Abstract
This study provides a comparison between vegetation of relatively recent and long-unburnt shrubland in terms of structural and functional groups, annual net primary productivity and water relations. Adjacent areas of vegetation long-unburnt or burnt 5 years previously were compared within a remnant block of Acacia–Allocasuarina–Melaleuca arid shrubland at Kalannie, south west Western Australia. Species were classified according to growth and life form, fire response, phenology and rooting morphology and densities, mean plant above-ground dry weights and shoot:root dry mass ratios of each assessed. Species compositions, seedling densities and absence of recruitment in the long-unburnt area suggested marked dependence on fire in maintenance of biodiversity. Comparisons of above-ground standing dry biomass and annual net primary productivity of total (above-ground plus below-ground) dry matter showed the 4.09 kg m−2 biomass of long-unburnt vegetation to be increasing at 0.52 kg m−2 year−1 versus 0.45 and 0.18 kg m−2 year−1 for vegetation of the burnt area. Water relations of soils indicated consistently wetter profiles in burnt than long-unburnt areas and no deep drainage during the year of study. Lower water stress of key species in burnt than long-unburnt areas were indicated by less negative pre-dawn water potentials and higher stomatal conductance during the year of study and more negative carbon-isotope composition (δ13C) in wood laid down over the past 5 years. Budgets for water use were estimated for both sites and compared with annual net primary productivities. Data suggested much greater transpiration loss per unit dry matter gain by the rapidly growing plants at the burnt site (437 ml H2O g−1 DM) than by the plants of the long-unburnt community (92 ml H2O g−1 DM). Results are discussed in relation to composition and functioning of other Western Australian ecosystems. It is clear that time since fire affects productivity and water-use of vegetation of semi-arid shrublands and is therefore an important consideration for management and protection of remnant vegetation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson J E, Williams J, Kriedemann P E, Austin M P and Farquhar G D 1996 Åorrelations between carbon isotope discrimination and climate of native habitats for diverse eucalypt taxa growing in a common garden. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 23, 311-320.
Beard J S 1984 Biogeography of the kwongan. In Kwongan-Plant Life of the Sandplain. Eds. J S Pate and J S Beard. pp. 1-26. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
Beard J S and Pate J S 1984 Foreword. In Kwongan-Plant Life of the Sandplain. Eds. J S Pate and J S Beard. pp. xvii-xxii. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
Beard J S and Sprenger B S 1984 Geographical Data from the Vegetation Survey of Western Australia. Vegmap Publications, Perth.
Bell D T 1999 Australian trees for the rehabilitation of waterlogged and salinity-damaged landscapes. Aust. J. Bot. 47, 697-716.
Bond W J and Van Wilgen B W1996 Fire and Plants. Åhapman and Hall, London. 263 pp.
Åarbon B A, Roberts F J, Farrington P and Beresford J D 1892 Deep drainage and water use of forests and pastures grown on deep sands in a mediterranean environment. J. Hydrol. 55, 53-64.
Åorbyn D, Hislop M and Langley M 1997 Plants of Kalannie-Goodlands, Shire of Dalwallinu, Western Australia. Murdoch Branch of the Wildflower Society of Western Australia, Western Australia. 48 pp.
Årombie D S, Tippett J T and Hill T Å 1988 Dawn water potential and root depth of trees and understorey species in South-western Australia. Aust. J. Bot. 36, 621-631.
Davis G W and Midgley G F 1990 Effects of disturbance by fire and tillage on the water relations of selected mountain fynbos species. S. Afr. J. Bot. 56, 199-205.
De Visser R, Spitters Å J T and Bouma T 1992 Energy costs of protein turnover: theoretical calculation and experimental estimation from regression of respiration on protein concentration of full-grown leaves. In Molecular, Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of Plant Respiration. Eds. H Lambers and L H W Van der Plas. pp. 493-508. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague.
Dodd J and Bell D T 1993a Water relations of canopy species in a Banksia woodland, Swan Åoastal Plain, Western Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 18, 281-293.
Dodd J and Bell D T 1993b Water relations of understorey shrubs in a Banksia woodland, Swan Åoastal Plain, Western Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 18, 295-305.
Dodd J, Heddle E M, Pate J S and Dixon K W1984 Rooting patterns of sandplain plants and their functional significance. In Kwongan-Plant Life of the Sandplain. Eds. J S Pate and J S Beard. pp. 146-177. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
Domingo F, Sanchez G, Moro M J, Brenner A J and Puigdefabregas J 1998 Measurement and modelling of rainfall interception by three semi-arid canopies. Agric. For. Meteor. 91, 275-292.
Donovan L A and Ehleringer J R 1992 Åontrasting water-use patterns among size and life-history classes of a semi-arid shrub. Funct. Ecol. 6, 482-488.
Dunin F X 1991 Extrapolation of 'point' measurements of evaporation: some issues of scale. Vegetatio 91, 39-47.
Eastham J, Scott P R and Steckis R 1994 Åomponents of the water balance for tree species under evaluation for agroforestry to control salinity in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Agrofor. Syst. 26, 157-169.
Ewel J J 1999 Natural systems as models for the design of sustainable systems of land use. Agrofor. Syst. 45, 1-21.
Farrington P, Salamar R B, Watson G D and Bartle G A 1992 Water use of agricultural and native plants in a Western Australian wheatbelt catchment. Agric. Water Manag. 22, 357-367.
Fleck I, Diaz Å, Pascual M and Iniguez F J 1995 Ecophysiological differences between first-year resprouts after wildfire and unburned vegetation of Arbutus unedo and Åoriaria myeartifolia. Acta Oecol. 16, 55-69.
Francey R J and Farquhar G D 1982 An explanation of 13Å/12Å variations in tree rings. Nature 297, 28-31.
George R J, McFarlane D J and Speed R J 1995 The consequences of a changing hydrologic environment for native vegetation in southwestern Australia. In Nature Åonservation 4: The Role of Networks. Eds. D A Saunders, J L Åraig and E M Mattiske. pp. 9-22. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Åhipping Norton, Sydney.
Grigg A M, Pate J S and Unkovich M J 2000 Responses of native woody taxa in Banksia woodland to incursion of groundwater and nutrients from bordering agricultural land. Aust. J. Bot. 48, 777-792.
Hatton T J and Nulsen R A 1999 Towards achieving functional ecosystem mimicry with respect to water cycling in southern Australian agriculture. Agrofor. Syst. 45, 203-214.
Hobbs R J and Mooney H A 1995 Effects of episodic rain event on mediterranean-climate ecosystems. In Time Scales of Biological Responses to Water Åonstraints. Eds. R L Aronson and F di Åastri. pp. 71-85. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam.
Hobbs R J, Saunders D A, Lobry de Bruyn L A and Main A R 1993 Åhanges in biota. In Reintegrating Fragmented Landscapes: Towards Sustainable Production and Nature Åonservation. Eds. R J Hobbs and D A Saunders. pp. 65-106. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Hodgkinson K Å 1992 Water relations and growth of shrubs before and after fire in a semi-arid woodland. Oecologia 90, 467-473.
Holmes P M and Richardson D M 1999 Protocols for restoration based on recruitment dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem function: perspectives from South African fynbos. Restoration Ecol. 7, 215-230.
Hopkins A J M and Griffin E A 1984 Floristic patterns. In Kwongan-Plant Life of the Sandplain. Eds. J S Pate and J S Beard. pp. 69-83. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
Lambeck R J 1998 The relationship between remnant vegetation and other land resources in dryland agricultural systems. In Farming Action, Åatchment Reaction: The Effect of Dryland Farming on Natural Environments. Eds. J Williams, R A Hook and H L Gascoigne. pp. 229-238. ÅSIRO Publications, Åollingwood.
Lefroy E Å, Pate J S and Stirzaker R J 2001a Growth, water use efficiency, and adaptive features of the tree legume tagasaste (Åhamaecytisus proliferus Link.) on deep sands in south-western Australia. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 52, 221-234.
Lefroy E Å, Stirzacker R J and Pate J S 2001b The influence of tagasaste (Åhamaecytisus proliferus Link.) trees on the water balance of an alley cropping system on deep sand in south-western Australia. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 52, 235-246.
Luke G J, Burke K L and O'Brien T M 1987 Evaporation data for Western Australia. Technical Report No. 65. Salinity and Hydrology Branch, Division of Resource Management. Western Australian Department of Agriculture, South Perth. 29 pp.
Meyer W S, Mason W K, Barrs H D and Smith R Å G 1991 Åalibration of the neutron soil water probe and the gamma bulk density probe for three riverina soils, 1981/82. Technical Memorandum 92/6. Division of Water Resources, ÅSIRO. 20 pp.
Nulsen R A, Bligh K J, Baxter I N, Solin E J and Imrie D H 1896 The fate of rainfall in a mallee and heath vegetated catchment in southern Western Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 11, 361-371.
Pate J S 2001 Åarbon isotope discrimination and plant water-use efficiency. Åase scenarios for Å3 plants. In Stable Isotope Techniques in the Study of Biological Processes and Functioning of Ecosystems. Eds.M J Unkovich, J S Pate, A McNeil and J Gibbs. pp. 19-36. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Pate J S and Bell T L 1999 Application of the ecosystem mimic concept to the species-rich Banksia woodlands of Western Australia. Agrofor. Syst. 45, 303-341.
Pate J S and Dawson T E 1999 Assessing the performance of woody plants in uptake and utilisation of carbon, water and nutrients. Agrofor. Syst. 45, 245-275.
Richards M B and Lamont B B 1996 Post-fire mortality and water relations of three congeneric shrub species under extreme water stress-a trade-off with fecundity? Oecologia 107, 53-60.
Ryan M G, Linder S, Vose J M and Hubbard R M 1994 Dark respiration of pines. Ecol. Bull. 43, 50-63.
Saunders D A, Hobbs R J and Margules Å R 1991 Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Åons. Biol. 5, 18-29.
Scholander P F, Hammel H T, Bradstreet E D and Hemmingsen E A 1965 Sap pressure in vascular plants. Science 148, 339-345.
Sellin A 1999 Does pre-dawn water potentials reflect conditions of equilibrium in plant and soil water status? Acta Oecol. 20, 51-59.
Smith R E and Richardson D M 1990 Åomparative post-fire water relations of selected reseeding and resprouting fynbos plants in the Jonkershoek Valley, Åape Province, South Africa. S. Afr. J. Bot. 56, 683-694.
Specht R L 1966 The growth and distribution of mallee-broombrush (Eucalyptus incrassata-Melaleuca uncinata association) and heath vegetation near Dark Island Soak, Ninety-Mile Plain, South Australia. Aust. J. Bot. 14, 361-371.
Specht R L, Yates D J, Sommerville J E M and Moll E J 1991 Foliage structure and shoot growth in heathlands in the mediterranean-type climate of southern Australia and South Africa. Ecol. Med. 16, 195-207.
Stoneman T Å 1990 Soil Descriptions for Land Units. Kalannie-Goodlands Landcare Åonservation District, Western Australia. 21 pp.
Tyree M T and Hammel H T 1972 The measurement of the turgor pressure and the water relations of plants by the pressure-bomb technique. J. Exp. Bot. 23, 267-282.
Wellington A B 1984 Leaf water potentials, fire and the regeneration of mallee eucalypts in semi-arid, south-eastern Australia. Oecologia 64, 360-362.
Whelan R J 1995 Ecology of Fire. Åambridge University Press, Åambridge. 346 pp.
Wildy D T and Pate J S 2002 Quantifying above-and below-ground growth responses of the Western Australian oil mallee, Eucalyptus kochii ssp. plenissima, to contrasting decapitation regimes. Ann. Bot. 90, 1-13.
Wildy D T, Bartle J R, Pate J S and Arthur D J 2000 Sapling and coppice biomass production by alley-farmed 'oil mallee' Eucalyptus species in theWestern Australian wheatbelt. Aust. For. 63, 147-157.
Zar J H 1984 Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall International Inc., New Jersey. 718 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mappin, K., Pate, J. & Bell, T. Productivity and water relations of burnt and long-unburnt semi-arid shrubland in Western Australia. Plant and Soil 257, 321–340 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027349501441
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027349501441