Distinct functional niches and responses to fire history of three Mediterranean woody resprouter species

Federco Colle
1,2,3*
Ludovica Oddi
4
Mara Baudena
3
Mathieu Millan
5
Paolo Fiorucci
2
Beatrice Siri
4
Gianluigi Ottaviani
6
1
, University of Genova, Via Balbi 5, Genova, - 16126, Italia
2
, CIMA Foundation, Via Armando Magliotto 2, Savona, - 17100, Italia
3
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, Corso Fiume 4, Torino, - 10133, Italia
4
, University of Torino, Via Verdi 8, Torino, - 10124, Italia
5
Département Sciences et Technologies, Université de Mayotte, 8 rue de l'Université, Mayotte, - 97660, Francia
6
, Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Carretera Moncada–Náquera (CV-315), Valencia, - 46113, Spagna

Fire strongly shapes plant functional strategies in Mediterranean ecosystems. When studying how plants respond to fire disturbance, species are frequently classified into broad categories according to their post-fire regeneration strategies, such as resprouters and reseeders. These classifications have improved our understanding of plant functioning, distribution, persistence, and recovery after fire. However, post-fire responses vary substantially both within and among species, and broad functional categories may overlook finer-scale variation at the population and individual levels. Consequently, whether woody resprouter species share similar trait syndromes and post-fire responses remains poorly understood. We investigated fire-related functional trait coordination in three widespread Mediterranean resprouters, Arbutus unedo, Erica arborea, and Quercus pubescens, across four fire-history conditions in north-western Italy. We measured ten functional traits related to aboveground biomass allocation, structural support, resource-use strategies, light capture, flammability, leaf economics, protection from disturbance, and plant architecture in 110 individuals. Principal component analysis and PERMANOVA were used to assess interspecific trait coordination, while ANOVA was used to evaluate trait responses to fire history and the associated role of plant architecture. The three species occupied distinct regions in the multivariate trait space, Q. pubescens exhibited the broadest trait space, whereas E. arborea occupied a narrower niche and partially overlapped with A. unedo. Fire history significantly modulated key traits at both interspecific and intraspecific levels. Structural traits consistently decreased with increasing fire frequency and severity, whereas leaf dry matter content, leaf C:N ratio, and relative bark thickness displayed species-specific responses. Plant architecture had a limited modulatory effect on trait–fire relationships, with a significant interaction on fire-trait relations detected only for basal stem diameter in Q. pubescens. Overall, our findings highlight distinct and flexible post-fire functional trajectories in the focal Mediterranean woody resprouters, emphasizing the importance of looking at plant life through a continuous and multidimensional lens when studying functional responses of woody plants to different fire history conditions.

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