Scholarlink

Background <p>Coastal dune ecosystems are fragile habitats where vegetation interacts with harsh abiotic conditions, making them highly vulnerable to climate-driven disturbances such as wildfire. In 2017, a large fire in Doñana Natural Park (SW Spain) provided an opportunity to assess how fire affects woody plant community composition, structure, and interactions across a natural coastal–inland gradient. We compared a burnt area (Cuesta Maneli) with an adjacent unburnt area (Laguna del Jaral) by applying non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), Mantel tests, and analyses of co-occurrence and spatial aggregation.</p> Results <p>Species composition in the unburnt area was strongly linked to soil variables and showed clear spatial differentiation along the coastal–inland gradient, reflecting strong abiotic filtering and structured negative interactions. In contrast, the burnt area exhibited homogenized community composition across the gradient, with increased species abundance but no significant relationship between soil and species composition, suggesting that fire weakened environmental filters. Species co-occurrence patterns also differed: neutral associations dominated in the burnt area, whereas negative associations and spatial clustering prevailed in the unburnt area. These results suggest that fire reduced competition and increased resource availability, producing a more homogeneous and opportunistic community structure. The findings highlight that post-fire community dynamics cannot be explained solely by deterministic filters but also by neutral dynamics that shape community organization and successional pathways.</p> Conclusion <p>Fire disturbance reshapes Mediterranean coastal dune plant communities by weakening environmental filtering, reducing competitive structuring, and promoting more neutral patterns of species co-occurrence, ultimately leading to a more homogeneous community across environmental gradients. Recognizing these shifts advances our understanding of woody plant community reorganization after a fire and provides a framework to inform conservation and restoration in fire-prone Mediterranean dune systems.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Fire shifts the structure and dynamics of woody plant communities in a Mediterranean coastal dune ecosystem

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月15日

查看全文
  • André F. Mira,
  • Nagore G. Medina,
  • Sergio Chozas,
  • Raquel Divieso,
  • Juan Castro-Rivadeneyra,
  • Mari Cruz Díaz-Barradas,
  • Joaquín Hortal

摘要

Background

Coastal dune ecosystems are fragile habitats where vegetation interacts with harsh abiotic conditions, making them highly vulnerable to climate-driven disturbances such as wildfire. In 2017, a large fire in Doñana Natural Park (SW Spain) provided an opportunity to assess how fire affects woody plant community composition, structure, and interactions across a natural coastal–inland gradient. We compared a burnt area (Cuesta Maneli) with an adjacent unburnt area (Laguna del Jaral) by applying non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), Mantel tests, and analyses of co-occurrence and spatial aggregation.

Results

Species composition in the unburnt area was strongly linked to soil variables and showed clear spatial differentiation along the coastal–inland gradient, reflecting strong abiotic filtering and structured negative interactions. In contrast, the burnt area exhibited homogenized community composition across the gradient, with increased species abundance but no significant relationship between soil and species composition, suggesting that fire weakened environmental filters. Species co-occurrence patterns also differed: neutral associations dominated in the burnt area, whereas negative associations and spatial clustering prevailed in the unburnt area. These results suggest that fire reduced competition and increased resource availability, producing a more homogeneous and opportunistic community structure. The findings highlight that post-fire community dynamics cannot be explained solely by deterministic filters but also by neutral dynamics that shape community organization and successional pathways.

Conclusion

Fire disturbance reshapes Mediterranean coastal dune plant communities by weakening environmental filtering, reducing competitive structuring, and promoting more neutral patterns of species co-occurrence, ultimately leading to a more homogeneous community across environmental gradients. Recognizing these shifts advances our understanding of woody plant community reorganization after a fire and provides a framework to inform conservation and restoration in fire-prone Mediterranean dune systems.