Analytical study of plant/environment interactions in thimbleberry and devil's club

The morphology, phenology and stem demography of devil's club and thimbleberry were examined to elucidate their niche utilization strategies. The study was conducted in the Kitimat River valley in west central B.C. during the 1986 and 1987 growing seasons. Thimbleberry was sampled in a girdled alder site and a nongirdled alder site, whereas devil's club was sampled in an old growth forest. The variation in the plant characters, as summarized by principal components axes, was apportioned within and among clones, between sites, years, and species. Except for the thimbleberry vegetative phenology, within-sites differences accounted for most variation and variation between-sites often exceeded that between years. Moreover, between-species differences accounted for less variation than within-species differences for morphology and phenology. The variation in plant characters was also examined in relation to canopy cover, soils and adjacent vegetation using multivariate methods. The rate of vegetative development for devil's club in 1986 increased as canopy cover decreased; other environmental measures were uncorrelated with devil's club. Both vegetative and reproductive rates of development increased with disturbance due to girdling and increasing moisture for the combined girdled and ungirdled thimbleberry data set. Similarly, morphdodcal size was greater for the combined thimbleberry data set with increasing moisture and dsturbance. Environmental correlations were reflected differently within-sites, however, with rates of development, plant size and the number of flowers decreasing with increasing moisture at the nongirdled thimbleberry site. The relationship between plant characters was also assessed. Phenology and morphology were correlated for both devil's dub and thimbleberry; stem development began earlier and was more rapid with increasing stem size. Demography and phenology were unrelated. Both species displayed different niche utilization strategies; thimbleberry being more flexible than devil's club. In contrast to devil's dub, thimbleberry is morphologically a phenologically responsive to disturbance and is mizomatous rather man stoloniterous. Stems and lateral branches also had several phonological and developmental possibilities. This flexibility imparted an advantage to thimbleberry in the fluctuating conditions of its earlier successional niche. The differing correlation structure between and within thimbleberry sites suggests that several scales of observation are necessary to clarify plant-environment relationships. Moreover, as environmental characters interact differently with plants from site to site, management must be site specific. Alder girdling may be a judicious management technique at drier sites, where thimbleberry is not as prolific under an open canopy.Science, Faculty ofBotany, Department ofGraduat