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Little Evidence For Local Adaptation To Soils Or Microclimate In The Post-Fire Recruitment Of Three Californian Shrubs, Annette Bieger, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Susan Harrison
Little Evidence For Local Adaptation To Soils Or Microclimate In The Post-Fire Recruitment Of Three Californian Shrubs, Annette Bieger, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Susan Harrison
Biological Sciences
Background: Seedling recruitment following fire is an infrequent yet critical demographic transition for woody plants in Mediterranean ecosystems.
Aims: Here we examine whether post-fire seedling recruitment of three widespread Californian chaparral shrubs is affected by local adaptation within an edaphically and topographically complex landscape.
Methods: We reciprocally transplanted 6-month-old seedlings of Adenostema fasciculatum, Ceanothus cuneatus and Eriodictyon californicum to serpentine and sandstone soils, and cool northerly and warm southerly slopes.
Results: At the age of 2 years, none of the species manifested higher survival or growth on ‘home’ compared with ‘away’ soils or slopes, indicating an absence of local …