Effects of wet- and dry-season fires on Jacquemontia curtisii, a south Florida pine forest endemic

L.P. Spier; J.R. Snyder

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USGS · 70020982

Effects of wet- and dry-season fires on Jacquemontia curtisii, a south Florida pine forest endemic

L.P. Spier·J.R. Snyder

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Abstract

South Florida pine forests have a diverse endemic flora that has evolved under the influence of recurrent fire. We studied the response of Jacquemontia curtisii Peter ex Hallier f. (pineland clustervine), a perennial herbaceous member of that flora, to experimental fires during wet and dry seasons. In each of three populations, three treatments were applied: wet-season (June) prescribed fire, dry-season (January) prescribed fire, and an unburned control. Flowering, fruiting, and seedling establishment were followed for up to one year. Mortality of adult plants was twice as great after wet-season burns than after dry-season burns even though fire temperatures were higher in the dry-season burns. Within a season of burning, mortality was greater for the more severely burned plants or the smaller plants. Wet-season burns produced over three times more flowers than not burning, in spite of mortality of more than half the plants. Burning stimulated germination from the soil seed bank. Dry-season burns resulted in five times more seedlings than wet-season burns and more of these seedlings were alive one year after the burn. It is likely that the long-term viability of Jacquemontia curtisii populations is favored by diversity in fire season and severity.

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Natural Areas Journal Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 25.775778914534246° to 25.916673406629275° latitude; -81.3980484008789° to -81.2435531616211° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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L.P. Spier, J.R. Snyder. 1998. Effects of wet- and dry-season fires on Jacquemontia curtisii, a south Florida pine forest endemic. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70020982

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