The existence of a fire-mediated tree-recruitment bottleneck in an Asian savanna

Abstract

Aim: A considerable proportion of the global savanna biome has been mis-classified as forest, especially in Asia. However, the structure and responses of dominant tree species to fire can help to clarify this ambiguity. Here, we examine demographic structure and fire responses of four dominant tree species in a deciduous dipterocarp forest (DDF) of the continental Southeast Asia. We examine whether fire creates a tree-recruitment bottleneck in the DDF, as in savannas on other continents. Location: YokDon National Park, Vietnam. Taxon: Dipterocarpus tuberculatus Roxb.; Dipterocarpus obtusifolius Teysm. ex Miq.; Shorea obtusa Wall. ex Blume; Shorea siamensis (Kurz) Miq. Methods: We measured th..