Growth of heath vegetation. I. Annual growth curves of two heath ecosystems in Australia

Abstract

The dry matter production, following fire, of two heath ecosystems in Australia is presented. The communities are: (i) heath on deep sand; (ii) heath on groundwater podzol.

In both ecosystems, rapid regrowth occurs followed by a period of reduced growth when short-lived perennials compete with longer-lived nanophanerophytes. A second phase of rapid growth has been demonstrated for the sand heath, which reaches a maximum biomass at 25-50 years after a fire. On the ground-water podzol, however, resources of soil water and nutrients are seasonably more variable, competition from rhizomatous monocotyledons is very vigorous, and, within 4-5 years from burning, no further increase in biomass has as yet been observed.

The floristics and flowering times of the two ecosystems in the same climate of Wilson's Promontory, Victoria, are compared. Small differences are itemized.