Shepherd, Harry E.R.Catford, Jane A.Steele, Magda N.Dumont, Marc G.Mills, Robert T.E.Hughes, Paul D.M.Robroek, Bjorn J.M.2025-06-252025-06-251402-2001ORCID:/0000-0003-0582-5960/work/171152241http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115871762&partnerID=8YFLogxKhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/733764985Question: Northern peatlands are increasingly threatened by wildfire. Severe peatland wildfires can provide opportunities for new non-peatland species to colonise post fire. Changes in plant colonisation could lead to longer-term shifts in community composition, compromising recovery of peatland structure and function. Understanding the process of post-fire recovery can thus inform restoration action and help restore peatland vascular plant communities. In this study, we ask: what drives initial vascular plant recovery following a peatland wildfire?. Location: Stalybridge moors, England (commonly referred to as the Saddleworth moors). Methods: We used a series of vegetation surveys and seed germination experiments to identify the composition of vascular plant community one-year post fire, along with potential propagule sources. We combined this with plant trait data and, using a series of null models, compared observed community trait values against random species assemblages. Results: Our data suggests that plant species are able to arrive at the burned site through multiple non-exclusive recolonisation pathways. This includes colonisation through the soil seed bank, along with dispersal from surrounding unburned peatland and non-peatland vegetation. The composition and structure of the recolonised communities was largely determined by the ability of species to reach the post-fire site from these donor communities. This resulted in a post-fire community composed of species possessing lower seed masses relative to the wider pool of potential colonisers. Conclusions: Our results highlight propagule availability as a driver of post-wildfire vascular plant recovery. This provides opportunities for new non-peatland species to colonise, potentially driving changes in the direction of vegetation recovery. Ensuring the availability of peatland species following a wildfire could therefore be key to the immediate recovery of these systems.This paper resulted from a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded urgency grant (NE/S011943/1) awarded to BJMR. HERS was supported by NERC (NE/L002531/1). MNS was funded by a stipend through the Institute for Life Sciences (IfLS) at the University of SouthamptonenPublisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Applied Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science.blanket bogcommunity assemblydispersalmoorlandpeatlandseed bankspecies recolonisationvascular plantswildfire2021-07-0110.1111/avsc.1260885115871762