Floral response of eight forb species to prescribed fire in the southern Great Plains (U.S.A.)

Autores/as

  • Whitney L. Behr U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Kyle Simpson Texas A&M University
  • Elinor M. Lichtenberg University of North Texas
  • Kristen A. Baum University of Kansas
  • Shalene Jha University of Texas at Austin
  • Norma Fowler University of Texas at Austin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v19.i3.1425

Palabras clave:

floral display, prescribed fire, forbs, grasslands, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Monarda punctata, Dalea multiflora, Diodia teres, Helianthus maximiliani, Ratibida columnifera, Solidago canadensis, Symphyotrichum ericoides

Resumen

El fuego prescrito se utiliza comúnmente para restaurar y mantener los pastizales, a menudo mediando el equilibrio entre pastos, especies leñosas y herbáceas. Las herbáceas proporcionan la mayor parte de la diversidad vegetal en los pastizales, y las respuestas de las herbáceas al fuego son importantes para comprender y predecir los efectos del fuego sobre los polinizadores y las comunidades vegetales. Sin embargo, gran parte de la investigación anterior sobre los efectos del fuego prescrito en los pastizales se ha centrado en las especies de plantas leñosas y los pastos, no en las herbáceas, a pesar de la importancia de su dinámica de floración para los polinizadores. Por lo tanto, necesitamos saber más sobre los mecanismos subyacentes a las respuestas de las herbáceas al fuego, especialmente en las Grandes Llanuras del sur, poco estudiadas. En este estudio, nos preguntamos si las exhibiciones florales de ocho especies nativas de herbáceas en esta región diferían entre las parcelas quemadas y no quemadas y, de ser así, si las diferencias se debían a la densidad de plantas (plantas/m2), el tamaño de las plantas (gramos de biomasa seca sobre el suelo), la asignación de recursos a las flores (flores por gramo de biomasa vegetal), o una combinación de estos factores. Descubrimos que las respuestas al fuego eran altamente específicas de cada especie. El fuego prescrito aumentó la floración (flores/m2) de cinco de las ocho especies. La floración fue proporcional al tamaño y la densidad de las plantas (plantas/m2). En algunas especies, tanto el tamaño como la densidad fueron mayores en la parcela quemada, mientras que otras especies muestran patrones opuestos o ninguno. Las respuestas específicas de las especies de herbáceas en este estudio refuerzan la necesidad de comprender y gestionar mejor la diversidad de herbáceas y la heterogeneidad general para recrear o restaurar ecosistemas que puedan sustentar una variedad más amplia de organismos y conservar la biodiversidad.

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Publicado

2025-09-23

Cómo citar

Behr, W. L., Simpson, K., Lichtenberg, E. M., Baum, K. A., Jha, S., & Fowler, N. (2025). Floral response of eight forb species to prescribed fire in the southern Great Plains (U.S.A.). Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 19(3), 223–240. https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v19.i3.1425

Número

Sección

FLORÍSTICA, ECOLOGÍA Y CONSERVACIÓN