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The Rangeland Journal The Rangeland Journal Society
Journal of the Australian Rangeland Society
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Relationship between fire frequency and nitrogen limitation on foliage production in a native grassland community in Victoria, Australia

J. W. Morgan
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Department of Botany, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic. 3086, Australia.
Email: J.Morgan@latrobe.edu.au

The Rangeland Journal 29(1) 101-105 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ06046
Submitted: 21 December 2006  Accepted: 1 March 2007   Published: 14 June 2007

Abstract

The relationship between fire frequency (annual v. infrequent) and nitrogen (N) limitation to foliage production in a temperate native grassland community in western Victoria, Australia, was assessed over one growing season using a simple ammonium nitrate addition experiment. Fire history affected the magnitude of the vegetation responses to N addition. At the community level, mean live biomass in infrequently-burned grasslands declined by 20 ± 8% in response to N addition. In contrast, mean biomass increased by 60 ± 15% in annually-burned grasslands in response to N addition. Both grasses and forbs responded positively to N addition in annually-burned grasslands, with forbs responding more substantially than grasses. Foliage production in annually-burned native grasslands therefore appears to be constrained by N availability. The results of this study may have important implications for understanding species coexistence and invasion by non-native species in temperate native grasslands.

Additional keywords: biomass, N addition, resource availability, Themeda triandra.


Acknowledgements

James Martindale Shannon assisted with the sorting of biomass samples. Bob Parsons, Jodi Price, Tim Seastedt and two anonymous referees provided helpful comments that improved early versions of the manuscript. Roger Parish is thanked for field support.


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1 Nomenclature according to Ross and Walsh (2003).