Phytosociological analysis of the vegetation of Lagoon Beach, Tasmania

Abstract

The vegetation of the Lagoon Beach area is mapped and described. Classification and ordination of thirty-five randomly located quadrats, and central chi-squared distribution analysis of association between species, reveal three main species/stand groups. The wombat-grazed closed-herbfields dominated by Samolus repens and Schoenus nitens form one strong group associated with the lagoonal flats. A second group consists of stands which include characteristic heath species such as Casuarina monilifera and Hypolaena fastigiata. A third, less well-defined group consists mainly of Eucalyptus viminalis open forests with an understory characteristically dominated by pteridium esculentum. The factors that could be responsible for the differentiation of the vegetation of the area are discussed, and a species list is appended.