Fire, rain and the selection of seeder and resprouter life‐histories in fire‐recruiting, woody plants

Several Cape species of the genus Erica are known to present seeder and resprouter phenotypes, and this variation seems to have a genetic basis. Therefore, this genus provides ideal model systems for using to elucidate the evolution of nonsprouting or seeder and resprouter life-histories in woody, fire-recruiting plants. A simple simulation model was developed to identify, under life-history optimality, the ecological conditions (viz. rainfall conditions and fire frequency) that conferred a selective advantage to the seeder phenotype over the resprouter in a given Cape Erica species. The model illustrated that the seeder life-history was able to invade and replace a resprouter population only under a mild mediterranean climate, with short, moderate summer droughts. This simulation approach will contribute to a better understanding of the biogeographical pattern of seeder and resprouter lineages of one of the paradigmatic fynbos woody taxa throughout the Cape floristic region.