Premium
Seasonal Adaptations in Photosynthesis and Respiration in Four Desert Shrubs Growing in Situ
Author(s) -
Strain B. R.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1933911
Subject(s) - shrub , larrea , acacia , photosynthesis , biology , ecology , respiration , deserts and xeric shrublands , chaparral , biomass (ecology) , adaptation (eye) , botany , neuroscience , habitat
Field measurements of carbon dioxide exchange and carbohydrate resources show that physiological adaptations occur in the shrubs Larrea divaricata, Encelia farinosa, Hymenoclea salsola, and Acacia greggii growing in situ in the Colorado Desert of California. L. divaricata, the most widely distributed shrub of the North American deserts, exhibited the greatest seasonal adaptation in the field. This study supports the hypothesis that adaptive temperature acclimations occur in plants.