Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1983
Abstract
The effect of Hurricane Allen (Aug. 10, 1980) on the near-shore vegetation of South Padre Island was assessed by comparing data obtained in line transects before and after the hurricane. Eight species of plants were present in the Backshore Zone prior to the hurricane; after the hurricane, only three species were present and percent cover was only 11% of that before the hurricane. The foredunes of this zone were completely leveled and a belt of Sesuvium portulacastrum was obliterated. Conversely, plants of the taller Primary Dune Zone were not greatly disturbed by the hurricane. Numbers of species and percent cover were similar in pre- and post-hurricane transects. However, before the hurricane, Ipomoea stolonifera was dominant on both the windward and leeward slopes. After the hurricane, Uniola paniculata was dominant on the windward slopes and Schizachyrium scoparium was dominant on the leeward slopes. Apparently, low-growing, shallow-rooted species such as Sesuvium portulacastrum and Ipomoea stolonifera are more greatly affected than grasses because they are more easily dislodged or covered by sand transported by water surges.
Recommended Citation
Judd, Frank W., and Sammie L. Sides. "The effect of Hurricane Allen on the near-shore vegetation of South Padre Island." The Southwestern Naturalist (1983): 365-369. https://doi.org/10.2307/3670799
Publication Title
The Southwestern Naturalist
DOI
10.2307/3670799
Comments
The Southwestern Naturalist © 1983 Southwestern Association of Naturalists