Oecologia (2009) 159:483–492 DOI 10.1007/s00442-008-1237-1 123 PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY - ORIGINAL PAPER Does post-Wre plant regeneration mode aVect the germination response to Wre-related cues? Gidi Ne’eman · Rina Ne’eman · David A. Keith · Rob J. Whelan Received: 12 October 2007 / Accepted: 13 November 2008 / Published online: 13 December 2008  Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract Vegetative resprouting, soil or canopy-stored seed banks, post-Wre seed dispersal and germination are the major strategies by which plants regenerate after Wres. Post- Wre regeneration modes of plants are commonly based on the presence or absence of post-Wre recruitment as well as the presence or absence of post-Wre resprouting. High tem- peratures, smoke and ash are characteristics of Wre and the post-Wre environment. We hypothesized that heat, smoke, ash and pH will have diVerential eVects on seed germina- tion depending on species’ post-Wre regeneration strategies: serotinous vs. nonserotinous (which may have soil seed banks) and resprouters vs. nonresprouters (which may be obligate seeders). Here we examined the eVects of these factors on the germination of 27 common east Australian species. Most serotinous species supported our hypothesis by showing no eVect or reduced germination in response to heat. However, contrary to our prediction, all nonserotinous nonresprouting species also showed no eVect or reduced germination in response to heat. Smoke, contrary to our hypothesis, had a negative or no eVect on all serotinous and nonresprouting species, but no clear directional eVect on serotinous and resprouting species. Supporting our hypoth- eses, ash and high pH showed positive or nonsigniWcant eVects on the germination of all serotinous resprouting spe- cies, and a negative or no eVect on nonserotinous resprout- ing species. However, contrary to our prediction, it had a negative or no eVect on the serotinous nonresprouting spe- cies and no clear eVect on nonserotinous nonresprouting species. We also discovered large diVerences in germina- tion responses between conspeciWc populations that varied in their degree of resprouting. Although our data conWrmed several of our predictions, the overall conclusion is that the responses of seeds to heat, smoke, ash and pH are not tightly associated with post-Wre regeneration functional types. Keywords Heat · pH · Resprouting · Serotiny · Smoke Introduction Fire is a major disturbance that shapes plant communities occupying Wre-prone habitats worldwide. These communi- ties consist mostly of plant species that are capable of regenerating after Wre by vegetative resprouting, or through the germination of seed from banks stored in soil or in plant canopies regulated by Wre-related cues (Gill 1981; Trabaud 1987; Whelan 1995; Bond and van Wilgen 1996). Varia- tion between species in the combination of such traits is thought to be important in governing their diVerential Communicated by Jon Keeley. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00442-008-1237-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. G. Ne’eman (&) Department of Science Education, Biology, University of Haifa-Oranim, Tivon 36006, Israel e-mail: gneeman@research.haifa.ac.il R. Ne’eman Anne Frank High School, Branco Weiss Institute, Kibbutz Sasa 13870, Israel D. A. Keith NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Biodiversity Management Unit, PO Box 1967, Hurstville, NSW 2220, Australia R. J. Whelan Institute for Conservation Biology and Law, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia