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A wide diversity of epicormic structures is present in Myrtaceae species in the northern Australian savanna biome - implications for adaptation to fire
Citation
Burrows, GE and Hornby, SK and Waters, DA and Bellairs, SM and Prior, LD and Bowman, DMJS, A wide diversity of epicormic structures is present in Myrtaceae species in the northern Australian savanna biome - implications for adaptation to fire, Australian Journal of Botany, 58, (6) pp. 493-507. ISSN 0067-1924 (2010) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2010 CSIRO
Official URL: http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/65/paper/BT10107.h...
DOI: doi:10.1071/BT10107
Abstract
Recent research has shown that the eucalypts of southern Australia have an unusual and apparently fire-adapted
epicormic structure. By studying a range of myrtaceous species from northern Australia we hoped to determine if this
structure was also present in northern eucalypts. We anatomically examined the epicormic structures from 21 myrtaceous
species in 11 genera from the north of the Northern Territory, Australia. An extremely wide diversity of epicormic structures
was found, ranging from buds absent, buds at or near the bark surface, to bud-forming meristems in the innermost bark. These
Myrtaceae species displayed a far greater variation in epicormic structure than recorded in any other family. This is possibly a
reflection of the importance of the resprouter strategy, a long fire history in Australia and the ecological diversification of the
Myrtaceae. Nonetheless, all the investigated eucalypts (northern and southern) possessed the same specialised, apparently
fire-adapted, epicormic structure. This is remarkably consistent given the taxonomic, geographical and morphological
diversity of the eucalypts.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Plant biology |
Research Field: | Plant biology not elsewhere classified |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
Objective Field: | Terrestrial biodiversity |
UTAS Author: | Prior, LD (Dr Lynda Prior) |
UTAS Author: | Bowman, DMJS (Professor David Bowman) |
ID Code: | 66879 |
Year Published: | 2010 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 46 |
Deposited By: | Plant Science |
Deposited On: | 2011-02-16 |
Last Modified: | 2014-05-21 |
Downloads: | 5 View Download Statistics |
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