The effect of fire on the female pollination success of two non-rewarding orchid species
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The extensive and intense forest fire that broke out in the Evros region in 2023 burnt, among others, habitats hosting the species Orchis purpurea and the rare in Greece Orchis punctulata . During field surveys to assess the impact of the devastating forest fire on wild orchid populations, it was found that the habitats of the known subpopulations of O. punctulata and O. purpurea were not burnt. Based on this the aim was to examine the female pollination success of individuals in burnt and unburnt habitats and to compare the pollination success between the two closely related species. Initially, the individuals of the two species were recorded during their flowering period, while the total number of flowers of the individuals and the fertilized flowers were counted during their fruiting phase. Female pollination success was defined as the ratio between fertilized flowers and the total number of flowers of each individual of the species studied. The results showed that the subpopulations of both species did not show a significant decline due to the effects of the devastating forest fire in comparison to previous population data. In terms of pollination success, the species O. punctulata had a significantly higher percentage of fertilized flowers than O. purpurea for both habitat categories (burnt and unburnt), and both species had higher pollination success in the burnt habitat than in the unburned one. In all cases, the differences were statistically significant.
Source: Journal for Nature Conservation
Institution: Democritus University of Thrace
Language: English
Topic: Plant and animal studies
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
OpenAlex ID: W4406817689