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Fletcher, Wood et al 2014 Gog Range.pdf (5.91 MB)

A fire-driven shift from forest to non-forest: evidence for alternative stable states?

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 03:42 authored by Fletcher, M-S, Wood, SW, Haberle, SG
We test the validity of applying the alternative stable state paradigm to account for the landscape-scale forest/non-forest mosaic that prevails in temperate Tasmania, Australia. This test is based on fine-scale pollen, spore, and charcoal analyses of sediments located within a small patch of non-forest vegetation surrounded by temperate forest. Following nearly 500 years of forest dominance at the site, a catastrophic fire drove an irreversible shift from a forested Cyperaceae–Sphagnum wetland to a non-forested Restionaceae wetland at ca. 7000 calibrated (cal) yr BP. Persistence of the non-forest/Restionaceae vegetation state over 7000 years, despite long fire-free intervals, implies that fire was not essential for the maintenance of the non-forest state. We propose that reduced interception and transpiration of the non-forest state resulted in local waterlogging, presenting an eco-hydrological barrier to forest reestablishment over the succeeding 7000 years. We further contend that the rhizomatous nature of the non-forest species presented a reinforcing eco-physical barrier to forest development. Our results satisfy a number of criteria for consideration as an example of a switch between alternative stable states, including different origin and maintenance pathways, and they provide insights into the role of threshold dynamics and hysteresis in forest–non-forest transitions.

History

Publication title

Ecology

Volume

95

Issue

9

Pagination

2504-2513

ISSN

0012-9658

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Ecological Soc Amer

Place of publication

1707 H St Nw, Ste 400, Washington, USA, Dc, 20006-3915

Rights statement

Copyright 2014 by the Ecological Society of America

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Terrestrial biodiversity

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