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How widespread are recruitment bottlenecks in fragmented populations of the savanna tree Banksia marginata (Proteaceae)?
journal contribution
posted on 2021-02-10, 23:37 authored by Simon HeyesSimon Heyes, Steve J Sinclair, Susan HoebeeSusan Hoebee, John MorganJohn Morgan© 2020, Springer Nature B.V. Land clearing of habitat into smaller, isolated remnants is a major driver of plant and animal extinctions globally. In southeastern Australia, once widespread temperate savannas have been subjected to extensive land clearing since European settlement. Some small fragments have persisted, but declines in the dominant trees have been reported, with anecdotal observations of widespread recruitment bottlenecks and seed set failure. To test the hypothesis that populations of Banksia marginata are experiencing widespread recruitment bottlenecks, we examined tree size-class distribution and production of infructescences (cones) of 15 populations on the western plains of Victoria, Australia. We found no evidence of widespread recruitment bottlenecks or a failure to set seeds; most populations were recruiting, though we did find evidence of declining recruitment with population size, suggesting evidence of an Allee effect. The proportion of trees without cones varied between populations; three populations had large numbers of trees (> 40%) lacking mature fertile cones. Managers should focus on minimising threats to seedling survival and augment populations below 100 individuals to improve recruitment and maintain stand persistence in the landscape.
Funding
This study was funded by the Hamilton branch of the Australian Native Plants Society (APS) and supported by the Friends of the Forgotten Woodlands and Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. We thank Dan Frost (Ballarat Region Seed Bank) for his time and to the volunteers who helped us in the field.
History
Publication Date
2020-01-01Journal
Plant EcologyVolume
221Issue
7Pagination
13p. (p. 545-557)Publisher
SpringerISSN
1385-0237Rights Statement
The Author reserves all moral rights over the deposited text and must be credited if any re-use occurs. Documents deposited in OPAL are the Open Access versions of outputs published elsewhere. Changes resulting from the publishing process may therefore not be reflected in this document. The final published version may be obtained via the publisher’s DOI. Please note that additional copyright and access restrictions may apply to the published version.Publisher DOI
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Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePlant SciencesEcologyForestryEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyAllee effectDemographySeedling regenerationSenescenceSize-class distributionHABITAT FRAGMENTATIONSTAND STRUCTURESPECIES COMPOSITIONPOLLINATOR BEHAVIORGRASS COMPETITIONLANDSCAPE CONTEXTPOLLEN DISPERSALCOVER CHANGESEEDPLANT
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