Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T19:22:13.976Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Growth of Tropical Bracken (Pteridium arachnoideum): Response to Weather Variations and Burning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kristin Roos ,
Rütger Rollenbeck ,
Thorsten Peters ,
Jörg Bendix  and
Erwin Beck
Kristin Roos*
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Physiology, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
Rütger Rollenbeck
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Remote Sensing and Climatology, Department of Geography, University of Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 10, 35032 Marburg, Germany
Thorsten Peters
Affiliation:
Institute for Geography, University of Erlangen, Kochstr. 4, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
Jörg Bendix
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Remote Sensing and Climatology, Department of Geography, University of Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 10, 35032 Marburg, Germany
Erwin Beck
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Physiology, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The ecology of tropical bracken, which occurs in tropical regions, is not well known. We studied its response to weather variations and burning in the south Ecuadorian Andes, where this weed had already overgrown 40% of the pastureland. In field observations, a constant 1 : 1 ratio of emerging and dying leaves suggested limitation of frond density by nutrient shortage. Short-term deviations from that ratio could be related to weather variations. Spells of dry weather temporarily increased mortality but stimulated emergence of new fronds. Lifespan of the fronds produced immediately after a fire was longer than of those produced during unaffected bracken growth. A burst of frond development during the initial 2 to 3 mo was observed after a fire followed by self-thinning to a stable level. To analyze the effect of fire on bracken, rhizomes were treated with heat pulses. Rhizomes were heat tolerant up to 70 C, and frond production from short shoots was enhanced by elevated temperature. Burning apparently releases apical dominance of developed fronds, as does cutting, and stimulates bud break. The local practice of pasture maintenance in Ecuador of repeated burning favors growth of the fern.

Keywords

Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum agg. (L.) Kuhntropical bracken (bracken of the southern hemisphere), e.g., neotropical Pteridium arachnoideum (Kaulf.) Maxon and Pteridium caudatum (L.) MaxonTropical brackeninvasive fernsvegetation dynamicsfire ecologyheat effects on rhizome
Type
Research
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 402 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Ader, K. G. 1990. The effect of climate and soils on bracken vigor and distribution on Scotland. Pages 141–152. In Thomas, J. A. and Smith, R. T. eds. Bracken Biology and Management. Australian Institute of Agricultural Science Occasional. Publ. 40.Google Scholar
Agee, J. K. and Huff, M. H. 1987. Fuel succession in a western Hemlock/Douglas-Fir forest. Can. J. Forest. Res 17:697–704.Google Scholar
Alonso-Amelot, M. E. and Rodulfo-Baechler, S. 1996. Comparative spatial distribution, size, biomass and growth rate of two varieties of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum L. Kuhn) in a neotropical montane habitat. Vegetatio 125:137–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, E., Hartig, K., and Roos, K. 2008a. Forest clearing by slash and burn. Pages 371–374. In Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F., and Mosandl, R. eds. Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador. Ecological Studies. Volume 198. Berlin, Heidelberg Springer.Google Scholar
Beck, E., Makeschin, F., Haubrich, F., Richter, M., Bendix, J., and Valarezo, C. 2008b. The ecosystem (Reserva Biológica San Francisco). Pages 1–13. In Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F., and Mosandl, R. eds. Gradients in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of Ecuador. Ecological Studies. Volume 198. Berlin, Heidelberg Springer.Google Scholar
Bendix, J., Silva, B., Roos, K., Göttlicher, D., Rollenbeck, R., Nauß, T., and Beck, E. 2009. Model parameterization to simulate and compare the PAR absorption potential of two competing plant species. Int. J. Biometeorol 35.DOI 10.1007/s00484-009-0279-3.Google Scholar
Bray, J. R. 1991. Growth, biomass, and productivity of a bracken (Pteridium esculentum) infested pasture in Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. N. Z. J. Bot 29:169–176.Google Scholar
Brown, R. W. 1986. Bracken in the North York Moors: Its ecological and amenity implications in national parks. Pages 77–86. In Smith, R. T. and Taylor, J. A. eds. Bracken: Ecology, Land Use and Control Technology. Leeds, UK The Parthenon Publishing Group Limited.Google Scholar
Burge, M. N., Irvine, J. A., and McElwee, M. 1986. The potential for biological control of bracken with the causal agents of curl-tip disease. Pages. 453–458. in. Proceedings of an International Conference: Bracken: Ecology, Land Use and Control Technology.Google Scholar
Burge, M. N. and Kirkwood, R. C. 1992. The control of bracken. Crit. Rev. Biotech 12:299–333.Google Scholar
Conway, E. 1957. Spore production in bracken. J. Ecol 45:273–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Der, J. P., Thomson, J. A., Stratford, J. K., and Wolf, P. G. 2009. Global chloroplast phylogeny and biogeography of bracken (Pteridium; Dennstaedtiaceae). Am. J. Bot 96:1041–1049.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, G. R., Nordmeyer, A. H., and Kelland, C. M. 1990. Biomass and nutrient pools of bracken growing under radiate pine, Nelson, New Zealand. Pages 187–196. In Thomson, J. A. and Smith, R. T. eds. Bracken Biology and Management. Australian Inst. of Agricultural Science, Sydney, 40.Google Scholar
Flinn, M. and Pringle, J. 1983. Heat tolerance of rhizomes of several understory species. Can. J. Bot 61:452–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flinn, M. A. and Wein, R. W. 1988. Regrowth of forest understory species following seasonal burning. Can. J. Bot 66:150–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gliessman, S. R. 1978. The establishment of bracken following fire in tropical habitats. Am. Fern J 68:41–44.Google Scholar
Göttlicher, D., Obregón, A., Homeier, J., Rollenbeck, R., Nauss, T., and Bendix, J. 2009. Land-cover classification in the Andes of tropical Ecuador using Landsat ETM+ data as a basis for SVAT modelling. Int. J. Remote Sens 30:1867–1886.Google Scholar
Hamer, U., Potthast, K., and Makeschin, F. 2009. Urea fertilisation affected soil organic matter dynamics and microbial community structure in pasture soils of southern Ecuador. Appl. Soil Ecol 43:226–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartig, K. and Beck, E. 2003. The bracken fern (Pteridium arachnoideum) dilemma in the Andes of South Ecuador. Ecotropica 9:3–13.Google Scholar
Hollinger, D. Y. 1987. Photosynthesis and stomatal conductance patterns of two fern species from different forest understoreys. J. Ecol 75:925–935.Google Scholar
Ingram, D. C. 1931. Vegetative changes and grazing use on douglas-fir cut-over land. J. Agric. Res 43 (5):387–417.Google Scholar
Lauer, W. and Bendix, J. 2004. Climatology (Klimatologie). Brunswick, Germany Westermann. 352 p.Google Scholar
Le Duc, M. G., Pakeman, R. J., and Marrs, R. H. 2003. Changes in the rhizome system of bracken subjected to long-term experimental treatment. J. Appl. Ecol 40:508–522.Google Scholar
Lyon, L. J. and Stickney, P. F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. Pages. 355–373. in. Proceedings, Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council Fire and Land Management Symposium, 1974, Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL Tall Timbers Research Station.Google Scholar
Marrs, R., Johnson, S., and Le Duc, M. 1998. Control of bracken and restoration of heathland. VI. The response of bracken fronds to 18 years of continued bracken control or 6 years of control followed by recovery. J. Appl. Ecol 35:479–490.Google Scholar
Page, C. 1976. Taxonomy and phytogeography of bracken—a review. Bot. J. Linn. Soc 73:1–34.Google Scholar
Page, C. 1982. The history and spread of bracken in Britain. Proc. R. Soc. Edinb 81:3–10.Google Scholar
Page, C. 1986. The strategies of bracken as a permanent ecological opportunist. Pages 173–181. In Smith, R. T. and Taylor, J. A. eds. Proceedings of the International Conference—Bracken '85/Bracken: Ecology, Land Use and Control Technology. Carnforth, England Parthenon Publishing.Google Scholar
Pakeman, R., Le Duc, M. G., and Marrs, R. H. 2000. Bracken distribution in Great Britain: strategies for its control and the sustainable management of marginal Land. Ann. Bot 85:37–46.Google Scholar
Pakeman, R., Marrs, R., and Jacob, P. 1994. A model of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) growth and the effects of control strategies and changing climate. J. Appl. Ecol 31:145–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitman, J. I. and Pitman, R. M. 1990. Climate and bracken growth. Pages 163–173. In Thomson, J. A. and Smith, R. T. eds. Bracken Biology and Management. Sydney Australian Institute of Agricultural Science Occasional Publ. 40.Google Scholar
Potthast, K., Hamer, U., and Makeschin, F. 2010. Impact of litter quality on mineralization processes in managed and abandoned pasture soils in Southern Ecuador. Soil Biol. Biochem 42:56–64.Google Scholar
Quitete Portela, R. C., Silva Matos, D. M., Pugliese de Siqueira, L., et al. 2009. Variation in aboveground biomass and necromass of two invasive species in the Atlantic rainforest, Southeast Brazil. Acta Bot. Bras 23:571–577.Google Scholar
Roberts, J., Pymar, C. F., Wallace, J. S., et al. 1980. Seasonal changes in leaf area, stomatal and canopy conductances and transpiration from bracken below a forest canopy. J. Appl. Ecol 17:409–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rollenbeck, R., Bendix, J., Fabian, P., et al. 2007. Comparison of different techniques for the measurement of precipitation in tropical montane rain forest regions. J. Atmos. Ocean Technol 24:156–168.Google Scholar
Sharik, T. L., Ford, R. H., and Davis, M. L. 1989. Repeatability of invasion of eastern white pine on dry sites in northern Lower Michigan. Am. Midl. Nat 122:133–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SPSS 2004. SPSS for Windows, version 13.0. Chicago SPSS.Google Scholar
Stewart, G. H. 1988. The influence of canopy cover on understory development in forests of the western Cascade Range, Oregon, USA. Vegetatio 76:79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomson, J. 2000. Morphological and genomic diversity in the genus Pteridium (Dennstaedtiaceae). Ann. Bot 85:77–99.Google Scholar
Waring, R. H. and Major, J. 1964. Some vegetation of the california coastal redwood region in relation to gradients of moisture, nutrients, light, and temperature. Ecol. Monogr 34:167–215.Google Scholar
Watt, A. 1940. Contributions to the ecology of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). I. The rhizome. New Phytol 39:401–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watt, A. 1976. The ecological status of bracken. Bot. J. Linn. Soc 73:217–239.Google Scholar
Webster, B. and Steeves, T. 1958. Morphogenesis in Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn. General morphology and growth habit. Phytomorphology 8:30–41.Google Scholar