The early effects of fire and grazing on bryophytes and lichens in tussock grassland and hummock sedgeland in north-eastern Tasmania
Anneka V. Ferguson A , Emma J. Pharo A B , Jamie B. Kirkpatrick A and Jon B. Marsden-Smedley AA School of Geography and Environmental Studies, Private Bag 78, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: Emma.Pharo@utas.edu.au
Australian Journal of Botany 57(7) 556-561 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT09131
Submitted: 6 August 2009 Accepted: 13 October 2009 Published: 21 December 2009
Abstract
Little is known of the interactive effects of fire and grazing on cryptogam species and assemblages. These effects were observed for bryophyte and lichen species in Tasmanian tussock grassland and hummock sedgeland several months after experimental burning and fencing. A factorial design was used on 40 randomly located and treated pairs of 1 m × 1 m quadrats in each of the vegetation types. In total, 24 cryptogam taxa were found, with grassland having a greater taxon richness, as well as higher total cryptogam cover and a different species composition, to the hummock sedgeland. There was greater cryptogam cover in the burned quadrats than the unburned quadrats in the grassland. However, only bryophytes had different species composition between burned and unburned quadrats. There was a small but significant difference in richness in hummock sedgeland, with burned being richer than unburned. Three species were more abundant in the burned than in the unburned treatments in the grassland, whereas no species responded to treatment in the sedgeland and no species responded to grazing. The fact that no species or assemblage of species was significantly reduced in cover by the burns testifies to a high degree of cryptogam resilience to this disturbance. The total lack of negative grazing effects suggests cryptogams are not a major source of sustenance for the local vertebrate herbivores. These conclusions differ from those made elsewhere in the world.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Australian Research Council (DP0665083) for funding for the project and Forestry Tasmania for modifying their management burns to suit the experimental requirements.
Austrheim G,
Hassel K, Mysterud A
(2005) The role of life history traits for bryophyte community patterns in two contrasting alpine regions. The Bryologist 108, 259–271.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
[verified 17 April 2007].
Mills AJ, Fey MV
(2005) Interactive response of herbivores, soils and vegetation to annual burning in a South African savanna. Austral Ecology 30, 435–444.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pharo EJ, Beattie AJ
(1997) Bryophyte and lichen diversity: a comparative study. Australian Journal of Ecology 22, 151–162.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pharo EJ,
Kirkpatrick JB,
Gilfedder L,
Mendel L, Turner PAM
(2005) Predicting bryophyte diversity in grassland and eucalypt-dominated remnants in subhumid Tasmania. Journal of Biogeography 32, 2015–2024.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ryömä R, Laaka-Lindberg S
(2005) Bryophyte recolonisation on burnt soil and logs. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 20, 5–16.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sedláková I, Chytrý M
(1999) Regeneration patterns in a central European dry heathland: effects of burning, sod-cutting and cutting. Plant Ecology 143, 77–87.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sim-Sim MP,
Carvalho C,
Sérgio C,
Garcia C, Rego F
(2004) Recolonisation and changes in bryophyte and lichen biodiversity in burned areas from the Serra da Estrela (Portugal). Cryptogamie Bryologie 25, 367–384.
Trémont RM
(1994) Life history attributes of grazed and ungrazed grasslands on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. Australian Journal of Botany 42, 511–530.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Väre H,
Ohtonen R, Oksanen J
(1995) Effects of reindeer grazing on understorey vegetation in dry Pinus sylvestris forests. Journal of Vegetation Science 6, 523–530.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Vavrek MC,
Fetcher N,
McGraw JB,
Chapin FS, Bovard B
(1999) Recovery of productivity and species diversity in tussock tundra following disturbance. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 31, 254–258.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Williams RJ,
Wahren C-H,
Bradstock RA, Müller WJ
(2006) Does alpine grazing reduce blazing? A landscape test of a widely-held hypothesis. Austral Ecology 31, 925–936.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wisdom MJ,
Vavra M,
Boyd JM,
Hemstrom MA,
Ager AA, Johnson BK
(2006) Understanding ungulate herbivory-episodic disturbance effects on vegetation dynamics: knowledge gaps and management needs. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34, 283–292.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yates CJ,
Norton DA, Hobbs RJ
(2000) Grazing effects on plant cover, soil and microclimate in fragmented woodlands in south-western Australia: implications for restoration. Austral Ecology 25, 36–47.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
