|
| Restoration programsforhuman-disturbedecosystemsrelyonagoodunderstandingofhowrecovery
occurs. Thisrequireselucidatingtheunderlyingsuccessionprocess,whichdependsonspeciesadapta-
tions, theirinteractions,andthespatiotemporalcharacteristicsofthedisturbance.Usingspiders,we
aim toidentifythedriversofsuccessionafterburning,commonlyusedinNewZealandnativetussock
grasslands, testthehypothesisofpost-burningdominanceofgeneralistsoverspecialists,andtestthe
presumptionthatmanagedsummerburnsaremoredetrimentalthanspringburns.Weestablisheda
7-year experiment,withspringandsummerburntreatmentsandunburnedcontrolplots,andsampled
annually beforeandaftertheburning.Weidentifiedchangesinspiderassemblagesandtheirdrivers
using clusteringandindicatorvalueanalyses,andweanalysedtheresponseofspiderdiversityandtaxa
through linearmixed-effectmodels.Inbothspringandsummerburns,functionalgroupsanddiversity
decreased andthedensityofindividualsofgeneralistspeciesincreased.However,springandsummer
burn treatmentsshowednodifferencesinspiderdiversityandcomposition.Wefoundevidencethat
adaptations,suchashabitatspecificityanddispersalability,determinetherecoveryofspidercommuni-
ties, andwesuggestasetofindicatorsformonitoringprograms.Timeofburningmayinteractwithfac-
tors likeflammabilityandfireintensity,reducingdifferencesintheeffectsofburningbetweenseasons.
We recommendplanningburnsforwetseasonsastheyareeasiertocontrol.Tofacilitaterecolonisation
by rarespeciesofspidersoftussockgrasslands,wesuggestmaintainingunburnedareasthatrepresent
different vegetationtypes. | |
|