title: Post-fire uptake of nutrients by diverse ephemeral herbs in chamise chaparral.
abstract: Diverse populations of ephemeral herbs form the dominant element of community biomass in the first year of growth following a fall burn in chamise chaparral. Ephemeral herbs constituted 337 kg ha-1of above-ground biomass after the first season of post-fire growth. This was 64% of the total, with the majority of the remaining biomass being in resprouts of Adenostoma fasciculatum. Ephemeral herb biomass following fire in other stands was as high as 1117 kg ha-1. Nutrient contents of ephemeral herbs were 6.68 kg N ha-1, 0.71 kg P ha-1, 10.05 kg K ha-1, 4.75 kg Ca ha-1and 0.91 kg Mg ha-1. These were 55, 54, 81, 71 and 70% respectively of the above-ground totals. In the second year following fire, the total herb biomass was 40% higher, but the nutrient pool in above-ground biomass of these herbs was only 30-60% of what it had been the first year. Resprouts of A. fasciculatum and short-lived wood shrubs constituted more than 90% of above-ground biomass at this stage of postfire succession.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomedical and Environmental Biology, UCLA, 90024, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Rundel
authors.affiliation: National Park Service, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 93271, Three Rivers, CA, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Parsons