UNDERSTORY VINES - DISTRIBUTION AND RELATION TO ENVIRONMENT ON A SOUTHERN MIXED HARDWOOD SITE

We characterized the small-scale distribution of vines in the understory of a mesic southern hardwood forest in relation to each other and to microenvironmental factors hypothesized to promote ascent into the canopy. Eleven vine species were encountered on the site; four species, Vitis rotundifolia Michaux, Rhus radicans L., Smilax glauca Walter, and S. bona-nox L., were common. Vine species co-occurred as expected by chance. Individuals were erect, self-supporting, with stem diameter <0.5 cm and were, on average, rooted 1.9 m from the nearest potential support. Vine spatial distributions differed among species and were related to soil moisture, as well as vine cover and plant size. Vine distributions did not correspond to the identity of the nearest support or to microenvironmental variation, such as low herb cover and high irradiance, that would be expected to promote growth into the canopy.