The concepts and use of several diversity assessments are presented and applied to a practical situation. Burning, mechanical methods of site preparation, and cattle grazing are common disturbances in forests of the South. Their influence on plant diversity indices are examined in a longleaf-slash pine forest of north Florida. Species richness, Shannon's index, and Simpson's index showed increases in diversity shortly following burning and site preparation and a trend toward pre-treatment conditions after 6 years. Deferred-rotation grazing systems had no influence. Comparative diversity profiles showed similar trends but were more informative by providing both qualitative and quantitative information. These techniques are useful for assessing community responses to management practices, that is, they are effective methods for understanding the impacts of forest management and range management practices on plant community structure and succession. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.