Response of a coastal Queensland heath community to fertilizer application

Abstract

A complete fertilizer was applied to a native heath community in the coastal lowlands of south-eastern Queensland. Changes in species composition, and the structure of the community 14 years later are reported. The application of fertilizer allowed the establishment of non-endemic plants, notably Imperata cylindrica and Baccharis halimifolia, at the expense of many of the original components. It also allowed Angophora woodslana, which originally existed as a fire-maintained coppice, to develop into a low tree layer, thereby completely changing the structure of the community. Details of changes in species composition and density are recorded.