Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Effects of herbivory on above- and below-ground biomass partitioning in two arid-zone dwarf shrubs

Effects of herbivory on above- and below-ground biomass partitioning in two arid-zone dwarf shrubs Biomass partitioning by arid-zone dwarf shrubs between above- and below-ground fractions could be influenced by plant adaptations to herbivory. The response of potted Indigofera spinosa and I. cliffordiana to heavy and moderate top defoliations, compared to non-defoliated controls, was investigated. Relative growth rates of plants (Weeks 1–8), number of lateral shoots (Weeks 5–13), total number of leaves and leaf area (at Week 13), clipped biomass (CB) at Weeks 8 and 11 as well as residual biomass (RB), total above-ground biomass (TAGB) (i.e. the sums of CB and RB) and total root biomass (TRB) by treatments at Week 13 were greater in I. cliffordiana than in I. spinosa. Clipping reduced the shoot-root ratio (S:R) in I. cliffordiana but not in I. spinosa. For I. spinosa, plants defoliated at moderate intensities produced more root biomass (22.9%) than at heavy regimes (17.6%) or the controls (12.9%). In I. cliffordiana, below-ground biomass as a fraction of the combined biomass was less in control plants (16.5%), compared to moderate (18.2%) and heavy defoliation treatments (26.5%). The two dwarf shrub species compensated at different intensities for above- and below-ground biomass: I. spinosa at moderate defoliations and I. cliffordiana at heavy defoliations. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of Range & Forage Science Taylor & Francis

Effects of herbivory on above- and below-ground biomass partitioning in two arid-zone dwarf shrubs

Download PDF
6 pages

Effects of herbivory on above- and below-ground biomass partitioning in two arid-zone dwarf shrubs

Abstract

Biomass partitioning by arid-zone dwarf shrubs between above- and below-ground fractions could be influenced by plant adaptations to herbivory. The response of potted Indigofera spinosa and I. cliffordiana to heavy and moderate top defoliations, compared to non-defoliated controls, was investigated. Relative growth rates of plants (Weeks 1–8), number of lateral shoots (Weeks 5–13), total number of leaves and leaf area (at Week 13), clipped biomass (CB) at Weeks 8 and 11 as well...
Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/effects-of-herbivory-on-above-and-below-ground-biomass-partitioning-in-YH7X7zVmHj
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
1727-9380
eISSN
1022-0119
DOI
10.2989/10220110609485899
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Biomass partitioning by arid-zone dwarf shrubs between above- and below-ground fractions could be influenced by plant adaptations to herbivory. The response of potted Indigofera spinosa and I. cliffordiana to heavy and moderate top defoliations, compared to non-defoliated controls, was investigated. Relative growth rates of plants (Weeks 1–8), number of lateral shoots (Weeks 5–13), total number of leaves and leaf area (at Week 13), clipped biomass (CB) at Weeks 8 and 11 as well as residual biomass (RB), total above-ground biomass (TAGB) (i.e. the sums of CB and RB) and total root biomass (TRB) by treatments at Week 13 were greater in I. cliffordiana than in I. spinosa. Clipping reduced the shoot-root ratio (S:R) in I. cliffordiana but not in I. spinosa. For I. spinosa, plants defoliated at moderate intensities produced more root biomass (22.9%) than at heavy regimes (17.6%) or the controls (12.9%). In I. cliffordiana, below-ground biomass as a fraction of the combined biomass was less in control plants (16.5%), compared to moderate (18.2%) and heavy defoliation treatments (26.5%). The two dwarf shrub species compensated at different intensities for above- and below-ground biomass: I. spinosa at moderate defoliations and I. cliffordiana at heavy defoliations.

Journal

African Journal of Range & Forage Science – Taylor & Francis

Published: Nov 1, 2006

Keywords: BIOMASS ALLOCATION; COMPENSATORY GROWTH; INDIGOFERA CLIFFORDIANA; I. SPINOSA; SHOOT:ROOT RATIO

There are no references for this article.