Ecological and evolutionary differences between Mediterranean seeders and resprouters

Differences in allocation patterns between seeders and resprouters in sever al Mediterranean plant communities (Australia, California and South Africa) have led to the prediction that seedlings of seeders grow faster than thos e of resprouters. In the Mediterranean Basin, it has also been hypothesized that regeneration strategy of plants after fire is associated with several other life history traits. This paper tests both hypotheses for the domina nt plants in the Mediterranean Basin from literature data. Results show tha t seeders from the Mediterranean Basin grow significantly faster and alloca te more biomass to leaf plus paracotyledons than resprouters. Seeders are m ainly non-sclerophyllous, anemochorous, dry-fruited, small-seeded species t hat evolved in the Quaternary (post-Pliocene) and are associated with earli er successional stages. Resprouters are mainly sclerophyllous, vertebrate-d ispersed, fleshy-fruited, large-seeded species that evolved in the Tertiary (pre-Pliocene) and are associated with late successional stages.