Information on past fire regimes can provide useful insights into species disturbance adaptations. To test the idea that contemporary demographic parameters provide a signature of past fire regimes, we assessed fire-related plant life-history strategies by using static demographic data collected along a 1–35-year fire-age chronosequence for species with a variety of traits. Species displayed a collection of life-history strategies associated with a historical mixed-severity fire regime, including adaptations for short and long fire intervals, interacting with varying fire severity. Photograph by Russell Miller.

For the Critically Endangered Prasophyllum innubum, pollination occurs via three species of bee and a sphecid wasp, suggesting a generalised strategy that may offer flexibility when selecting sites for conservation translocation. Fruit set averaged 72–84%, despite a minimal contribution from self-pollination. Only 4% of inflorescences were consumed by herbivores, meaning that if herbivores are a threat for this species, it is likely to be through alteration of habitat rather than direct grazing. Photograph by Tobias Hayashi.

Moisture content (MC) is an important property of seeds, associated with many aspects of physiological seed quality. Acacias have very hard seed coats, which means that seeds can survive for decades in the soil, but in standard methods of determining MC (e.g. heating in an oven at 103°C for 17 h), the moisture in the seed might not be able to escape. The standard method can work for some Acacia species; however, to ensure accurate results, seeds should be halved before going into the oven. Image by Geoff Burrows.