While laboratory and greenhouse studies have established the allelopathic nature of Schinus terebinthifolius on several Florida native plant species, little field work has been completed to verify this relationship. This research investigates the influence of the Brazilian pepper on surrounding plant biodiversity. Studies were completed at Spruce Creek Park in Port Orange, FL by establishing standard transect lines radiating from the pepper plant and analyzing the change in biodiversity as quadrats increased in distance from the pepper plant. Additionally, the data was analyzed to determine if the size of the tree (measured as circumference 5 inches above the soil line) had an influence on the change in biodiversity.
Results/Conclusions
Preliminary results indicated that the biodiversity decreased by 21.3% (± 6.9%) as the pepper plant is approached. Preliminary results show a correlation between tree size and loss of biodiversity with a coefficient of determination of 0.731. However the sample size is small and additional sampling is required to determine if the influence is statistically significant.