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Coastal sage scrub in the Santa Monica Mountains regenerates following fire primarily through resprouting from root crowns. Dominant shrubs are variable in post-fire resprout and seedling regeneration and also in continual seedling establishment. Such differential reproductive success in both the immediate post-fire environment and in the succeeding years should result in a changing relative abundance of species. Thus fire interval should be an important factor in determining the relative abundance. A constant fire interval should result in a dynamic equilibrium species composition, but might exclude some species if the interval is very long or short; a variable fire interval should create a shifting abundance that may allow the coexistence of a greater number of species.
Cataloging Information
- fire interval
- post-fire succession
- sage scrub
- Santa Monica Mountains