There are about 2200 cactus species, and most of them occur in fire-prone ecosystems. Nevertheless, there is scarce information about fire effects on the ecology of cactus species. In this study, we assessed the effects of a wildfire on the survival and growth of coexisting globose cactus species and their relation with microenvironment conditions in rocky outcrops from the Córdoba Mountains, central Argentina. A fire event occurred in spring 2011, and measurements were recorded in the first subsequent growing season, in winter. We selected 26 rocky outcrops and established three 3 × 1 m plots per outcrop. In each plot, we quantified all cactus individuals of the four species present in the area: Echinopsis aurea, Gymnocalycium bruchii, G. mostii and Parodia submammulosa. We also recorded if each individual cactus was dead or alive, and measured its size and post-fire growth. In addition, we measured the relative cover of rocks and bare soil, and the size of the rocks within a radius of 30 cm of each individual. Individual cactus survival (70–80%) did not vary among species. The highest post-fire growth was recorded in G. bruchii. For E. aurea, P. submammulosa and G. mostii, post-fire growth was negatively related to pre-fire size, suggesting that smaller individuals recovered faster than larger ones. Microenvironment characteristics did not affect post-fire growth in any of the species. Our results provide a preliminary insight into possible fire tolerance of globose cacti in the Córdoba Mountains, supported by their relatively high survival and growth after a fire event.

中文翻译：

---

阿根廷中部山火后仙人掌物种的生存和生长：物种之间的差异和微环境特征的影响

仙人掌大约有 2200 种，其中大部分发生在易火灾的生态系统中。然而，关于火灾对仙人掌物种生态影响的信息很少。在这项研究中，我们评估了野火对共存的球状仙人掌物种生存和生长的影响，以及它们与阿根廷中部科尔多瓦山脉岩石露头中微环境条件的关系。2011 年春季发生火灾，测量结果记录在随后的第一个生长季节，即冬季。我们选择了 26 个岩石露头，并在每个露头建立了三个 3 × 1 m 的地块。在每个地块中，我们量化了该地区存在的四种仙人掌个体：Echinopsis aurea、Gymnocalycium bruchii、G. mostii和Parodia submammulosa。我们还记录了每个仙人掌是死是活，并测量了它的大小和火灾后的生长情况。此外，我们还测量了岩石和裸土的相对盖度，以及每个个体半径 30 cm 内岩石的大小。个体仙人掌的存活率（70-80%）在物种之间没有差异。G记录了最高的火灾后增长。 布鲁基_ 对于E。 金 黄色葡萄球菌_ submammulosa和G . 最，火灾后的增长与火灾前的规模呈负相关，这表明较小的个体比较大的个体恢复得更快。微环境特征不影响任何物种的火灾后生长。我们的结果提供了对科尔多瓦山脉球状仙人掌可能的耐火性的初步了解，这得益于它们在火灾事件后相对较高的生存和生长。