title: Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits.
abstract: Fire as a major evolutionary force has been disputed because it is considered to lack supporting evidence. If a trait has evolved in response to selection by fire then the environment of the plant must have been fire-prone before the appearance of that trait. Using outcomes of trait assignments applied to molecular phylogenies for fire-stimulated flowering, seed-release, and germination, in this Opinion article we show that fire-proneness precedes, or rarely coincides with, the evolution of these fire-adapted traits. In addition, fire remains central to understanding germination promoted by smoke among species occurring in non-fire-prone environments because of the historical association of their clade with fire. Fire-mimicking selection and associated exaptations have no place in understanding the evolution of fire-adapted traits because we find no support for any reversal in the fire-trait sequence through time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, PO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia. Electronic address: B.Lamont@curtin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Byron B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lamont
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, PO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Tianhua
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D017753:Ecosystem; D005390:Fires; D018525:Germination / Q000502:physiology
keywords: exaptation; fire adaptation; flowering; germination; selection; serotiny; smoke