Data from: Post-fire recovery in coastal sage scrub: seed rain and community trajectory

Disturbance is a primary mechanism structuring ecological communities.
However, human activity has the potential to alter the frequency and
intensity of natural disturbance regimes, with subsequent effects on
ecosystem processes. In Southern California, human development has led to
increased fire frequency close to urban areas that can form a positive
feedback with invasive plant spread. Understanding how abiotic and biotic
factors structure post-fire plant communities is a critical component of
post-fire management and restoration. In this study we considered a
variety of mechanisms affecting post-fire vegetation recovery in
Riversidean sage scrub. Comparing recently burned plots to unburned plots,
we found that burning significantly reduced species richness and percent
cover of exotic vegetation the first two years following a 100-hectare
wildfire. Seed rain was higher in burned plots, with more native forb
seeds, while unburned plots had more exotic grass seeds. Moreover, there
were significant correlations between seed rain composition and plant
cover composition the year prior and the year after. Collectively, this
case study suggests that fire can alter community composition, but there
was not compelling evidence of a vegetation-type conversion. Instead, the
changes in the community composition were temporary and convergence in
community composition was apparent within two years post-fire.