A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers
Current phylogenetic evidence shows that fire began shaping the evolution of land plants 125 Ma, although the fossil charcoal record indicates that fire has a much longer history (>350 Ma). Serotiny (on-plant seed storage) is generally accepted as an adaptation to fire among woody plants. We...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2015
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP120103389 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16646 |
| _version_ | 1848749235994886144 |
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| author | He, Tianhua Belcher, C. Lamont, Byron Lim, S. |
| author_facet | He, Tianhua Belcher, C. Lamont, Byron Lim, S. |
| author_sort | He, Tianhua |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Current phylogenetic evidence shows that fire began shaping the evolution of land plants 125 Ma, although the fossil charcoal record indicates that fire has a much longer history (>350 Ma). Serotiny (on-plant seed storage) is generally accepted as an adaptation to fire among woody plants. We developed a conceptual model of the requirements for the evolution of serotiny, and propose that serotiny is only expressed in the presence of a woody rachis as supporting structure, compact scales covering seeds as protective structure, seed wing as dispersal structure, and crown fire as the agent of selection and mechanism for seed release. This model is strongly supported by empirical data for modern ecosystems. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of intrinsic structural states required for the expression of serotiny in conifers, and show that these were diagnostic for early ('transitional') conifers from 332 Ma (late-Carboniferous). We assessed the likely flammable characteristics of early conifers and found that scale-leaved conifers burn rapidly and with high intensity, supporting the idea that crown fire regimes may have dominated early conifer ecosystems. Synthesis. Coupled with strong evidence for frequent fire throughout the Permian-Carboniferous and fossil evidence for other fire-related traits, we conclude that many early conifers were serotinous in response to intense crown fires, indicating that fire may have had a major impact on the evolution of plant traits as far back as 350 Ma. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:17:43Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-16646 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:17:43Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-166462019-02-19T05:34:59Z A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers He, Tianhua Belcher, C. Lamont, Byron Lim, S. Current phylogenetic evidence shows that fire began shaping the evolution of land plants 125 Ma, although the fossil charcoal record indicates that fire has a much longer history (>350 Ma). Serotiny (on-plant seed storage) is generally accepted as an adaptation to fire among woody plants. We developed a conceptual model of the requirements for the evolution of serotiny, and propose that serotiny is only expressed in the presence of a woody rachis as supporting structure, compact scales covering seeds as protective structure, seed wing as dispersal structure, and crown fire as the agent of selection and mechanism for seed release. This model is strongly supported by empirical data for modern ecosystems. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of intrinsic structural states required for the expression of serotiny in conifers, and show that these were diagnostic for early ('transitional') conifers from 332 Ma (late-Carboniferous). We assessed the likely flammable characteristics of early conifers and found that scale-leaved conifers burn rapidly and with high intensity, supporting the idea that crown fire regimes may have dominated early conifer ecosystems. Synthesis. Coupled with strong evidence for frequent fire throughout the Permian-Carboniferous and fossil evidence for other fire-related traits, we conclude that many early conifers were serotinous in response to intense crown fires, indicating that fire may have had a major impact on the evolution of plant traits as far back as 350 Ma. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16646 10.1111/1365-2745.12513 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP120103389 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | He, Tianhua Belcher, C. Lamont, Byron Lim, S. A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| title | A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| title_full | A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| title_fullStr | A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| title_full_unstemmed | A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| title_short | A 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| title_sort | 350-million-year legacy of fire adaptation among conifers |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP120103389 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16646 |