image: Reproduction in the narrow-leaved purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia) improves in burned mating scenes. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Gretel Kiefer.
In a 21-year study conducted in Douglas County, Minnesota, researchers found that scheduled fires synchronized the bloom time of flowering in the prairie plant Echinacea angustifolia, which increased mating opportunities and nearly doubled seed production; the findings demonstrate a potentially widespread mechanism through which fires may promote plant population health and maintain plant diversity in fire-dependent ecosystems.
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Article #19-07320: "Fire synchronizes flowering and boosts reproduction in a widespread but declining prairie species," by Stuart Wagenius, Jared Beck, and Gretel Kiefer.
MEDIA CONTACT: Stuart Wagenius, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL; tel: 612-799-0453; email: stuart.wagenius@gmail.com
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences