Abstract
MYERS, R. L. (Archbold Biol. Sta., P.O. Box 2057, Lake Placid, FL 33852). Fire and the dynamic relationship of Florida sandhill and sand pine scrub vegetation. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 112:241-252. 1985.-Sandhill vegetation dominated by Pinus palustris, Pinus elliottii var. densa, Quercus laevis, and Aristida stricta, and sand pine scrub dominated by Pinus clausa, scrub oaks, and Caryafloridana form mutually exclusive, fire-dependent communities on Florida's sand ridges. Soil differences have long been attributed as causing this separation. Data from 1932 maps, 1929 photo plots, vegetation analyses, age structure of the pines, and fire scar dates indicate sandhills convert to xeric hardwood-mixed pine after approximately 50 years without fire, e.g., importance value of Carya floridana increased from 3.2 to 75.6; relative importance value of scrub species increased from 2.5 to 54 percent. This intermediate stage may develop into a xeric hardwood forest without fire, and with fire it may be replaced by sand pine scrub. Apparently different fire regimes not soil differences separate the two vegetation types. Historic and prehistoric shifts in fire regimes may account for the distribution of the two types.
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