Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL AND VETERINARY ADVANCES, cilt.9, sa.7, ss.1120-1127, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
The dynamics of seed production and fruit parasitism in a fire-following obligate seeder species, Cistus salviifolius L. were investigated along a post-fire successional gradient in Marmaris, southwestern Turkey. Four sites of different post-fire age (1, 5,21 and 45 years) were studied for three consecutive years. Fruit samples were collected and plant size was measured in the field. Then fruit infestation rates of individuals and seed numbers of fruits were determined. Mean seed numbers per fruit showed inter-annual variation during the study period and the amount of spring rainfall, especially in March may be responsible for this fluctuation. Mean seed numbers per fruit also showed a decreasing trend with increasing post-fire stand age. This result reflected the seed bank dynamics of Cistus L. in relation to time since fire. Rates of infestation of C. salviifolius by Bruchid beetles were lower however, there were no patterns related to infestation rates except for a negative relationship between mean seed number per fruit and fruit infestation rate. This study indicated that several factors may affect the dynamics of seed production in species of Cistus independent of fire itself such as pre-dispersal seed predators, plant size and spring rainfall.