Understory Structure of a Mesic Forest in Southeast Texas
Harcombe PA and Marks PL. 1977. Understory Structure of a Mesic Forest in Southeast Texas. Ecology. 58(5):1144-1151
High species richness in the understory of mesic coastal plain forests prompted examination of the vertical structure of the understory of one such forest in southeast Texas, USA. Leaves and branches (<1-cm diam) were harvested by species in an 11-m vertical transect at 50 random locations. The following points about the lower 11 m are of interest: vertical distribution of leaf weight is relatively uniform; weight of small branches shows a maximum at 1 m and a minimum at 4 m; evergreen leaves are prevalent; offspring of overstory tree species contribute strongly to understory structure; the 2 dominant species occupy different parts of the understory; and although the vertical distribution of dominant and common species is random, they are well-dispersed vertically. The high species richness in the understory may be the result partly of the relatively large amount of light reaching the understory and partly of the tendency for species to occupy different positions in the understory.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Harcombe, Paul; Marks, P
- Units
- BITH
- Keywords
- Big Thicket TX, Forest, Plant Studies, Understory