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An exploratory analysis of grassland dynamics: An example of a lawn succession

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Summary

The floristic composition of a lawn is studied by means of permanent plots over ten years. Observations show that changes in the life history behaviour of certain species (Trifolium repens, and Sagina procumbens) have important effects on the vegetation dynamics of the lawn. These changes are ascribed to senescence and possibly a pathogen. Numerical classification (divisive information analysis) is used to define suitable classes for transition matrix simulation of grassland succession. The influence of life history changes and catastrophic drought is incorporated by estimating appropriate transition matrices. The limitations of the approach due to spatial patterns are emphasized.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Land Use Research, Institute of Earth Resources, CSIRO, P.O. Box 1666, 2601, Canberra City, A.C.T., Australia

    M. P. Austin

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  1. M. P. Austin
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Additional information

I thank T.H. Booth, H.H. Shugart and A.N. Gillison for comment on the manuscript, K. Mayo for programming assistance and M. Adomeit for data preparation.

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Austin, M.P. An exploratory analysis of grassland dynamics: An example of a lawn succession. Vegetatio 43, 87–94 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121021

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