Abstract
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Delayed seedling emergence can negatively affect plant recruitment. Recent work has shown that some species
with innate seasonal requirements for germination can have seedling emergence delayed, depending on the season of fire. The
impact of this delay, which is in relation to both resprouters and seedlings of species that emerge independent of season,
remains unknown. I assessed delayed emergence and subsequent impacts on post-fire recruitment success of three
Leucopogon species, which all display a seasonal emergence pattern related to their physiological dormancy. Intrapopulation
comparisons showed that both small (1–6 months) and much larger (12–15 months) delays of emergence reduced
seedling survival and growth, and increased the time taken for plants to reach maturity. Fire season induced delays produced
very similar results, with higher mortality and slower growth after winter fires compared with post-summer fire cohorts.
Seasonal emergence patterns, associated with seed dormancy and germination cues, may therefore provide a mechanism that
determines the variation of recruitment success after fires in different seasons. A better understanding of the relationship
between fire season and timing of emergence of physiologically dormant species would be timely considering the forecast
widening of the fire season due to climate change.