PREMISE The association of carnivory (an adaptation to nutrient-poor soils) with fire has been described as a paradox, given increases in nutrient availability that often accompany fire. The nutrients that increase in availability following fire, however, may not be the same as those provided by prey and may not reduce nutrient limitation if accompanied by even greater increases in light. METHODS Using a factorial experiment in the field, we examined how simulated fire (clipping plus nitrogen-free fertilizer addition) and prey-derived nutrient availability (prey exclusion) interacted to influence carnivorous potential in Sarracenia alata and belowground competition with its neighbors (manipulated via trenching). We hypothesized that simulated fire combined with prey exclusion would (1) increase the potential for prey capture relative to shade avoidance, hereafter, relative prey-capture potential (RPCP), and/or (2) increase belowground competition with neighboring plants. RESULTS Sarracenia alata increased RPCP in response to the combination of simulated fire and prey exclusion, despite increases in phosphorus and other nutrients associated with the simulated fire treatment, suggesting that prey capture potential increases in response to increased nitrogen limitation resulting from increases in light and/or phosphorus after fire. We found no evidence of belowground competition. CONCLUSIONS The potential importance of carnivory in Sarracenia alata increases following fire. This result helps to explain the paradoxical association of carnivorous plants with fire by demonstrating the potential for prey-derived nutrient limitation to increase rather than decrease in response to increases in light and nutrients other than nitrogen following fire.

中文翻译：

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猎物排除与模拟火相结合增加了苍白猪笼草 Sarracenia alata 的后续捕食潜力

前提 肉食（对贫瘠土壤的一种适应）与火的关联被描述为一个悖论，因为通常伴随着火的养分可用性增加。然而，在火灾后增加可用性的养分可能与猎物提供的养分不同，如果伴随着更大的光照增加，可能不会减少养分限制。方法使用田间的析因实验，我们研究了模拟火（剪枝加无氮肥料添加）和猎物来源的养分可用性（猎物排除）如何相互作用以影响 Sarracenia alata 的食肉潜力以及与其邻居的地下竞争（通过操纵挖沟）。我们假设模拟火与猎物排除相结合将 (1) 增加相对于避荫的猎物捕获潜力，此后，相对猎物捕获潜力 (RPCP)，和/或 (2) 增加与邻近植物的地下竞争。结果尽管与模拟火处理相关的磷和其他营养物质增加，但阿拉塔石斛增加了 RPCP 以响应模拟火和猎物排除的组合，这表明猎物捕获潜力增加以响应增加的光和//或磷火后。我们没有发现地下竞争的证据。结论 火烧后，Sarracenia alata 中食肉动物的潜在重要性增加。