RECRUITMENT PATTERN OF RHUS-INTEGRIFOLIA POPULATIONS IN PERIODS BETWEEN FIRE IN CHAPARRAL

Population structure, fruit production and dispersal, and recruitment of Rhus integrifolia, a gynodioecious sclerophyllous shrub living in coastal chaparral, were studied in two localities in southern California last burned 60 and 90 years ago. Though hermaphroditic plants produce some fruits, only the male-sterile plants bore significant numbers. Among the sample plants, one individual accounted for 50% of the crop measured. Terrestrial animals, through the loss of some seeds taken for consumption, play a decisive role in the seed dispersal, promoting the establishment of seedlings outside the parent's canopy. Birds have not been demonstrated to contribute to long distance dispersal, but they are responsible for dropping 25% of the fruits collected below the R. integrifolia canopies, 36% of which were completely destroyed. Allelopathic effects were not observed in laboratory assays, and germination is probably not influenced by the species beneath which seeds have been deposited. This pattern can explain the non-aggregated distribution of individuals observed in the studied populations. We conclude that establishment of new individuals has been continuous at both localities and that the populations of R. integrifolia are increasing in these long unburned stands. This may be indicative of a successional trend in unburned chaparral and coastal scrub toward a sclerophyllous woodland.