BRAUN-BLANQUETIA, vol. 46, 2010 225 FLORISTIC CHANGE DURING EARLY PRIMARY SUCCESSION ON LAVA, MOUNT ETNA, SICILY * ** Roger DEL MORAL , Emilia POLI MARCHESE * Department of Biology, Box 351800, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (USA) E-mail:
[email protected] ** Università di Catania, c/o Dipartimento di Botanica, via A. Longo 19, I-95125, Catania (Italia) E-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT sis; GF=growth-form; GPS=global po- can lead to alternative stable vegetation sitioning system; HC=half-change; types (FATTORINI &HALLE, 2004; TEM- Weinvestigatedthedegreetowhi- NMS=nonmetricmultidimensionalsca- PERTON &ZIRR,2004;YOUNG etal.2005). ch vegetation becomes more similar ling; PS=percent similarity. Convergence can be recognized if during primary succession and asked sample similarity increases with age, whether the age of a lava site alone NOMENCLATURE: Pignatti (1982). but chronosequence methods may con- determinesspeciescompositiononothe- found site and stochastic effects with rwise similar sites or if site-specific effects due to age. Though chronose- factors are more important. The study INTRODUCTION quence methods must be employed in wasconfinedto lavaflowsfoundbetwe- long trajectories (DEL MORAL&GRISHIN, en 1,000 and 1,180 m on the south side The mechanisms that guide the 1999), the underlying assumption that of Mount Etna, Italy that formed from assembly of species are complex (KED- all sites were initially identical has ra- 1892 to 1169 or earlier. Ground layer DY, 1992; WALKER & DEL MORAL, 2003). rely been tested. Here we explore the cover wasmeasured at15exposed sites During primary succession, landscape relationship between time and develop- and 12 sites under shrubs, using ten 1- context and chance produce mosaics ment on a small part of Mount Etna, m2 quadrats in five plots at each site.