juli g pausasJan 20, 2023

Estimating the age of #mediterranean #pines & their #cones is tricky, as they often produce more than 1 whorl per year!

Pic: #Pinus halepensis. From the bottom upwards: πŸ”΅ arrows: 1st whorl of a growing season; πŸ”΄ & 🟒 arrows: 2nd & 3rd whorl of the same year. Note the #serotinous (closed) #cones in the left pic.

Post: https://jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2022/12/24/fire-selects-precocity-in-pines/
Article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/oik.09373

#PlantEcology #PlantScience #fireecology #trees #pinaceae #ecology @wildfirescience

Fire increases precocity in pines

Fires are a natural disturbance in many ecosystems. Consequently, plant species have acquired traits that allow them to resist and regenerate in an environment with recurrent fires [1].[...]

j.g. pausas' blog
juli g pausasNov 22, 2022

#Fire selects sexual #precocity in pines! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/oik.09373

Populations of #Pinus halepensis (a #serotinous #pines), subjected to higher frequency of crown fires (short fire interval) produce cones at younger ages than those pops that rarely #burnt

Being precocious in fireprone environments is adaptive because it increases the probability of having a significant seed bank for regeneration when the next fire arrives

#ecology #fireecology #plantecology #evolution #wildfires #mediterranean