Role of Annual Leaf Carbon Balance in the Distribution of Plant Species along an Elevational Gradient
- 1 September 1979
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in Botanical Gazette
- Vol. 140 (3), 288-294
- https://doi.org/10.1086/337088
Abstract
Physiological responses to water stress were determined under laboratory conditions for 8 woody perennial species [Larrea tridentata, Acacia greggii, Simmondsia chinensis, Vauquelinia californica, Juniperus deppeana, Pinus ponderosa, Fraxinus pennsylvanica ssp. velutina and Alnus oblongifolia] occupying different positions along a moisture gradient in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona [USA]. Annual leaf C balances were calculated over a range of elevations from net photosynthesis and dark respiration responses to leaf water potential (LWP), the dependence of LWP on soil water potential (SWP) and yearly patterns of SWP. Species ranking in elevations at which annual leaf C balances were zero agreed with the ranking of actual lower elevation limits. This integrated measure of the ability of species to acquire C in the field was the only physiological response which correctly ranked the species by distribution limit.This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND GROWTH IN FRAG ARIA VESCANew Phytologist, 1978
- Competitive Exploitation of Soil Water by Five Eastern North American Tree SpeciesBotanical Gazette, 1977
- Differential effects of water stress on respiration in the light in woody plants from wet and dry habitatsCanadian Journal of Botany, 1976
- Wintertime Photosynthesis of Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Aristata) In the White Mountains of CaliforniaEcology, 1967
- Vegetation of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona: A Gradient Analysis of the South SlopeEcology, 1965
- Photosynthetic Response to Temperature and Moisture Stress of Three Timberline Meadow SpeciesEcology, 1965
- Effects of Environmental Factors on Standing Crop and Productivity of an Alpine TundraEcological Monographs, 1964
- Vegetation of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona. I. Ecological Classification and Distribution of SpeciesJournal of the Arizona Academy of Science, 1964
- Soil Temperature Versus Drought as a Factor Determining Lower Altitudinal Limits of Trees in the Rocky MountainsBotanical Gazette, 1943
- Microclimate and a Notable Case of Its Influence on a Ridge in Central IndianaEcology, 1939