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Response of an allergenic species, Ambrosia psilostachya (Asteraceae), to experimental warming and clipping: implications for public health
Author(s) -
Wan Shiqiang,
Yuan Tong,
Bowdish Sarah,
Wallace Linda,
Russell Scott D.,
Luo Yiqi
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.3732/ajb.89.11.1843
Subject(s) - ragweed , biology , pollen , clipping (morphology) , biomass (ecology) , global warming , agronomy , botany , ambrosia artemisiifolia , zoology , horticulture , climate change , ecology , allergy , linguistics , philosophy , immunology
We examined the responses of an allergenic species, western ragweed ( Ambrosia psilostachya DC.), to experimental warming and clipping. The experiment was conducted in a tallgrass prairie in Oklahoma, USA, between 1999 and 2001. Warming increased ragweed stems by 88% when not clipped and 46% when clipped. Clipping increased ragweed stems by 75% and 36% in the control and warmed plots, respectively. In 2001, warming resulted in a 105% increase in ragweed aboveground biomass (AGB), and the ratio of ragweed AGB to total AGB increased by 79%. Dry mass per ragweed stem in the warmed plots was 37% and 38% greater than that in the control plots in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Although warming caused no difference in pollen production per stem, total pollen production increased by 84% ( P < 0.05) because there were more ragweed stems. Experimental warming significantly increased pollen diameter from 21.2 μm in the control plots to 23.9 μm in the warmed plots (a 13% increase). The results from our experiment suggest that global warming could aggravate allergic hazards and thereby jeopardize public health.