Flammable biomes dominated by eucalypts originated at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary

Michael D. Crisp (), Geoffrey E. Burrows, Lyn G. Cook, Andrew H. Thornhill and David M. J. S. Bowman
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Michael D. Crisp: Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University
Geoffrey E. Burrows: Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2678, Australia.
Lyn G. Cook: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
Andrew H. Thornhill: Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University
David M. J. S. Bowman: School of Plant Science, Private Bag, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.

Nature Communications, 2011, vol. 2, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Fire is a major modifier of communities, but the evolutionary origins of its prevalent role in shaping current biomes are uncertain. Australia is among the most fire-prone continents, with most of the landmass occupied by the fire-dependent sclerophyll and savanna biomes. In contrast to biomes with similar climates in other continents, Australia has a tree flora dominated by a single genus, Eucalyptus, and related Myrtaceae. A unique mechanism in Myrtaceae for enduring and recovering from fire damage likely resulted in this dominance. Here, we find a conserved phylogenetic relationship between post-fire resprouting (epicormic) anatomy and biome evolution, dating from 60 to 62 Ma, in the earliest Palaeogene. Thus, fire-dependent communities likely existed 50 million years earlier than previously thought. We predict that epicormic resprouting could make eucalypt forests and woodlands an excellent long-term carbon bank for reducing atmospheric CO2 compared with biomes with similar fire regimes in other continents.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1191

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