Fire and plant evolution
نویسندگان
چکیده
Throughout much of the history of ecological science, wildfires were viewed as disasters that destroyed ecosystems. Currently, however, most scientists and managers have overcome this shortsighted view and now consider fires as ecological processes that influence structure and function in many ecosystems worldwide. Despite this, there remain several outstanding controversies regarding the role of fire. One area of research and controversy is the potential of plant traits to result in feedback effects on fire regime (e.g. Bond & Midgley, 1995; Schwilk & Caprio, 2011). There is increasing recognition that wildfires are old phenomena on the Earth as there is charcoal evidence during the whole history of terrestrial plants (Glasspool et al., 2004). In addition, past periods with high atmospheric oxygen concentration made vegetation highly flammable even in wet conditions (Belcher et al., 2010; Glasspool & Scott, 2010). Consequently, vegetation– fire feedbacks may have had major effects on past vegetation and even on biome shifts. For instance, fire may have favored the expansion of angiosperms during the Cretaceous (Bond & Scott, 2010), a time with high concentrations of O2 (possibly exceeding current values by 25%). Similarly, the expansion of C4 grasses during the Miocene was favored by fire in extensive seasonally dry areas (Keeley & Rundel, 2005). These studies point to the increasing recognition that fire has been an ancient process on the Earth (Pausas & Keeley, 2009). However, the role of fire as an evolutionary force shaping plant adaptations has remained controversial (Keeley et al., 2011).
منابع مشابه
اثر آتشسوزی بر پوشش گیاهی و برخی خصوصیات فیزیکی شیمیایی خاک منطقه قلات گناوه در استان کهگیلویه و بویراحمد
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