The ephemerals of Namaqualand: effect of germination date on development of three species
| Autor: | G.K. Theron, N. Grobbelaar, N. van Rooyen, M.W. van Rooyen |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1992 |
| Předmět: |
photoperiodism
Biomass (ecology) Ecology biology media_common.quotation_subject food and beverages Growing season biology.organism_classification Arid Sexual reproduction Agronomy Germination Dimorphotheca sinuata Reproduction Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Earth-Surface Processes media_common |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Arid Environments. 22:51-66 |
| ISSN: | 0140-1963 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/s0140-1963(18)30656-6 |
| Popis: | Germination of seeds can occur over a long period annually, depending on the timing of the rainfall, and this determines the length of the period available for plants to complete their life cycles. The reaction of ephemerals to this unpredictability is manifested in plastic responses in life span, size and biomass allocation. These responses are environmentally signalled and help maintain a high reproduction rate. Plants having the benefit of a long growing season invest higher proportions of biomass in vegetative structures, which increases their potential reproductive output. The detrimental effect of a short growing season on reproduction is reduced by the ability of the species to allocate more resources to reproduction under these conditions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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