How to translate text using browser tools
4 October 2019 Patterns of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Establishment in Wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana) Understories
Hope M. Miller, Jennifer M. Fill, Raelene M. Crandall
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Ecosystem community structure and function is shaped in part by intra- and inter-specific interactions among plants. Facilitative interactions, wherein one plant benefits another's fitness, can strongly influence plant community dynamics. We investigated the potential of an endemic, perennial bunchgrass, wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana), to function as a nurse plant for longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) seedlings in fire-maintained pine savannas of the southeastern U.S.A. We documented significantly more pine seedlings growing close to established wiregrass bunchgrasses in a site burned one year prior to sampling. Pine seedlings growing close to wiregrass were also significantly taller than those growing further away. This positive spatial association between wiregrass and pine seedlings suggests that wiregrass facilitates early longleaf pine establishment in flatwoods environments, at least within the first year after fire.

Hope M. Miller, Jennifer M. Fill, and Raelene M. Crandall "Patterns of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Establishment in Wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana) Understories," The American Midland Naturalist 182(2), 276-280, (4 October 2019). https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-182.2.276
Received: 27 February 2019; Accepted: 14 June 2019; Published: 4 October 2019
JOURNAL ARTICLE
5 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top