Demography and Morphology of Ericaceous Species on a Sand Plain in Montague MA 1994-1996

The study was a demographic analysis of Gaultheria procumbens conducted on the
Montague Sand Plain. It compared the demographic parameters of above-ground stems
between plowed and unplowed areas within scrub oak and hardwood sites. Past land use
can have long-term effects on plant species distributional patterns if alterations in
resources and environmental conditions have persistent effects on population
demography ("environmental change") and/or if plants are intrinsically limited in
their colonisation ability ("historical factors"). We evaluated the role of
environmental alteration versus historical factors in controlling distributional
patterns in Gaultheria procumbens (L.), a woody, clonal, understorey species with a
pronounced restriction to areas that have never been ploughed and near absence from
adjoining areas that were ploughed in the 19th century. The demographic study was
conducted in scrub oak and hardwood plant communities on an extensive sand plain
where it was possible to control for the effect of variation in environment prior to
land use.