Document Type
Article
Publication Title
American Journal of Botany
Publisher
Botanical Society of America
Publication Date
7-1999
Volume
86
Issue
7
Disciplines
Biology | Life Sciences
Abstract
Understanding the effects of disturbances such as fire on plant demography helps elucidate the mechanisms that cause changes in community composition. I studied the effects of spring and fall fires on Silene spaldingii, an endangered perennial herb of grasslands in northwest Montana. Individual S. spaldingii plants were mapped, and size and flowering were recorded for 1 yr prior and 5 yr subsequent to the burn treatments. Enhanced seedling recruitment (70–410%) and a 22% increase in population size were the principal effects of fire on S. spaldingii, and fall burn plots had lower recruitment than spring burn plots. These effects were apparent for 2–3 yr following the treatments. Fire had no detectable effect on the survival of adults or recruits of S. spaldingii. Silene spaldingii exhibits prolonged dormancy in which plants do not produce aboveground vegetation for one to several consecutive years. Results suggest that fire has a positive effect on the population dynamics of S. spaldingii by removing litter and creating safe sites for recruitment. Prescribed fire should be an important tool for managing populations of this rare plant.
Keywords
Caryophyllaceae; demography; fire effects; population dynamics; prolonged dormancy; Silene spaldingii
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2307/2656617
Rights
© 1999 Botanical Society of America
Recommended Citation
Lesica, P. (1999), Effects of fire on the demography of the endangered, geophytic herb Silene spaldingii (Caryophyllaceae) †. Am. J. Bot., 86: 996-1002. https://doi.org/10.2307/2656617
