Seasonal Changes in Bound Water Content of some Prairie Grasses
- 1 September 1941
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in Botanical Gazette
- Vol. 103 (1), 38-63
- https://doi.org/10.1086/335024
Abstract
A study of the bound and free water content of several components of I. Upland prairie (Bouteloua gracilis, Stipa comata, Carex filifolia and Andropogon smithii); II. Sagebrush type (Artemisia cana, and Stipa viridula); III. Sandgrass type (Calamovila longifolia, Carex filifolia, C. eleocharis, C. pennsylvanica, and Koeleria cris-tata); and IV. Big bluestem type (Andropogon furcatus, Stipa spartea, and Bouteloua curtipendula) in western N. Dakota using the calorimetric method indicated that the bound water %, % free water, and grams of free water per 100 g. of dry matter gave the best expression of the responses of the species to the conditions of their habitats. The % bound water in a species was apparently a reflection of the relative degree of dryness of the habitat and not a measure of the inherent adaptation of that species to a dry habitat because the absolute amt. of bound water, expressed as g. per 100 g. of dry matter, remained at approx. the same characteristic level in the species during the season. The increases in bound water as % of the total water resulted from losses in free water caused by progressive drying of the plant tissues and not from increases in the water-retaining capacity of the leaves.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- WATER RELATIONS IN BRYOPHYLLUM CALYCINUM SUBJECTED TO SEVERE DRYINGPlant Physiology, 1938
- UNFROZEN WATER IN APPLE SHOOTS AS RELATED TO THEIR WINTER HARDINESSPlant Physiology, 1936
- CHANGES IN CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT OF WHEAT PLANTS DURING THE PROCESS OF HARDENING FOR DROUGHT RESISTANCEPlant Physiology, 1936
- AMOUNTS OF BOUND AND FREE WATER IN AN ORGANIC COLLOID AT DIFFERENT DEGREES OF HYDRATIONPlant Physiology, 1934
- Further Studies on Cold Resistance in Evergreens, with Special Reference to the Possible Role of Bound WaterBotanical Gazette, 1932