Demographic hurdles to persistence in Acacia peuce (F. Muell.): Effects of resources, fire and browsing on a threatened keystone tree species from arid Australia

Journal of Arid Environments

Volumn 80, Issue , 2012, Pages 17-26

  Nano, C E M ^a   Bowland, A E ^a,c   Nano, T J ^a   Raghu, S ^b,d   Pavey, C R ^a,d  

^a ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF THE SUPERVISING SCIENTIST   (Australia)

^b Arid Zone Research Institute   (Australia)

^c BATCHELOR INSTITUTE OF INDIGENOUS TERTIARY EDUCATION   (Australia)

^d CSIRO   (Australia)

Author keywords

Bottom up effects; Disturbance; Recruitment; Resource pulse; Top down effects

Indexed keywords

ARID ENVIRONMENT; BOTTOM-UP APPROACH; BROWSING; CATTLE; CLIMATE CHANGE; DATA SET; DEMOGRAPHY; DESERT; DISTURBANCE; ENDANGERED SPECIES; FIRE BEHAVIOR; GROWTH RATE; KEYSTONE SPECIES; LEGUME; PERSISTENCE; POPULATION DYNAMICS; RAINFALL; RECRUITMENT (POPULATION DYNAMICS); REGENERATION; RESOURCE AVAILABILITY; SAPLING; SEEDLING ESTABLISHMENT; SPATIOTEMPORAL ANALYSIS;

AUSTRALIA;

ACACIA; BOS;

EID: 84857356542     PISSN: 01401963     EISSN: 1095922X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.12.009     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Auld T.D. The impact of herbivores on regeneration in four trees from arid Australia. The Rangeland Journal 1995, 17:213-227.
2. 4 grasslands and savannas?. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2008, 39:641-659.
3. Bureau of Meteorology Climate Available from URL:, (accessed July 2011). http://www.bom.gov.au/climate.htm.
4. Chuk, M., 1982. The Status and Ecology of Acacia peuce in the Northern Territory. Technical Report No. 2. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Alice Springs.
5. Crisp M. Demography and survival under grazing of three Australian semi- desert shrubs. Oikos 1978, 27:86-92.
6. Crisp M., Lange R.T. Age structure, distribution and survival under grazing of the arid zone shrub Acacia burkittii. Oikos 1976, 27:86-92.
7. Deveson, E., 1980. An Inventory of Acacia peuce (F. MUELL.) Stands in Central Australia: Biogeography and Ecology. Honours thesis, Department of Geography, ANU, Canberra.
8. Easterling D.R., Meehl G.A., Parmesan C., Changnon S.A., Karl T.R., Mearns L.O. Climate extremes: observations, modelling, and impacts. Science 2000, 289:2068-2074.
9. Hennessy K., Page C., McInnes K., Walsh K., Pittock B., Bathols J., Suppiah R. Climate Change in the Northern Territory. Consultancy Report for the Northern Territory Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment 2004, CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Melbourne.
10. Higgins S.I., Bond W.J., February E.C., Bronn A.D., Euston-Brown I.W., Enslin B., Govender N., Rademan L., O'Regan S., Potgieter A.L.F., Scheiter S., Sowry R., Trollope L., Trollope W.S.W. Effects of four decades of fire manipulation on woody vegetation structure in savanna. Ecology 2007, 88:1119-1125.
11. Kambatuku J.R., Cramer M.D., Ward D. Savanna tree-grass competition is modified by substrate type and herbivory. Journal of Vegetation Science 2011, 22:225-237.
12. Lange R.T., Graham C.R. Rabbits and the failure of regeneration in Australian arid zone Acacia. Austral Ecology 1983, 8:377-381.
13. Lepš J., Šmilauer P. Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data Using CANOCO 2005, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
14. Meyer K.M., Wiegand K., Ward D., Moustakas A. SATCHMO: a spatial simulation model of growth, competition, and mortality in cycling savanna patches. Ecological Modelling 2007, 209:377-391.
15. Midgley J.J., Bond W.J. A synthesis of the demography of African acacias. Journal of Tropical Ecology 2001, 17:871-886.
16. Moustakas A., Guenther M., Wiegand K., Mueller K.H., Ward D., Meyer K.M., Jeltsch F. Long-term mortality patterns of the deep-rooted Acacia erioloba: the middle class shall die!. Journal of Vegetation Science 2006, 17:473-480.
17. Nano C.E.M., Clarke P.J. Variegated desert vegetation: covariation of edaphic and fire variables provides a framework for understanding mulga-spinifex coexistence. Austral Ecology 2008, 33:848-862.
18. Nano C.E.M., Clarke P.J. Woody-grass ratios in a grassy arid system are limited by multi-causal interactions of abiotic constraint, competition and fire. Oecologia 2010, 162:719-732.
19. Noy-Meir I. Desert ecosystems: environment and producers. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1973, 4:51-58.
20. Pavey C.R., Eldridge S.R., Heywood M. Native and introduced predator population dynamics and prey selection during a rodent outbreak in arid Australia. Journal of Mammalogy 2008, 89:674-683.
21. Plieninger T., Pulido F.J., Schaich H. Effects of land-use and landscape structure on holm oak recruitment and regeneration at farm level in Quercus ilex L. dehesas. Journal of Arid Environments 2004, 57:345-364.
22. Riginos C. Grass competition suppresses savanna tree growth across multiple demographic stages. Ecology 2009, 90:335-340.
23. Russell-Smith J., Yates C.P., Brock C., Westcott V.C. Fire regimes and interval-sensitive vegetation in semiarid Gregory National Park, northern Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 2010, 58:300-317.
24. Seymour C. Grass, rainfall and herbivores as determinants of Acacia erioloba (Meyer) recruitment in an African savanna. Plant Ecology 2008, 197:131-138.
25. Seymour C., Huyser O. Fire and the demography of camelthorn (Acacia erioloba Meyer) in the southern Kalahari - evidence for a bonfire effect?. African Journal of Ecology 2008, 46:594-601.
26. StatSoft Inc. Statistica, release 8 2007, Statsoft Inc, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
27. Staver A.C., Archibald S., Levin S. Tree cover in sub-Saharan Africa: rainfall and fire constrain forest and savanna as alternative stable states. Ecology 2011, 92:1063-1072.
28. Squeo F.A., Holmgren M., Jiménez M., Albán L., Reyes J., Gutiérrez J.R. Tree establishment along an ENSO experimental gradient in the Atacama desert. Journal of Vegetation Science 2007, 18:195-202.
29. Tabuti J.R.S., Muwanika V.B., Arinaitwe M.Z., Ticktin T. Conservation of priority woody species on farmlands: a case study from Nawaikoke sub- county, Uganda. Applied Geography 2011, 31:456-462.
30. ter Braak C.J.F., Šmilauer P. CANOCO Reference Manual and CanoDraw for Windows User's Guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (Version 4.5) 2002, Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, New York.
31. Thomson L.A.L., Turnbull J.W., Maslin B.R. The utilization of Australian species of Acacia, with particular reference to those of the subtropical dry zone. Journal of Arid Environments 1994, 27:279-295.
32. Tiver F., Andrew M.H. Relative effects of herbivory by sheep, rabbits, goats and kangaroos on recruitment and regeneration of shrubs and trees in eastern South Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology 1997, 34:903-914.
33. Tongway D.J., Ludwig J.A. Vegetation and soil patterning in semi-arid mulga lands of eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 1990, 15:23-34.
34. Tongway D.J., Ludwig J.A. Theories on the origins, maintenance, dynamics, and functioning of banded landscapes. Banded Vegetation Patterning in Arid and Semiarid Environments. Ecological Processes and Consequences for Management 2001, 20-31. Springer, New York. D.J. Tongway, C. Valentin, J. Seghieri (Eds.).
35. Turner D., Ostendorf B., Lewis M. An introduction to patterns of fire in arid and semi-arid Australia, 1998-2004. Rangeland Journal 2008, 30:95-107.
36. Ward D., Esler K.J. What are the effects of substrate and grass removal on recruitment of Acacia mellifera seedlings in a semi-arid environment?. Plant Ecology 2011, 212:245-250.
37. Watson I.W., Westoby M., Holm A.M. Demography of two shrub species from an arid grazed ecosystem in Western Australia 1983-93. Journal of Ecology 1997, 85:815-832.
38. Watson I.W., Westoby M., Holm A.M. Continuous and episodic components of demographic change in arid zone shrubs: models of two Eremophila species from western Australia compared with published data on other species. Journal of Ecology 1997, 85:833-846.
39. Wigley B.J., Bond W.J., Hoffman M.T. Thicket expansion in a South African savanna under divergent land use: local vs. global drivers?. Global Change Biology 2010, 16:964-976.
40. Wu X.B., Archer S. Scale-dependent influence of topography-based hydrological features on patterns of woody plant encroachment in savanna landscapes. Landscape Ecology 2005, 20:733-742.