5 ilus. 2 tab. 20 ref.

Floristic composition, life forms, and vegetation were studied in 1996 on a 1957 aa lava flow along an altitudinal gradient from 200 to 1500 m on the Concepcion volcano in Nicaragua. In general, vegetation cover and structure increased with altitudebut floristic diversity peaked between 500 and 1100 m. Most primary successional species were wind dispersed herbaceous plants with woody vertebrate dispersed species restricted to higher altitudes. There were an even number of epiphytic and terrestrial species. However, epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes were dominant in richness and cover from 500 to 1100 m altitude.