Influences of minimum stem temperatures on ranges of cacti in southwestern United States and central Chile

Abstract

A computer model predicted the minimum stem surface temperature, which generally occurred at the apex, for various species of cacti under a particular set of environmental conditions. Based on stem mass, spines, and apical pubescence for the four Ferocactus species found in the southwestern United States, F. acanthodes had the highest minimum apical temperatures and hence was predicted to range the furthest north, F. wizlizenii next, then F. covillei, and finally F. viridescens, in agreement with field observations. Direct measurement of apical temperatures at night showed that F. viridescens was about 2°C colder than a side-by-side F. acanthodes, in agreement with the model. The simulated apical temperature of Trichocereus chilensis increased about 0.3°C for each 50 cm increase in height up to 2 m; observations at a high elevation site in central Chile showed that the freezing damage progressively halved over this sequence of height intervals. The upper elevational limit of Eriosyce ceratistes and T. chilensis at different latitudes from 29°S to 35°S indicated that the populations were responsive to changes of only 0.1°C. Such temperature sensitivities underscore the importance of morphological differences in establishing the low temperature limits on the ranges of cacti in particular and plants in general.