Dynamics of Chapman's goldenrod (Solidago odora var. chapmanii) with fire at Archbold Biological Station, 1991-2000

This dataset summarizes the dynamics of Chapman's goldenrod (Solidago odora var. chapmanii) at Archbold Biological Station from 1991-2000. The data were collected from 23 quadrats, each 1 meter square. Quadrats were located across the Station, mainly in southern ridge sandhill (hickory phase), also known as oak-hickory scrub. The quadrats have a complex fire history during the study, as summarized by six fire variables indicating the years of burns and the total number of burns for each quadrat. Monitoring in quadrats started at various times from 1991-1995, usually shortly after prescribed fires. Quadrats were visited annually in the late summer or fall (August except in September and October in 1991 and 1992, respectively). With each visit, we counted the number of stems and the number of flowering stems. We also measured the heights of each stem and provided the mean height in cm for each quadrat. Because this species is clonal, we do not consider the data as representing a particular number of genetic individuals. We did not include data in plots that had burned within the previous four months. We also collected data from excavations and from observations of herbivores; these data are not included in this dataset. We found that densities decreased following fire, that flowering was concentrated in the first two years after fire, and that repeated burns reproduced these patterns. Together with other data, we suggested that Chapman's goldenrod was unusual among Florida scrub plants in having three modes of post-fire recovery (resprouting, clonal growth, seedling recruitment) and that its life history was characterized by persistence between fires (as a persistent bud bank) and strong post-fire positive responses.