The vegetation transition between buttongrass moorland, wet-scrub and wet-eucalypt forest in southwestern Tasmanian at different times since fire was examined. Sites had been burnt two, nine, 19 and 40 years prior to the study. The wet-scrub ecotone between buttongrass moorland and weteucalypt low forest was found to be structurally and floristically distinct and formed two zones: an outer-boundary which was closely related to the buttongrass moorland, and an inner-boundary which was closely related to the wet-eucalypt forest. With increasing time since fire, buttongrass moorlands are likely to be transformed structurally into a community which is floristically and structurally similar to the outer-boundary scrub zone and this transformation will be fastest adjacent to wet-scrub margins. While current theories of ecological drift are supported by this work, the time periods required for succession to occur are slower than those proposed in Jackson’s 1968 ecological drift theory.

Item Type:	Refereed Conference Paper
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Ecology
Research Field:	Terrestrial ecology
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Fresh, ground and surface water systems and management
Objective Field:	Assessment and management of freshwater ecosystems
UTAS Author:	Marsden-Smedley, JB (Dr Jonathan Marsden-Smedley)
UTAS Author:	Brown, MJ (Dr Michael Brown)
UTAS Author:	Reid, JB (Professor Jim Reid)
ID Code:	75871
Year Published:	2007
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2012-02-20
Last Modified:	2012-02-20
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