Burn or rot: leaf traits explain why flammability and decomposability are decoupled across species

In fire-prone ecosystems, two important alternative fates for leaves are burning in a wildfire (when alive or as litter) or they get consumed (as litter) by decomposers. The influence of leaf traits on litter decomposition rate is reasonably well understood. In contrast, less is known about the influence of leaf traits on leaf and litter flammability. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to determine which morphological and chemical leaf traits drive flammability; and (b) to determine if different (combinations of) morphological and chemical leaf traits drive interspecific variation in decomposition and litter flammability and, in turn, help us understand the relationship between decomposability and flammability. To explore the relationships between leaf traits and flammability of individual leaves, we used 32 evergreen perennial plant species from eastern Australia in standardised experimental burns on three types of leaf material (i.e. fresh, dried and senesced). Next, we compared ...