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Short‐Term Responses of Alpine Buttercups to Experimental Manipulations of Growing Season Length
Author(s) -
Galen Candace,
Stanton Maureen L.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1940475
Subject(s) - ecology , term (time) , biology , geography , environmental science , physics , quantum mechanics
We examined the role of growing season length in regulating percentage cover and seed mass of the alpine snow buttercup, Ranunculus adoneus, in a snowbed habitat. Season length varies from °50 d in early—melting portions of the snowbed to 35 d in late—melting locations. Percentage cover and seed mass of snow buttercups decrease from early— to late—melting locations. Time available for growth was manipulated experimentally by altering the snowmelt schedule. Advancing snowmelt by 14 d in typically late—melting portions of the snowbed led to a threefold increase in percentage cover of snow buttercups (P < .025). However, delaying snowmelt to the same extent in typically early melting locations had little influence on snow buttercups. These results indicate that time available for growth limits cover of snow buttercups in late—emerging vegetation, whereas other factors regulate cover of snow buttercups in early—emerging vegetation . Perturbation of snowmelt scheduled also had significant effects on seed mass (P < .0055). These effects are probably mediated through changes in time available for seed maturation. Snow manipulation treatment accounted for 71% of the variation in seed maturation interval. Maturation interval, in turn, was correlated with seed mass (P < .01). Reducing or increasing the seed maturation interval by 12 d caused a 33% change in seed mass. These findings show strong direct effects of growing season length on plant performance at diverse life history stages.