Data from: Burning for biodiversity: highly resilient ant communities respond only to strongly contrasting fire regimes in Australia’s seasonal tropics

1. According to the pyrodiversity paradigm, a wide range of fire regimes is required to maintain biodiversity in fire-prone landscapes. However, the requisite level of pyrodiversity has seldom been tested and may actually be very low. 2. Here, we examine the sensitivity of tropical savanna ants to variation in fire regimes using results from a long-term fire experiment near Darwin, Australia. Six experimental fire regimes, with varying fire frequency and seasonality, have been applied to 18 one-ha plots in three replicated blocks since 2004, with ants sampled prior to experimental burning and then annually after up to 2009. Our primary focus is on the extent to which different patterns of ant richness and composition are associated with each of the six treatment regimes, or whether there is such high overlap that differences only become apparent when experimental treatments are grouped to provide strongly contrasting fire regimes. 3. When treating each of the six fire treatments separately, we were unable to detect a significant influence of fire on any ant community response variable. We were only able to detect significant ant responses when we grouped the experimental treatments into two contrasting fire frequency classes, low (burnt at most once over the 5 years) vs. high (burnt every 1 or 2 years). Even then, these responses were only evident after 3 years of fire treatment. 4. Our findings demonstrate that ant communities have very high resilience in relation to fire, with differences evident only between strongly contrasting regimes. Such resilience appears to be characteristic of savanna ants throughout the world. 5. Synthesis and applications. A large range of finely tuned fire regimes is unlikely to promote regional ant diversity. Rather, only very limited pyrodiversity (a combination of frequently and infrequently burnt areas) would appear to be sufficient for maintaining diversity at a landscape scale. It is important that fire management for biodiversity conservation focuses on the demonstrated requirements of target species, rather than be based on an assumption that ‘pyrodiversity begets biodiversity’.

1. 根据火多样性（pyrodiversity）范式，在易发生火灾的景观中，需要多样化的火烧制度以维持生物多样性。然而，火多样性的必要水平极少得到检验，且实际可能极低。2. 本研究依托澳大利亚达尔文市附近的长期火烧实验结果，探讨热带稀树草原蚂蚁群落对火烧制度变异的响应敏感性。自2004年起，研究人员在3个重复区组内的18个1公顷样地中设置了6种不同火烧频率与季节性的实验火烧处理；分别在实验火烧前以及2009年之前的每年对蚂蚁群落进行采样。本研究的核心目标为：明确不同蚂蚁丰富度与群落组成模式与6种实验处理的关联程度，亦或是不同处理间的群落重叠度极高，仅当将实验处理归并为差异显著的火烧制度组别时，群落差异才会显现。3. 当单独分析6种火烧处理时，我们未能检测到火烧对任意蚂蚁群落响应变量的显著影响。仅当将实验处理划分为两个对比鲜明的火烧频率等级——低频率（5年内最多火烧1次）与高频率（每1~2年火烧1次）时，方可检测到蚂蚁群落的显著响应；且即便如此，该响应也仅在火烧处理实施满3年后才得以显现。4. 本研究结果表明，蚂蚁群落对火烧扰动具有极高的恢复力，仅在差异显著的火烧制度间才会呈现出群落结构差异。此类恢复力似乎是全球范围内稀树草原蚂蚁群落的共性特征。5. 综合与应用：大范围精细调控的火烧制度不太可能促进区域蚂蚁多样性。相较而言，仅需极为有限的火多样性（即高频与低频火烧区域的组合），即可满足景观尺度上的生物多样性维持需求。需特别指出的是，以生物多样性保护为目标的火烧管理工作，应聚焦于目标物种的实际需求，而非基于“火多样性催生生物多样性”这一假设开展实践。