vegetation. The result of this ef- 

 fect is the production of a multi- 

 phasic vegetational mosaic that has 

 several ages of vegetation within 

 the recovery community. In all 



cases, except for the least severe, 

 many epiphytes are destroyed, parti- 

 cularly those that are close to the 

 ground. 



Cypress dome recovery vegeta- 

 tion is characterized by a very 

 dense growth of bracken fern ( Pteri- 

 dium aquilinium ), willow ( Salix 

 caroliniana ) , saltbush ( Baccharis 

 halimifolia ) , elderberry ( Sambucus 

 simpsonii ) , bushy beardgrass ( Andro - 

 pogon glomeratus ), primrose willow 

 ( Ludwiqia peruviana ), fleabane 



( Plucheapurpurescens ) , andsawgrass 

 ( Mariscus jamaicensis ) . Frequently 

 this vegetation develops among the 

 remaining erect trunks and the heavy 

 cover of cypress downwood scattered 

 throughout the community. This 



recovery vegetation is typically 

 overlain with many vines, including 

 catbrier ( Smilax auriculata ), vine 

 milkweed ( Sarcostemma clausa ), poi- 

 son ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans ) , 

 and moon vine ( Ipomoea tuba ) . Seve- 

 ral shrubs and tree seedlings are 

 generally present on the more eleva- 

 ted portions of the burned site 2 

 years after a fire. These include: 

 red bay ( Persea borbonia ), wax myr- 

 tle ( Myrica cerifera ), sweet bay 

 ( Magnolia virqinica ), and cypress 

 ( Taxodium distichum ) . 



It appears that cypress will 

 rapidly recover and dominate a 

 burned-out cypress dome community 

 only if the fire has had a very 

 slight overall effect on the exist- 

 ing cypress population on the site 

 and little or no effect on the com- 

 position and depth of peat soil at 

 the site. Any significant changes 

 to either of these variables, and 

 the probability of recovery to the 

 pre-existing community type is 

 sharply decreased. What develops in 



these cases can resemble bayhead, 

 sawgrass marsh, or even slough and 

 pond communities (Hilsenbeck et al. 

 1979). 



Hammock forest vegetation is 

 probably the least fire adapted 

 community within the study area, and 

 consequently is the most severely 

 altered by fire effects. Fire rela- 

 ted damage to hammock forests can 

 result in a wide range of recovery 

 vegetation depending upon the sever- 

 ity of the initial damage to the 

 community. Light surficial fires 



cause little long-term alteration to 

 the dominant vegetation and communi- 

 ty composition, but soil fires will 

 often result in the total oblitera- 

 tion of the hammock forest and a 

 radical shift in the floristic com- 

 position of the recovery vegetation 

 from that prior to the fire damage. 



In general, the early recovery 

 community that results from a fire 

 in a hammock forest resembles the 

 recovery community that develops in 

 fire-damaged bayhead forest and 

 cypress dome forest. Similarly, the 

 vegetational pattern in a fire- 

 altered hammock is a multiphasic 

 one, resulting from a differential 

 pattern of fire damage in which some 

 of the community is markedly altered 

 and other sections are only slightly 

 changed. The hammock forest recov- 

 ery vegetation is characterized by 

 an extremely dense growth of bracken 

 fern ( Pteridium aquilinum ) and other 

 fire-following species. 



At present, there is no firm 

 estimate of how long a return time 

 is required before the successional 

 community converges upon the pre- 

 burn hammock forest community. It 

 appears, however, that several cen- 

 turies may be required for the 

 process of hammock generation to be 

 completed if it were initiated by a 

 total obliteration of a pre-existing 

 mature hammock stand. 



120 



