Demographic measures of Liatris ohlingerae (Asteraceae) in 20 populations across multiple habitats and time-since-fire intervals in south central Florida from 1997-2017

Demographic data were collected on 2,858 tagged individually marked
plants annually from 1997 to 2017 in 20 populations across three sites
on the southern end of the Lake Wales Ridge in south central Florida,
USA. Our goal was to understand demographic responses including
recruitment, survival, reproduction and mortality of individuals
across populations, habitat types and fire-return-intervals. Habitats
include rosemary scrub, scrubby flatwoods and human created sandy
roadsides. Populations spanned three sites including Archbold
Biological Station (18 populations), Florida Forest Service Arbuckle
Tract of the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest (1 population), and Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Gould Road property (1
population). Annual demographic measures include survival (including
plant dormancy), stage, measures of size, reproductive effort and
herbivory. Plots were surveyed annually during flowering in August for
previously marked plants and searched for newly recruited putative
seedlings or previously missed larger adults. This landscape is
managed with periodic prescribed fire impacting some populations with
additional post-burn censuses completed after the burn. In addition,
damage following three hurricanes in 2004 were recorded. Plants were
followed through their lifecycle and after four years of no
aboveground growth, plants were assumed dead and tags removed from the
field.