe have occurred over unprecedented scales, affecting a diverse array of species and habitats. Understanding biodiversity responses to such fires is critical for conservation. Quantifying post-fire recovery is problematic across taxa, from insects to plants to vertebrates, especially at large geographic scales. Novel datasets can address this challenge. We use presence-only citizen science data from iNaturalist, collected before and after the 2019-2020 megafires in burnt and unburnt regions of eastern Australia, to quantify the effect of post-fire diversity responses, up to 18 months post-fire. The geographic, temporal, and taxonomic sampling of this dataset was large, but sampling effort and species discoverability were unevenly spread. We used rarefaction and prediction (iNEXT) with which we controlled sampling completeness among treatments, to estimate diversity indices (Hill numbers: q = 0-2) among nine broad taxon groupings and seven habitats, including 3885 species. We estimated an increase in species diversity up to 18 months after the 2019-2020 Australian megafires in regions which were burnt, compared to before the fires in burnt and unburnt regions. Diversity estimates in dry sclerophyll forest matched and likely drove this overall increase post-fire, while no taxon groupings showed clear increases inconsistent with both control treatments post-fire. Compared to unburnt regions, overall diversity across all taxon groupings and habitats greatly decreased in areas exposed to extreme fire severity. Post-fire life histories are complex and species detectability is an important consideration in all post-fire sampling. We demonstrate how fire characteristics, distinct taxa, and habitat influence biodiversity, as seen in local-scale datasets. Further integration of large-scale datasets with small-scale studies will lead to a more robust understanding of fire recovery.

To burn, or not to burn: that is the question

Recently, Zylstra et al. reported that wet sclerophyll forest left unburnt for 75 years experiences a marked decrease in flammability, requiring a radical rethink about fire management. This also highlights the vertical dimension of fires, with species conservation favored by a mosaic of fire types (high pyrodiversity).

Implications of altered fire regimes for birds of dry sclerophyll forest under climate change

Climate change is driving increases in forest fire activity around the world. Consequently, recent and future research into the implications for affected biota, and its translation into policy and management, is of vital importance for the conservation of forest biodiversity. The dry sclerophyll forests of south-eastern Australia are affected by changing fire regimes, including having recently been extensively burnt. In this review, we synthesise contemporary research into the responses of dry sclerophyll forest birds to fire regimes, with a focus on contrasts in levels of time since fire, fire severity, fire frequency, and their interactions. We identify and discuss high-priority knowledge gaps and management issues in this domain. Recent studies have gained insights into the complexity of the effects of fire on birds by, for example, showing how avian fire responses are influenced by climate variability. In dry sclerophyll forests, most species that responded to time since fire were less likely to occur where it was short. There were mixed positive and negative responses to increasing fire severity and/or frequency among species in these forest bird assemblages. Given that quantification of the risk of extinction of rare and uncommon birds under increased fire activity is challenging, options for investigating their fire response are proposed. Availability of habitat for birds that flourish where fire is recent, severe and/or regular is unlikely to decline given current trends. We present a management approach that conceptualises large blocks of biologically connected forest with longer fire ages, but otherwise differing fire histories, as biodiversity reservoirs.

In Vitro Propagation of Peumus boldus Mol, a Woody Medicinal Plant Endemic to the Sclerophyllous Forest of Central Chile

In Vitro Propagation of Peumus boldus Mol, a Woody Medicinal Plant Endemic to the Sclerophyllous Forest of Central Chile

Revision of zigzag geckos (Diplodactylidae: Amalosia) in eastern Australia, with description of five new species.

Geckos of the genus Amalosia Wells & Wellington, 1984 occur across eastern and northern Australia. Only five species are described but additional diversity has been recognised for some time. Here we assess species diversity in eastern Australia, using morphological and genetic (ND4 mtDNA) data. We describe five new species, all morphologically distinct and highly genetically distinct (>25% divergence). Amalosia hinesi sp. nov. is found in woodlands on the western side of the Great Dividing Range in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales. Amalosia saxicola sp. nov. is a large species found on rocks in the MackayTownsville areas of mid-east Queensland, including on many offshore islands. Amalosia nebula sp. nov. is restricted to rocky areas in upland sclerophyll forest of the Wet Tropics region of north-east Queensland. Amalosia capensis sp. nov. is a small species found in the northern half of Cape York Peninsula. Amalosia queenslandia sp. nov. is a small species that is widespread through woodlands over much of eastern and central Queensland. These species are diagnosed from other Amalosia species in eastern Australia, including A. cf. rhombifer which occurs in north-western Queensland. Amalosia cf. rhombifer is part of the clades comprising the remainder of the A. rhombifer complex across the Northern Territory and Western Australia, which will be dealt with separately. Herein, we also we also synonymise the monotypic genus Nebulifera with Amalosia. This revision brings the number of Amalosia species to ten.

First known extinct feathertail possums (Acrobatidae, Marsupialia): palaeobiodiversity, phylogenetics, palaeoecology and palaeogeography

Four new fossil feathertail possum species (Marsupialia, Diprotodontia, Phalangerida, Petauroidea, Acrobatidae) are described from late Oligocene to middle Miocene fossil deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. They are the first pre-Pleistocene fossil representatives of this family to be described. Two species are referred to the modern genus Acrobates and two to the modern genus Distoechurus. These species are distinguished from each other and from the living Distoechurus pennatus and Acrobates pygmaeus on the basis of qualitative and quantitative characters of the first lower molar (m1), which is the only tooth known for all four fossil species. Fortunately, m1 is morphologically the most variable tooth in the cheektooth row of acrobatids, and it exhibits numerous genus- and species-specific features. Phylogenetic analyses based on dental characters strongly support monophyly of Acrobatidae relative to other petauroids, as well as providing relatively strong support for reciprocal monophyly of Acrobates and Distoechurus, including the newly described fossil members of these genera. Recognition of species of Acrobates and Distoechurus in these fossil deposits is broadly congruent with recent estimates for the time of divergence of the two modern genera based on molecular data, and also provides an additional fossil calibration point for future studies of marsupial divergence times. These fossil species provide new insights into the biogeographical and ecological history of this enigmatic family of small possums, specifically that the oldest known species of Acrobates occurred in closed forest environments (in contrast to the living species, A. pygmaeus and Acrobates frontalis, which today inhabit open sclerophyll forests and woodlands) and that Distoechurus appears to have originated in Australia, only subsequently dispersing to New Guinea before becoming extinct in its Australian homeland.Prudence R. Fabian [pruefabian@gmail.com], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Robin M.D. Beck [r.m.d.beck@salford.ac.uk], School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK.

Native Carnivore Diversity and Relative Abundance in Landscapes of the Coast Range in Central Chile: Insights for Conservation Decision-Making

Natural habitats in South America have been intensively used and modified, including their conversion to exotic tree plantations, impacting the terrestrial fauna communities. Carnivores play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems as apex predators. Landscape characteristics and resource availability determine the composition and abundance of co-occurring carnivores. We hypothesized that the diversity and relative abundance of native carnivores varied in relation to the different vegetation macrohabitats. We predicted that native forests support a higher diversity and abundance of native carnivores compared to exotic plantations. Between 1 March 2021 and 31 March 2022, we estimated the species’ richness, composition, and relative abundance of terrestrial native carnivores in three different landscapes of the Coast Range in central Chile: (a) monoculture plantation of the exotic Pinus radiata (MP); (b) Mediterranean coastal thorn forest (TF); and (c) Mediterranean coastal sclerophyllous forest (SF). We monitored an area of 1000 ha in each landscape, installing 10 camera traps (total of 30 camera traps). We used a monitoring transect with unbaited camera traps separated by 1 km, with a total photo-trapping effort of 10,046 camera days. The classification, organization, and analysis of camera trap data were conducted using CameraSweet software. The total number of independent native carnivore species events (photos separated > 60 min) recorded in each landscape were 1564 in SF, 1412 in TF, and 775 in MP. Carnivore richness and composition were not significantly different in all three landscapes. We detected five native carnivore species. Relative abundance by species was significantly higher in SF compared to MP for Leopardus guigna, Conepatus chinga, and Galictis cuja and also significantly higher in TF compared to MP for L. guigna. Our results suggest that the native vegetation cover must be preserved to maintain viable and abundant native carnivore populations, crucially relevant in the highly impacted and human-dominated global biodiversity hotspot of Central Chile. This study contributes to informing evidence-based decision-making and conservation strategies at the landscape level to mitigate biodiversity loss.

The climbing flora of New Caledonia: a comprehensive checklist

ABSTRACT New Caledonia, an archipelago located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, hosts a rich and highly original vascular flora, distributed within a remarkable mosaic of habitats. Despite intensive research on the flora, the diversity and ecology of the climbing flora within the archipelago remain virtually unknown. More globally, while most liana studies have been carried out in continental forests, data from island ecosystems remain scarce. This study aims to document the taxonomic diversity, and to analyze the ecology and functional traits of angiosperms climbers in New Caledonia. Using herbarium data, exhaustive bibliographic review and field studies, we provide a checklist of 274 autochthonous climbing taxa, distributed in 45 families. The majority of climbing plant species in New Caledonia are woody, herbaceous vine being infrequent. Climbing plants account for ~ 8% of the native flora (angiosperms), a rather small contribution compared with continental tropical floras. There is, however, a great heterogeneity in the distribution of climbing plants within the different vegetation, as they represent up to 19% of species in the sclerophyll forests, and only ~ 8 and 6.5% in respectively shrublands (maquis) and rain forests, which are the most original ecosystems in New Caledonia. The endemicity is relatively low (64%) compared to the global flora (75% of endemism). Three endemic genera are exclusively climbers (Artia, Balgoya and Clematepistephium). The diversity of climbing plants is concentrated within few families: ~29% belonging to Apocynaceae and more than half of the species are included in just four families.

Facilitation by pioneer trees and herbivore exclusion allow regeneration of woody species in the semiarid ecosystem of central Chile

AbstractQuestionsFacilitation by pioneer plants and herbivore exclusion may contribute to plant regeneration and restoration of degraded semiarid ecosystems. In this study we evaluated the main and interactive effects of the exclusion of large and medium‐sized mammal herbivores and the presence of the pioneer tree Vachellia caven on natural regeneration of woody species in degraded savannas.LocationTwo localities of the native sclerophyllous forest of central ChileMethodsTwelve 30 × 40 m exclosures and twelve non‐exclosure areas located near native forests were established in savannas of V. caven in each locality. Regeneration coming from seeds and resprouts was sampled both under the canopy of V. caven and without canopy in each exclosure and non‐excluded area.ResultsAfter seven years, species richness and density of older regeneration (0.5–2 m high) were positively affected by herbivore exclusion and the presence of V. caven. No significant interaction between herbivore exclusion and V. caven was observed. Younger regeneration (<0.5 m high) was positively affected by herbivore exclusion and the presence of V. caven only in some years with almost no interactive effect.ConclusionsThe exclusion of large and medium‐sized exotic herbivores and facilitation by pioneer trees are complementary for regeneration. The variable but permanent presence of younger and older regeneration within exclosures and under V. caven during the experiment may lead to an increase of density and diversity of adult plants and recovery of the native forest. However, this process may be slow due to other limiting factors, for instance, reduced precipitation associated with climate change.

Soil microbial community composition and functions are disrupted by fire and land use in a Mediterranean woodland

The intersection of fire, land use transformations, and climate change is putting Mediterranean climate-type ecosystems at risk of soil degradation and loss of ecosystem services. Ondik et al. (2022b) showed that in a Mediterranean dry sclerophyll woodland of South Australia, high severity fire and clearing and grazing practices impacted both physicochemical and biological soil quality indicators. Building upon the work of Ondik et al. (2022b) this study aims to 1) identify soil physicochemical properties impacted by fire and land management that are indirect drivers of changes to soil microbial community composition and 2) determine whether the observed changes to soil microbial community composition affect soil microbial functions. Via a redundancy analysis, we identified fire and management-induced changes to pH, soil water repellency, nutrient stoichiometry, and total nutrient content as significant drivers of the composition of soil microbial communities. We then measured basal respiration, substrate induced respiration, and the carbon mineralisation quotient, and calculated functional trait distributions among microbial communities by linking 16S and 18S rRNA sequences to respiration modes and functional guilds, respectively. We found that fire reduced soil microbial respiration and the relative abundance (RA) of microbial symbionts, anaerobic bacteria, and microaerophilic bacteria, while increasing the RA of aerobic bacteria. Furthermore, management increased the RA of post-fire ectomycorrhizal fungi and may have reduced pathogenic load, microbial efficiency, and wood saprotrophs, while increasing litter, soil, and other saprotrophic species that are adapted to grasslands. This study shows that, through changes to microbial community composition, high severity wildfire and land management affected soil respiration rates, bacterial modes of respiration, prevalence of symbiotic bacteria and fungi, and microbial substrate preference. Having identified the main physicochemical drivers of changes to microbial community composition, we provide valuable insights into how fire and land management can impact soils in Mediterranean woodland.

Associations between wildlife observations, human-tick encounters and landscape features in a peri-urban tick hotspot

Zoonotic disease vectors, their wildlife hosts, and the surrounding landscape interact in complex ways that vary spatially, temporally and with anthropogenic change. Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are one of the most important vectors of human disease globally but managing the risk of tick bites in urban areas requires a detailed understanding of these complex vector-host-environment relationships at multiple spatial scales. Extensive knowledge gaps of these interactions in Australia limits options for managing ticks and exacerbates human-wildlife conflict. To address this, we used an online survey to determine the potential drivers of human-tick encounters operating at the local, yard scale and at the broader, landscape scale in a peri-urban area of Australia. We explored the relationships between reported tick encounters in yards and yard traits, host sightings (yard-scale) and broader landscape traits (landscape-scale). We found that sightings of potential hosts such as long-nosed bandicoots (Perameles nasuta) and brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami), and broader landscape traits such as distance to wet sclerophyll forest, were important predictors of reported tick encounters. Yard traits such as garden mulching and leaf litter cover showed no relationships with tick encounters. However, garden mulching and the absence of pets were predictors of frequent bandicoot sightings in yards. Mulching over 20m2, moderate to dense leaf litter cover on lawns, and living adjacent to bush were predictors of frequent brush-turkey sightings in yards. Our results suggest that residents may be able to reduce tick encounter risk by making yards less attractive to potential hosts. The observed relationships provide a critical foundation for field studies that can determine underlying mechanisms and inform appropriate tick management in urban environments.Graphical abstract

Mechanical treatments and prescribed burning can reintroduce low-severity fire in southern Australian temperate sclerophyll forests

The establishment of sustainable, low-intensity fire regimes is a pressing global challenge given escalating risk of wildfire driven by climate change. Globally, colonialism and industrialisation have disrupted traditional fire management, such as Indigenous patch burning and silvo-pastoral practices, leading to substantial build-up of fuel and increased fire risk. The disruption of fire regimes in southeastern Tasmania has led to dense even-aged regrowth in wet forests that are prone to crown fires, and dense Allocasuarina-dominated understoreys in dry forests that burn at high intensities.Here, we investigated the effectiveness of several fire management interventions at reducing fire risk. These interventions involved prescribed burning or mechanical understorey removal techniques. We focused on wet and dry Eucalyptus-dominated sclerophyll forests on the slopes of kunanyi/Mt. Wellington in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. We modelled potential fire behaviour in these treated wet and dry forests using fire behaviour equations based on measurements of fuel load, vegetation structure, understorey microclimate and regional meteorological data.We found that (a) fuel treatments were effective in wet and dry forests in reducing fuel load, though each targeted different layers, (b) both mechanical treatments and prescribed burning resulted in slightly drier, and hence more fire prone understorey microclimate, and (c) all treatments reduced predicted subsequent fire severity by roughly 2–4 fold. Our results highlight the importance of reducing fuel loads, even though fuel treatments make forest microclimates drier, and hence fuel more flammable.Our finding of the effectiveness of mechanical treatments in lowering fire risk enables managers to reduce fuels without the risk of uncontrolled fires and smoke pollution that is associated with prescribed burning. Understanding the economic and ecological costs and benefits of mechanic treatment compared to prescribed burning requires further research.

A New Species of Ampelovirus Detected in Persea lingue (Ruiz & Pav.) Nees ex Kopp, a Common Tree of the Threatened Chilean Sclerophyll Forest

Biotic and abiotic stress seriously affects the development of plants, leading to the death of a significant number of plants in natural landscapes. Over the last twelve years, the central zone of Chile has been under an intensive drought, affecting the species inhabiting the Chilean Mediterranean forest, which is classified as a biological hotspot. In this context, our group started a small survey to monitor the presence of intracellular pathogens that may be infecting the plants, increasing the damage caused by the water deprivation. Several plants of one species, Persea lingue, showed symptoms of interveinal yellowing and leaf curling. RNA-seq analyses of one of these samples showed the presence of a long contig with high coverage only in symptomatic plants. Phylogenetic analysis and the molecular features indicated that it was a new species of the Ampelovirus genus. RT-PCR analyses determined the presence of the virus only in symptomatic plants of the same natural preserve.

The Time of Emergence (ToE) of the Andean Mediterranean sclerophyllous forest of Quillaja saponaria (Mol.) and Lithraea caustica (mol.) Hox. & Arn

Climate change has intensified in recent decades, leading to increasingly severe droughts. This trend will continue due to the emissions and increasing concentration of greenhouse gas (GHG). One of the main direct climate change consequences is the modification and alteration of the dynamics and function of forest ecosystems, having effects ranging from physiological alterations in plants to definitive changes in their geographical distribution. Mediterranean ecosystems are particularly threatened, where the sclerophyllous forest of central Chile that is considered a biodiversity hotspot, is no exception. Despite that sclerophyllous species present drought adaptation mechanisms, there is no certainty of the climatic minimum thresholds in which it develops, or when climate changes will exceed these thresholds, causing definitive changes in its distribution. To evaluate these changes on the Andean Mediterranean Sclerophyllous Forest vegetation belt of Quillaja saponaria and Lithraea caustica, the forest was divided into six quadrants with similar climates. In each quadrant, a critical threshold ​​of a simplified water balance (SWB) was defined where the forest has historically developed. The SWB is considered to be a limiting factor in the forest development. Then, the Time of Emergence (ToE) of the forest is estimated, as the time when climate change projections exceed the critical thresholds, by using CMIP6 General Circulation Models (GCM), under SSP2-4.5 (moderate) and SSP5-8.5 (pessimistic) scenarios. Results indicate that the forest would begin to be displaced between 2060 and 2080 under the SSP5-8.5 scenario, particularly in the Talagante, Isla de Maipo, Paine, and Doñihue area, while no distribution changes are presented under SSP2-4.5 scenario.

When bat eats bat: diet and roosts of the greater broad-nosed bat (Scoteanax rueppellii) across different regions and habitats

Roost selection and diet are fundamentally important to bats and can vary geographically and with habitat. The greater broad-nosed bat (Scoteanax rueppellii) is infrequently captured and poorly known, meaning appropriate conservation actions are difficult to determine. To assess variation across different habitats, we collected faecal samples for dietary analysis and radio-tracked individuals to identify roost trees at four different sites across New South Wales, Australia. Analysis of droppings verified beetles as the main prey in each study area except one dominated by mangroves, and confirmed for the first time carnivory in wild-caught individuals from the presence of hair from other bat species in its droppings. Very large, hollow trees were used as maternity roosts, being typically larger than neighbouring trees. Roosting habitat varied from wet sclerophyll forest in gullies to old-growth mangroves, and tree species used as roosts also varied. Colony size at maternity roosts was often 50–100 bats and fidelity to the maternity roost varied, with some being switched almost daily and others occupied for at least several days. One maternity roost was re-used 2 years later. Both the importance of beetles in the diet and roosts located in more productive landscapes suggest coastal plains and foothills may represent key habitat.

Adiantum viscosum (Pteridaceae), a new species endemic to sclerophyllous forest of Central Chile

Adiantum viscosum (Pteridaceae) is a new species of fern endemic to Central Chile that inhabits the sclerophyllous forest of the Valparaíso Region. Adiantum viscosum is morphologically similar to A. gertrudis and A. glanduliferum, but it differs by the presence of capitate and glandular trichomes throughout the aerial portion of the plant (pinnules, rachis, petioles and petiolules), which produce a sticky and aromatic resin. We provide a description of the species based on morphological analysis, insights about its ecology and habitat, distribution map, illustrations, a proposal for a conservation category according IUCN criteria, and a taxonomic key to the species of the genus Adiantum present in Chile.

Temporal dynamics of soil fungi in a pyrodiverse dry-sclerophyll forest.

Fire is a major evolutionary and ecological driver that shapes biodiversity in forests. While above-ground community responses to fire have been well-documented, those below-ground are much less understood. However, below-ground communities, including fungi, play key roles in forests and facilitate the recovery of other organisms after fire. Here, we used internal transcribed spacer (ITS) meta-barcoding data from forests with three different times since fire [short (3 years), medium (13-19 years) and long (>26 years)] to characterize the temporal responses of soil fungal communities across functional groups, ectomycorrhizal exploration strategies and inter-guild associations. Our findings indicate that fire effects on fungal communities are strongest in the short to medium term, with clear distinctions between communities in forests with a short time (3 years) since fire, a medium time (13-19 years) and a long time (>26 years) since fire. Ectomycorrhizal fungi were disproportionately impacted by fire relative to saprotrophs, but the direction of the response varied depending on morphological structures and exploration strategies. For instance, short-distance ectomycorrhizal fungi increased with recent fire, while medium-distance (fringe) ectomycorrhizal fungi decreased. Further, we detected strong, negative inter-guild associations between ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi but only at medium and long times since fire. Given the functional significance of fungi, the temporal changes in fungal composition, inter-guild associations and functional groups after fire demonstrated in our study may have functional implications that require adaptive management to curtail.

Indicators of ecosystem degradation along an elevational gradient in the Mediterranean Andes

Successful restoration measures need a good understanding of how the composition, structure, and functioning of ecosystems change with degradation and what the best indicators of these changes are. To answer these questions, we worked on four ecosystem types in the Mediterranean Andes mountains in central Chile (from sclerophyllous forest to Andean shrublands), which represent an elevational gradient from 700 to 3,250 m. We sampled three plots on each of the three degradation levels (low, medium, and high) for each ecosystem at increasing distances from goat corrals. We measured 35 indicators that describe vegetation (14), soil (15), and ecosystem processes (6) for one growing season. Degradation caused a decrease in shrub cover, shrub productivity, the Normalized Community Structure Integrity Index (CSIIn), litter depth, total soil nitrogen and C/N ratio, and an increase in clay content. Plant species indicating low degradation were consistently native woody species. When comparing ecosystems (i.e., at different elevations) against the type of variable, process-based indicators showed more statistically significant differences. Based on their consistency across ecosystems and ease of measurement, we recommend using shrub cover and litter depth as indicators of degradation. Finally, we concluded that ecosystems are highly degraded when vegetation- and process-based indicators change ∼ 60% or when soil indicators change ∼ 25%. These results could also be used to set goals for restoration projects in these mountain ecosystems.