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.

本研究于蒙塔基砂质平原（Montague Sand Plain）开展，针对平地白珠树（Gaultheria procumbens）展开种群统计分析，对比灌丛栎与硬木林生境中翻耕与未翻耕区域内地上茎的种群统计参数。若资源与环境条件的改变对种群统计产生持续影响（即“环境变化”），或植物自身的定植能力存在内在限制（即“历史因素”），则过往土地利用方式可对植物物种的分布格局产生长期影响。本研究聚焦平地白珠树（Gaultheria procumbens (L.)）——一种木本克隆型林下植物，其显著局限于从未经历翻耕的区域，且近乎完全不存在于19世纪曾遭翻耕的毗邻区域——旨在明确环境改变与历史因素在调控其分布格局中的相对作用。本次种群统计分析在一片广袤砂质平原上的灌丛栎与硬木林植物群落中开展，该区域可有效控制土地利用前的环境差异所产生的影响。