Community-Level Adaptations in Mediterranean Landscapes |

CSR/ECO/ESG


Bérangère Leys, UMR AMAP (Montpellier, France), discusses her article: Functional responses of Mediterranean flora to fire: A community-scale perspective

A fire scar on a Corsican black pine (Pines nigra subsp. laricio) in Paneveggio mountain of Corsica. Photo by Bérangère Leys.

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of fires, especially in Mediterranean regions, understanding plant adaptations to fire has become crucial. Fires are a natural component of Mediterranean ecosystems; however, hotter, drier conditions and human activities are making fires more intense, underscoring the need to understand how plant communities respond and survive under these changing conditions.

Our study aimed to explore how specific plant traits – such as leaf size, seed mass, and leaf nitrogen content – contribute to a plant’s ability to either resist or recover from fire. These traits represent strategies that plants have evolved to survive in challenging environments. By gaining insight into these strategies, we can better predict how plant communities might change and adapt as fire regimes shift.

We focused on traits that facilitate both survival and post-fire recovery. For instance, leaf nitrogen content (LNC)and specific leaf area (SLA) are essential for efficient nutrient and water use. This efficiency is critical in fire-impacted areas, where soil nutrients are often depleted after a burn. Similarly, seed mass – the weight of a plant’s seeds – plays a significant role: larger seeds contain more resources, enhancing the survival chances of seedlings in challenging conditions, such as the nutrient-poor soils following a fire.

Our data collection from plant communities in Southern France revealed notable patterns. Plants with lower leaf nitrogen and smaller specific leaf areas were more prevalent in fire-prone areas, suggesting that these traits may help plants persist in such environments – possibly by reducing their combustibility or by enhancing their resilience in nutrient-poor post-fire soils.

Conversely, we found that larger seeds were more common in areas with high fire frequency. At the community level, these larger seeds may confer an advantage in post-fire regeneration, which is critical in Mediterranean ecosystems. Fires clear existing vegetation, creating space for new growth; larger seeds, packed with stored resources, are better equipped to establish seedlings in these harsh conditions.

An additional insight from this study is that, while other factors – such as elevation and grazing pressure – also influence plant traits, fire frequency emerged as the dominant factor shaping plant communities in these Mediterranean regions. As fire frequency increases, we may observe shifts in species composition, favouring fire-adapted species while others struggle, potentially altering the landscape over time.

The implications for conservation and land management are clear: understanding the traits that enable plants to thrive in fire-prone areas can inform strategies to maintain ecosystem health. In regions with frequent, intense fires, prioritising the protection and promotion of fire-resilient species could support ecosystem stability and recovery.

This research highlights the remarkable adaptability of plant communities and the insights gained from studying these adaptations. As fire regimes continue to evolve, monitoring how plant communities respond could provide valuable information on the resilience of Mediterranean and other fire-affected ecosystems.





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