Growth and Morphological Responses to Irradiance in Three Forest Understory Species of the C4 Grass Genus Muhlenbergia
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Issue Date
1987Author
Smith, Marian
Martin, Craig E.
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Published Version
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2995468Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Three species of the C4 grass genus Muhlenbergia—M. frondosa, M. sobolifera, and M. schreberi—
were collected from forest understory sites in northeastern Kansas and grown in a growth chamber at 1,500,
150, and 15-25 fjimol m~2 s - 1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Leaf, stem, root, and total
biomasses and several morphological and anatomical characteristics were measured after 35-38 days. Results
were compared with similar measurements for M. cuspidata collected from exposed prairie sites. Although
all species grew maximally at the highest PPFD, M. sobolifera grew equally well at medium PPFD.
Few anatomical changes were correlated with changes in PPFD except leaf thickness, which increased with
increasing PPFD. The results indicate that, while the understory species of Muhlenbergia can adjust morphologically
to some extent to shaded environments, they produce more biomass at higher PPFD.
Description
This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2995468.
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Citation
Smith, M. and C.E. Martin. 1987. Growth and morphological responses to irradiance in three forest understory species of the C4 grass genus Muhlenbergia. Bot. Gaz. 148: 141-148.
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