Fire frequency effects on cleistogamy expression and progeny performance in Cologania broussonetii - PubMed Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;23(2):285-292.
doi: 10.1111/plb.13212. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Fire frequency effects on cleistogamy expression and progeny performance in Cologania broussonetii

L M Carbone  1   2 , G Cascone  3 , R Aguilar  1   4
Affiliations

Fire frequency effects on cleistogamy expression and progeny performance in Cologania broussonetii

L M Carbone et al. Plant Biol (Stuttg). 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Increased fire frequency usually erodes microenvironmental conditions, causing a drastic limitation of edaphic resources. Thus, the production of permanently closed-small flowers (cleistogamous, CL) should increase in sites with high fire frequency as this implies a less expensive reproductive assurance strategy. However, because open, insect-pollinated flowers (chasmogamous, CH) have the potential capacity to outcross via pollinators, CH progeny produced at any site should outperform selfed CL progeny. We evaluate the effect of fire frequency on the relative production of CL/CH flowers and fruits, and their seed set, along with several progeny performance parameters in Cologania broussonetii (Fabaceae), a resprouting herb with dimorphic cleistogamy native to the Chaco Serrano. Fire frequency increased cleistogamy expression, reaching extreme levels in high fire frequency sites. Seed set was similarly high for both CH and CL flowers in the unburned condition, while in burned sites the few developed CH flowers set more seeds than CL flowers. However, progeny performance was similar between CH and CL progeny at each and across all fire frequency conditions. Cleistogamy expression in C. broussonetii is maximized in abiotically degraded frequently burned habitats, although the selfed CL progeny is as successful as potentially outcrossed CH progeny. Fire frequency may decreased floral size and abundance, selecting for autogamous reproduction, which restricts not only the genetic potential of plant populations but also the resources offered to pollinators. At the community level, increased cleistogamy expression may potentially have negative implications for non-cleistogamous, more outcrossing species surviving in frequently burned environments.

Keywords: Chaco Serrano; chasmogamous flowers; dimorphic cleistogamy; progeny performance; reproductive assurance; reproductive success.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ansaldi B.H., Weber J.J., Goodwillie C., Franks S.J. (2019) Low levels of inbreeding depression and enhanced fitness in cleistogamous progeny in the annual plant Triodanis perfoliata. Botany-Botanique, 97, 405-415.
    1. Argañaraz J.P. (2016) Spatial dynamics of fires in the mountain ranges of Córdoba. PhD Dissertation. National University of Córdoba, Argentina.
    1. Argañaraz J.P., Pizarro G.G., Zak M., Bellis L.M. (2015) Fire regime, climate, and vegetation in the Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina. Fire Ecology, 11, 55-73.
    1. Bond W.J., Woodward F.I., Midgley G.F. (2005) The global distribution of ecosystems in a world without fire. New Phytologist, 165, 525-538.
    1. Campbell C.S., Quinn J.A., Cheplick G.P., Bell T.J. (1983) Cleistogamy in grasses. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 14, 411-441.

LinkOut - more resources