Testing the assumptions of the pyrodiversity begets biodiversity hypothesis for termites in semi-arid Australia

Royal Society Open Science
Hayley DavisDale G Nimmo

Abstract

Fire shapes the composition and functioning of ecosystems globally. In many regions, fire is actively managed to create diverse patch mosaics of fire-ages under the assumption that a diversity of post-fire-age classes will provide a greater variety of habitats, thereby enabling species with differing habitat requirements to coexist, and enhancing species diversity (the pyrodiversity begets biodiversity hypothesis). However, studies provide mixed support for this hypothesis. Here, using termite communities in a semi-arid region of southeast Australia, we test four key assumptions of the pyrodiversity begets biodiversity hypothesis (i) that fire shapes vegetation structure over sufficient time frames to influence species' occurrence, (ii) that animal species are linked to resources that are themselves shaped by fire and that peak at different times since fire, (iii) that species' probability of occurrence or abundance peaks at varying times since fire and (iv) that providing a diversity of fire-ages increases species diversity at the landscape scale. Termite species and habitat elements were sampled in 100 sites across a range of fire-ages, nested within 20 landscapes chosen to represent a gradient of low to high pyrodiversity. W...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 13, 2019·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Tianhua HeJuli G Pausas
Dec 20, 2018·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Dale G NimmoAndrew F Bennett

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Software Mentioned

mgcv
ArcGIS
lme4
MuMin

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