Post-Fire Resprouting in New Zealand Woody Vegetation: Implications for Restoration

Abstract

Resprouting is an important trait that allows plants to persist after fire and is considered a key functional trait in woody plants. While resprouting is well documented in fire-prone biomes, information is scarce in non-fire-prone ecosystems, such as New Zealand (NZ) forests. Our objective was to investigate patterns of post-fire resprouting in NZ by identifying the ability of species to resprout and quantifying the resprouting rates within the local plant community. Fire occurrence is likely to increase in NZ as a consequence of climate change, and this investigation addresses an important knowledge gap needed for planning restoration actions in fire-susceptible regions. The study was conducted in two phases: (1) A detailed review of the resprouting ability of the NZ woody flora, and (2) a field study where the post-fire responses of plants were quantified. The field study was undertaken in the eastern South Island, where woody plants (>5 cm diameter at 30 cm height) were sampled in 10 plots (10x10 m), five- and 10-months post-fire. The research synthesized the resprouting ability of 73 woody species and is the first to provide extensive quantitative data on resprouting in NZ. Most of the canopy dominant species were non-resprouters, but many smaller trees and shrubs were capable of resprouting, despite their evolution in an environment with low fire frequency. Species composition and abundance were important predictors of resprouting patterns among plots, with similar communities resulting in similar resprouting responses. Resprouting capacity provides species with a competitive advantage in the post-fire recovery. We suggest that it is possible to engineer more fire resilient restoration plantings by planting higher proportions of the resprouters identified in this study. The incorporation of resprouting as a trait in restoration plans is likely to be relevant not just in NZ, but also in other non-fire-prone regions facing increases in fire frequency.