Plasticity of fire related traits of some obligate seeder species in different fire-prone areas of SE France: the goals and methodology used

Abstract

Species having traits adapted to a given fire regime can be endangered when the fire regime changes if these traits do not vary at the same time, especially with the increase in fire recurrence following the global change. In this framework, an on-going PhD work studies plant fire-traits and flammability according to the fire regime to highlight a possible adaptation of these traits which would confer a better flammability when the fire recurrence increases to the resilient species Pinus halepensis and a better resistance to fire to the resistant species Pinus sylvestris. The study area encompasses two locations located on North-South gradient of the Provence area (SE France) to verify is the trend is the same within the biogeographical range of the species and at its boundaries. The current paper presents the goals of this work and methodology implemented to achieve them