

Failed to recover from overwaoh 

 burial. x - 29 cm (46 oases) 



Recovered from overvas 

 x • 30 cm (31 caees) 







jJQ 



0-19 20-23 30-39 40-49 



Bunol Depth (in cm) 



Kruskal-Wallis teat results: The rank mean 

 for quadrats In which p.'.ants did noc recover 

 from burial does not differ significantly 

 frcuj the rank oean for quadrats in uhich 

 plants did recover. (? > 0.05). 



Figure 48. Comparisons of burial depth for quadrats of Artemisia 

 stelleriana that recovered and failed to recover. 



Artemisia stelleriana is able to recover from 59 centimeters of overwash 

 burial. Recovery is not dependent on burial depth, but is dependent on 

 initial cover and density. The limit of Artemisia stetleriana to grow through 

 sand was probably not reached in this field study. Multiple regression showed 

 that there is a significant linear relationship between depth and initial 

 cover and final cover. This relationship reflects the fact that plants 

 recovering from deep burial do not produce as high a total aboveground biomass 

 the first year after burial as plants that are buried by less sand. The 

 relationship of cover data to density data can be used as a measure of indi- 

 vidual plant size. The slope of the regression line, describing the linear 

 relationship between cover and density, was greater in 1973 (11.78) than it 

 was in 1977 (0.422), suggesting that fewer plants in 1978 contributed to any 

 given cover level. Individual axes of Arte,iisia etelleriana were larger in 

 1978 than in 1977, although the actual number of axes was much lower in 1978 

 than in 1977. Burial in some way stimulates Artemisia stelleriana growth. 

 Fewer axes have a larger resource base to utilize and may expend less energy 

 in both intraspecif ic and interspecific competition for light, moisture, and 

 nutrients. Under typical drift line or dune conditions, Artemisia stelleriana 

 plants may be buried by a few centimeters of sand each year. Buried axillary 

 buds break, and new aboveground axes are formed creating a circular mass. In 

 areas that receive little aeolian sand, Artemisia stelleriana plants are made 

 up of small scattered axes. Artemisia stelleriana grows best in recent drift 

 lines or on low dunes, which experience low -level burial and receive maximum 

 solar radiation; it is almost never found on well-established building duaes. 

 Ammophila breviligitlata grows best in accreting areas and may fatally shade 

 out the low-growing Artemisia stelleriana plants. Seedlings of Artemisia 

 stelleriana have been found only in drift lines during the past three field 

 seasons. Individual plants found in dunes probably originate frosa either 

 seedlings in drift lines or from fragment regeneration. Artemisia stelleriana 

 can recover from continuous, low-level burial and appears to recover from high 

 levels of burial, but would probably fail to keep pace with continuous high- 

 level burial (either from overwash or aeolian processes). Overall plant 

 density and cover are significantly reduced by overwash. 



99 



