RAPID: Is postfire recruitment of chaparral shrubs constrained by local adaptation to soils (serpentine vs sandstone) or microclimates (north vs south slopes)?

火在包括加利福尼亚在内的五个地中海气候地区的生态系统中扮演着关键的角色。许多灌木植物的种子只在火灾后的一年萌发，因此灌木植物的年龄、繁殖、扩散潜力和群落组成受到罕见的火灾（通常每1-10年发生一次）的控制。在加利福尼亚的灌木丛中，很少有处方烧伤。对这个生态系统的火灾生态学所做的研究在很大程度上是机会主义的，利用了自然发生的火灾。2008年，超过5000公顷的可进入的公共土地被烧毁，创造了一个难得的机会来研究三种主要的灌木林物种是否在当地适应它们被发现的地点。将进行试验，以确定是否只有在特定土壤类型（砂岩或蛇纹石）或特定斜坡类型（暖南朝或冷北朝）上产生的种子才能再生，或者在特定生境中产生的种子是否能够在其他土壤类型或具有不同方面的斜坡上成功发芽和建立。本研究结果将为灌木林生态系统的科学管理提供更多信息。这些信息将有助于退化的灌木林的恢复，并有助于资源管理者预测和规划物种分布变化以应对气候变化的能力。

Fire plays a key role in the ecology of chaparral, or evergreen shrublands, an ecosystem unique to the five Mediterranean-climate regions of the world including California. Seeds of many chaparral plants germinate only in the year after a fire, and so the age, reproduction, dispersal potential, and community composition of chaparral plants are controlled by the infrequent occurrence of fire, typically once every 1-10 decades. Prescribed burns are seldom possible in Californian chaparral. What research has been done on the fire ecology of this ecosystem has been largely opportunistic, taking advantage of naturally occurring fires. More than 5,000 hectares of accessible public lands burned in 2008, creating a rare opportunity to examine whether three dominant chaparral shrub species are locally adapted to the sites on which they are found. Tests will be performed to determine if regeneration occurs only from seed produced on particular soil types (sandstone or serpentine) or on particular slope types (warm south-facing or cool north-facing), or whether seed produced in a particular habitat can successfully germinate and establish in other soil types or on slopes with different aspects. Results from this study will provide additional information for science-based management of chaparral ecosystems. This information will contribute to both the restoration of degraded chaparral and to the ability of resource managers to predict and plan for shifts in species distributions in response to climate change.