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    A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers

    237845_237845.pdf (622.9Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    He, Tianhua
    Belcher, C.
    Lamont, Byron
    Lim, S.
    Date
    2015
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    He, T. and Belcher, C. and Lamont, B. and Lim, S. 2015. A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers. Journal of Ecology. 104: pp. 352-363.
    Source Title
    Journal of Ecology
    DOI
    10.1111/1365-2745.12513
    ISSN
    0022-0477
    School
    Department of Environment and Agriculture
    Funding and Sponsorship
    http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP120103389
    Remarks

    This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Borger, C. and Riethmuller, G. and Ashworth, M. and Minkey, D. and Hashem, A. 2015. Carrier Volume is More Likely to Impact Trifluralin Efficiency than Crop Residue. Weed Technology. 29 (1): pp. 63-70, which has beenpublished in final form at http://doi.org/10.1614/WT-D-14-00066.1. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving at http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16646
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Current phylogenetic evidence shows that fire began shaping the evolution of land plants 125 Ma, although the fossil charcoal record indicates that fire has a much longer history (>350 Ma). Serotiny (on-plant seed storage) is generally accepted as an adaptation to fire among woody plants. We developed a conceptual model of the requirements for the evolution of serotiny, and propose that serotiny is only expressed in the presence of a woody rachis as supporting structure, compact scales covering seeds as protective structure, seed wing as dispersal structure, and crown fire as the agent of selection and mechanism for seed release. This model is strongly supported by empirical data for modern ecosystems. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of intrinsic structural states required for the expression of serotiny in conifers, and show that these were diagnostic for early ('transitional') conifers from 332 Ma (late-Carboniferous). We assessed the likely flammable characteristics of early conifers and found that scale-leaved conifers burn rapidly and with high intensity, supporting the idea that crown fire regimes may have dominated early conifer ecosystems. Synthesis. Coupled with strong evidence for frequent fire throughout the Permian-Carboniferous and fossil evidence for other fire-related traits, we conclude that many early conifers were serotinous in response to intense crown fires, indicating that fire may have had a major impact on the evolution of plant traits as far back as 350 Ma.

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