Secondary succession in coastal dune fynbos: variation due to site and disturbance
✍ Scribed by R. M. Cowling; Shirley M. Pierce
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 559 KB
- Volume
- 76
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1385-0237
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✦ Synopsis
Succession after fire and bushcutting in coastal dune fynbos was monitored for two and a half years and comparisons were made with adjacent, mature (13 year-old) fynbos. Sixty-two to 680/0 of pre-disturbance species, including all the dominants, were found in the successional communities 1.5 yr after disturbance: the patterns thus fitted the initial floristic composition model. On the more mesic south facing slope, post-fire succession differed from the north-facing (burnt) and bushcut sites in that ordinations showed a clear separation between the mature and successional communities. This difference was due to the post-fire abundance on the southfacing slope site of short-and medium-lived species not present in the mature fynbos. One and a half years after disturbance, species richness and equitability had increased relative to mature vegetation. This increase was greatest for the south facing slope where short-and medium-lived species and juveniles of pre-disturbance dominants co-occurred. In general, successional patterns were consistent with those described for other fynbos and fire-prone mediterranean shrublands.