Effects of drought and defoliation on bud viability in two caespitose grasses
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Authors: C. A. Busso, R. J. Mueller, and J. H. Richards
Date: 1989
Journal: Annals of Botany
Volume: 63
Number: 4
Pages: 477-485
Summary of Methods: After defoliation, Busso et al. determined axillary bud number, bud respiratory activity, and photosynthetic canopy re-establishment, for two bunchgrass species, Agropyron spicatum and Agropyron desertorum, which were exposed to droughted, natural or irrigated conditions. These field treatments were repeated annually on the same plants from 1984-1986. Tillers were sampled in the grasses after defoliation in each year and tested for bud outgrowth and metabolic activity; then early spring growth was measured each year. Two defoliations under drought conditions and one year of defoliations under mild water stress did not reduce tiller number and size. Longer periods of drought and defoliation reduced tillers, which subsequently reduced photosynthetic canopy. Continued defoliation of tillers under drought would reduce the photosynthetic area further, and probably affect the persistence of these species in the community.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: crested wheatgrass, agropyron desertorum, bluebunch wheatgrass, agropyron spicatum, drought, defoliation, re-growth, bud viability, tetrazolium, evan's blue
Annotation: Precipitation was allowed on all three regimes from October 1986 until mid-May 1987. Half the plants of both species were defoliated once each year to 5-7 cm stubble during May or June of 1984, 1985, and 1986. This intensity (removing approximately 85% of foliage) and timing of defoliation simulated normal spring grazing by livestock.
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