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Ecophysiology Of Two Native Invasive Woody Species And Two Dominant Warm-Season Grasses In The Semiarid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Kathleen D. Eggemeyer, Tala Awada, David A. Wedin, F. Edwin Harvey, Xinhua Zhou
Ecophysiology Of Two Native Invasive Woody Species And Two Dominant Warm-Season Grasses In The Semiarid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Kathleen D. Eggemeyer, Tala Awada, David A. Wedin, F. Edwin Harvey, Xinhua Zhou
School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications
Populations of Pinus ponderosa and Juniperus virginiana are expanding into semiarid Sandhills grasslands in Nebraska. To evaluate the physiological basis of their success, we measured the seasonal course of leaf gas exchange, plant water status, and carbon isotope discrimination in these two native trees and two native C4 grasses (Schizachyrium scoparium and Panicum virgatum). Compared to the trees, grasses had higher net photosynthetic rates (Anet) and water use efficiency (WUE) and more negative predawn and midday water potentials (Ψ) in June and July. While leaf Ψ and rates of leaf gas exchange declined for all …