History of soil use influences the association of plant species thus it must be reflected in the diversity of the vegetation under post-fire regeneration. Plant communities were compared to verify this hypothesis on abandoned terraces and outcrop slopes in Valencia, Spain. Regeneration of the vegetation of "matorral" with Ulex parviflorus was sampled after 3, 9,15 and 21 months post-fire, based on the number of species found, plant cover and diversity, dominance/diversity and species/area curves. Comparisons between the two habitats (terraces and slopes) showed no difference in the number and diversity of species. Plant cover was greater on terraces (62.5%) than on slopes (39.9%). Steep slopes in their upper part characterize dominance/diversity curves for both habitats, and the concentration of over half the species with cover inferior to 1% in their lower part explains the biological phenomenon of dominance. The model relating the increase in species number due area enlargement of the tested sample showed that the number of species on outcrop slopes was greater than on the terraces, three months post-fire.
History of soil use; vegetation regeneration; regeneration post-fire; species diversity; dominance; species
