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Seasonal drought plays a stronger role than wildfire in shaping macroinvertebrate communities of Mediterranean streams

Abstract:

Mediterranean climate ecosystems are characterised by frequent fires, but few studies have focused on the effects of fire disturbance on biological communities in streams in these ecosystems. To compare the responses of macroinvertebrate communities to wildfire, eight sites were established and annually sampled for 5 years. Two months after fire, the number and abundance of macroinvertebrate taxa were not significantly different from those in control streams, but their composition and functional attributes had changed. As expected, an increase in r-strategy taxa was observed during the year following fire. Above all, macroinvertebrate assemblages responded more strongly to hydrology (previous spring precipitation) than to fire. Drought was found to be an overriding disturbance factor, but macroinvertebrate assemblages showed high resilience. In a climate change scenario coupled with human demand for water, it will be important to study the effects of drought interacting with other disturbances like wildfire (which is in turn driven by drought). © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.