Abstract
Distributional patterns of C4 plants were investigated in 4 study areas located in se Arizona: granite slopes in the M ule M ountains, limestone slopes in the M ule M ountains, calcareous bajada (alluvial plain) below the M ule M ountains, and limestone slopes in the H uachuca M ountains. Cover data for all vascular species were obtained from 238 0.1 ha (20 × 50 m) sample quadrats located over ranges of elevation and topographic position within the study areas. Overall, 69 C4 species representing 6 angiosperm families were encountered. C4 species accounted for 13.5% to 22.3% of vascular species within the study areas. C4 species frequency in quadrats (on the basis of all species or of grasses only) increased from mesic to xeric community types in all study areas except the calcareous bajada. Similar, but less consistent, trends were evident in the relative cover contributed by C4 species. I n two of the study areas (granite slopes in the Mule Mountains, limestone slopes in the Huachuca Mountains) regression analyses revealed statistically significant trends of C4 species frequency and relative cover along environmental (elevation/solar-irradiation scalar) and compositional (reciprocal averaging ordination) gradients. A lack of consistent trends on limestone slopes in the Mule Mountains may be the result of grazing and/or recent invasion of low-elevation limestone areas by a Chihuahuan Desert flora dominated by C3 dicot shrubs. The calcareous bajada below the Mule Mountains was studied less intensively, but its flora was found to contain the highest frequency of C4 species of the 4 study areas. In contrast, C4 cover on the bajada was low, presumably as a consequence of heavy grazing pressure on the grasses. The results of the present investigation support the prediction that C4 species should be proportionally more successful in habitats characterized by high temperatures, high irradiance and low moisture.
Keywords
Nomenclature for most species follows Kearney & Peebles (1969). Gould (1951) and Benson(1969) were used for identification and nomenclature of Gramineae and Cactaceae, respectively. Gould (1968) was used for taxonomy of Gramineae at the tribe and subfamily levels. Voucher specimens are on deposit in the L. H. Bailey Hortorium of Cornell University.
I wish to express my appreciation to J. A. Teeri for suggesting that I investigate distributions of C4 plants in southeastern Arizona, and to J. D. Elson for valuable assistance with preliminary data analyses. The data discussed in this paper were collected as part of a Ph.D. dissertation completed at Cornell University under the direction of R. H. Whittaker. U. Blum, S. C. Huber, R. K. Peet and J. F. Reynolds provided helpful reviews of the manuscript. I gratefully acknowledge financial support provided by the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, the National Science Foundation, Cornell University, and E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.
Paper No. 8258 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC 27650 USA.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Benson, L., 1969. The cacti of Arizona. Third edition. 218 pp. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Bidwell, R. G. S., 1979. Plant physiology. Second edition. 726 pp. MacMillan, New York, NY, USA.
Björkmann, O., 1971. Comparative photosynthetic CO2 exchange in higher plants. In: Hatch, M. D., Osmond, C. B., Slatyer, R. O. (eds.), Photosynthesis and photorespiration. pp. 18–32. Wiley-Interscience, New York, NY, USA.
Björkmann, O., 1976. Adaptive and genetic aspects of C4 photosynthesis. In: Burris, R. H., Black, C. C. (eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Harry SteenbockSymposium, Madison, Wisconsin, June 9–11, 1975. pp. 287–309. University Park Press, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Björkmann, O., Mooney, H. A., Ehleringer, J., 1975. Comparison of photosynthetic characteristics of intact plants. Carnegie Institution of Washington Year Book 74: 743–751.
Black, C. C., 1971. Ecological implications of dividing plants into groups with distinct photosynthetic production capacities. Adv. Ecol. Res. 7: 87–113.
Black, C. C, 1973. Photosynthetic carbon fixation in relation to net CO2: uptake. Ann. Rev. PI. Physiol. 24: 253–286.
Boutton, T. W., Harrison, A. T., Smith, B. N., 1980. Distribution of biomass of species differing in photosynthetic pathway along an altitudinal transect in southeastern Wyoming grassland. Oecologia 45: 287–298.
Brown, R. H., 1978. A difference in N use efficiency in C, and C4 plants and its implications in adaptation and evolution. Crop. Sci. 18: 93–98.
Caswell, H., Reed, F., Stephenson, S. N., Werner, P. A., 1973. Photosynthetic pathways and selective herbivory: a hypothesis. Amer. Nat. 107: 465–480.
Chazdon, R. L., 1978. Ecological aspects of the distribution of C4 grasses in selected habitats of Costa Rica. Biotropica 10: 265–269.
Doliner, L. H., Jolliffe, P. A., 1979. Ecological evidence concerning the adaptive significance of the C4 dicarboxylic acid pathway of photosynthesis. Oecologia 38: 23–34.
Krenzer, E.G., Jr., Moss, D.N., Crookston, R. K., 1975. Carbon dioxide compensation points of flowering plants. PI. Physiol. 56: 194–206.
Mulroy, T. W., Rundel, P. W, 1977. Annual plants: adaptations to desert environments. Bioscience 27: 109–114.
Ode, D. J., Tieszen, L. L., Lerman, J. C., 1980. The seasonal contribution of C3 and C4 plant species to primary production in a mixed prairie. Ecology 61: 1304–1311.
Rundel, P. W., 1980. The ecological distribution of C4 and C, grasses in the Hawaiian Islands. Oecologia 45: 354–359.
Slatyer, R. O., 1970. Comparative photosynthesis, growth and transpiration of two species of Atriplex. Planta 93: 175 189.
Smith, B. N., Brown, W. V., 1973. The Kranz syndrome in the Gramineae as indicated by carbon isotopic ratios. Amer. J. Bot. 60: 505–513.
Snedecor, G. W., Cochran, W. G., 1967. Statistical methods. 593 pp. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA, USA.
Stowe, L. G., Teeri, J. A., 1978. The geographic distribution of C4 species of the dicotyledonae in relation to climate. Am. Nat. 112: 609–623.
Syvertsen, J. P., Nickell, G. L., Spellenberg, R. W., Cunningham, G. L., 1976. Carbon reduction pathways and standing crop in three Chihuahuan Desert plant communities. SW. Nat. 21: 311–320.
Teeri, J. A., Stowe, L. G., 1976. Climatic patterns and the distribution of C4 grasses in North America. Oecologia 23: 1–12.
Tieszen, L. L., Senyimba, M. M., Imbamba, S. K., Troughton, J. H., 1979. The distribution of C3 and C4 grasses and carbon isotope discrimination along an altitudinal and moisture gradient in Kenya. Oecologia 37: 337–350.
Wentworth,T. R., 1976. The vegetation of limestone and granite soils in the mountains of southeastern Arizona. Doctoral dissertation, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, USA.
Wentworth, T. R., 1981. Vegetation on limestone and granite in the Mule Mountains, Arizona. Ecology 62: 469–482.
Whitson, P. D., 1974. The impact of human use upon the Chisos Basin and adjacent lands. U.S. Nat. Pk. Serv. Monogr. 4. 92 pp.
Whittaker, R. H., 1967. Gradient analysis of vegetation. Biol. Rev. 42: 207–264.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wentworth, T.R. (1985). Distributions of C4 plants along environmental and compositional gradients in southeastern Arizona. In: Peet, R.K. (eds) Plant community ecology: Papers in honor of Robert H. Whittaker. Advances in vegetation science, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5526-4_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5526-4_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8939-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-5526-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive