PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #49: Restoration Ecology. Presiding: J. Callaway.
Wednesday, August 8, 2001. 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Madison Ballroom D.
Reestablishing Florida scrub in a former agricultural site: Survival and growth of planted species.
SCHMALZER, PAUL1, TUREK, SHANNON2, FOSTER, TAMMY1, DUNLEVY, COLLEEN3, ADRIAN, FREDERIC4, 1 2 3 4
ABSTRACT- Scrub vegetation reestablishes poorly in former agricultural sites. Between 1992 and 1999, we followed the survival and growth of scrub oaks, saw palmetto, and other species planted in a former citrus grove on scrub soil adjacent to extant scrub and also followed the changes in community composition. Oaks, (Q. chapmanii, Q. geminata, Q. myrtifolia) were planted in the summer of 1992 with a second planting in the summer of 1993. Serenoa repens, Pinus eliottii, and ericads were planted in the summer of 1993. We relocated marked plants annually and determined survival and height growth. Mortality of oaks was concentrated in the first year. Survival and growth of Q. geminata were significantly greater than Q. chapmanii/Q. myrtifolia. Survival was lower but differences between species were similar in the second cohort of oaks. Initial survival of Serenoa was high but declined due to rooting by feral pigs. Serenoa grew slowly. Survival of Pinus elliottii was high and growth rapid. Soils (0-15 cm layer) of the former grove differed from that of adjacent, intact scrub, with higher pH, NO3-N, available Cu and Zn, but lower organic matter, NH4-N, available Al, and Fe. We determined changes in community composition by annual sampling of line-intercept transects. Cover of native scrub species increased slowly. Herbaceous, weedy species remained dominant through 1999, and exotic grasses were an important component of the vegetation.
KEY WORDS: Quercus geminata, Quercus myrtifolia, Serenoa repens, Pinus eliottii