AECD-3446 -38- Destruction of Plant Communities, The plant communities of the drier, more open sites have suffered from the bombing, but they are of a pioneer nature and their sites remain. The plants or some of the plants of these dry sand flats or gravel flats are capable of reclaiming the samesites. Forests suffered destruction. If near to the bomb site it was complete de- struction, if more remote, it was partial destruction. On Engebi no standing tree survived on the flats over the total distance of one mile. On the inner beach, slight- ly protected by the beach crest, 700 yards from the crater, there is a scrub of Messerschmidia argentea 4 meters tall and Scaevola frutescens 1 meter tall, as dominants, plus a solitary, small Guettarda speciosa which survived the pombing On Aomonthe forest had been largely levelled by clearing and bulldozing. No standing tree survived. On Runit the islet had been mostly cleared by bulldozing. within 750 yards of the bombsite, No trees survived At this distance, slightly protected by the lagoon beach crest, were several trees of Messerschmidia argentea 3 meters tall, some Scaevola frutescens, and a Guettarda speciosa stump with sprouts 1 metertall, meng doing poorly. o At 1,200 yards there were several Coconucifera trunks standing but decapitated and one healthy, standing tree 9 meters tall. At 1,250 yards was a thicket of Scaevola frutescens5 meters tall that survived the blast and looked healthy. The 4 4 x s trees mentioned and others which made up the forests on the islands gave shade and - conserved moisture and humuson the forest floor which madeit a distinct habitat . 4 The mesophytes dependent upon this type of habitat perished with the destruction of eng the forest. &e.. 2 For example, Pisonia grandis, a common and vigorous tree, was elim- inated with the destruction of the mesophytic forest patches. - DeStruction by Force, - tee From the center of the explosion came a blast or wind shock wave. BO y _ . nh For e.* three-fourths of a mile radius all standing trees were leveiled or broken off near the base. For a radius of one mile all or nearly all trees were uprooted or brokea off, For the next one-fourth of a mile the few surviving trees were partly uprooted and stood leaning away from the bomb center with most of their crown gone and only a few brenebes oa their distant side remaining. Obviously much of this uprocting: