Bird-foot trefoils
Lotus spp.
Family: Fabaceae
Examples: L. corniculatus, L. uliginosus
Fire effect on plant
Trefoils are likely killed by fire.
Key traits
Trefoils persist in burnt areas via their soil-stored seedbank that germinates rapidly after fire (Naydenova et al, 2022)
Seed production can be high in Trefoils (up to 18,000 per plant per year; Jones & Turkington, 1986). Seeds are explosively released from the ripe seed pods, with mean dispersal distance of 0.24 m and the maximum of 1.75 m for the species L. corniculatus. Seeds germinate in the spring, but a portion of them may persist in the soil seed bank for at least five years (Thompson et al, 1997).
Plant response to fire
Trefoil seeds can remain dormant for years within the soil but rapidly germinate following fire. Trefoils tend to grow and flower quickly following fire. They can eventually become overtopped by competing species, such as Calluna sp., within a year or two and consequently their growth rates tend to decline after that time (Mallik & Gimingham, 1983; Weiser et al, 2021).
Timing of life history
Perennial species. Seeds likely produced from second growing season. Flowering May to September.
Conservation status
None.
References
Naydenova G., Radkova M. & Anelia Iantcheva A. 2022. Legumes in natural post-fire successions of forest meadows and pastures in Northern Bulgaria. Thaiszia - J. Bot., Košice, 32 (1): 067-079 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Mallik, A.U. & Gimingham, G.H. 1983. Regeneration of heathland plants following burning. Vegetatio 53, 45-58. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Thompson K, Bakker J P, Bekker R M. 1997. Soil seed banks of NW Europe: methodology,density and longevity. Cambridge University Press. 276 pp [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Weiser, F.; Sauer, A.; Gettueva, D.; Field, R.; Irl, S.D.H.; Vetaas, O.; Chiarucci, A.; Hoffmann, S.; Fernández-Palacios, J.M.; Otto, R.; et al. Impacts of Forest Fire on Understory Species Diversity in Canary Pine Ecosystems on the Island of La Palma. Forests 2021, 12, 1638. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]