Litter burning does not equally affect seedling emergence of native and alien species of the Mediterranean-type Chilean matorral
Author
dc.contributor.author
Gómez González, Susana
Author
dc.contributor.author
Cavieres, Lohengrin A.
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2018-12-20T14:12:15Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2018-12-20T14:12:15Z
Publication date
dc.date.issued
2009
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
International Journal of Wildland Fire, Volumen 18, Issue 2, 2018, Pages 213-221
Identifier
dc.identifier.issn
10498001
Identifier
dc.identifier.other
10.1071/WF07074
Identifier
dc.identifier.uri
https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/154700
Abstract
dc.description.abstract
Central Chile differs from other areas with Mediterranean-type climate by the scarcity of natural wildfires. The Chilean matorral is highly invaded by alien plant species from other Mediterranean zones of the world, where natural, recurrent wildfires have been one of their ecological features at least since the Pliocene. This suggests that anthropogenic fires in Chile might favour alien plant recruitment, increasing the invasive process. We assessed the effect of litter burning on the emergence of alien and native species from the soil seedbank of a matorral of central Chile. Soil samples were taken from three types of microhabitats: (i) closed matorral; (ii) beneath the canopy of shrubs and trees from an open matorral; (iii) grassland. Each sample was split in two subsamples. One subsample was exposed to fire by burning the litter taken from its corresponding microhabitat, and the other subsample was left unburned and used as a control. Fire intensity, determined by the fuel type, aff