U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
1998
Abstract
Montane moist meadows of western North America are relatively unique in that they are characterized by annual cycles of spring inundation followed by summer drought. Thus, plants adapted to these ecosystems must cope with a wide range of environmental conditions. We compared gas exchange and water relations of upper canopy leaves and leaf area index (LAI) of three dominant montane meadow graminoids growing at both streamside and mid-meadow locations (2.5 and 20.0 m, respectively from the stream edge). The two locations were environmentally very different in spite of their close proximity. The water table at the streamside location was ca. 40 cm closer to the surface compared to the mid-meadow.
Comments
Published in Journal of Vegetation Science 9: 85-94, 1998.