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C 3 ‐ and C 4 ‐Plants of the Xerophilic Vegetation in the Loess Hills of the Yellow River, Gansu‐Province, NW‐China *
Author(s) -
Wang X.C.,
Lüttge U.,
Ziegler H.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
botanica acta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.871
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1438-8677
pISSN - 0932-8629
DOI - 10.1111/j.1438-8677.1990.tb00132.x
Subject(s) - zygophyllaceae , loess , vegetation (pathology) , arid , china , chine , geography , physical geography , ecology , geology , botany , biology , geomorphology , medicine , archaeology , pathology
The climate of the loess‐hill area near Lanzhou, on the Yellow River, Gansu‐Province, NW‐China is arid throughout the year. The vegetation is xerophilic and mainly dominated by species of Zygophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Tamaricaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Asteraceae. Among 11 species sampled of these families, δ 13 C‐analyses only indicated C 4 ‐photosynthesis for 2 species. This relatively low frequency of C 4 ‐plants may be due to elevation (1978 m a.s.l.) and the relatively cold temperatures (annual mean 5.9°C).