Vegetation responses to season of fire in an aseasonal, fire-prone fynbos shrubland

In the aseasonal, fire-prone fynbos shrubland of South Africa's Cape Floral Region, fire season does not significantly impact proteoid recruitment, unlike in Mediterranean-climate shrublands. The study found that factors such as species type, pre-fire parent density, and post-fire vegetation age were more influential than fire timing or rainfall. While germination occurred primarily during cooler months, summer plantings took longer, indicating limited drought-avoiding dormancy. This flexibility in proteoid recruitment suggests that fire management can be adapted without seasonal restrictions, unlike in winter-rainfall shrublands.

Kraaij, T., Cowling, R. M., van Wilgen, B. W., Rikhotso, D. R., & Difford, M. (2017). Vegetation responses to season of fire in an aseasonal, fire-prone fynbos shrubland. PeerJ, 5, e3591. Portico. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3591