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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Changes In Plant Community Composition, Structure, And Function In Response To Permafrost Thaw, Katherine Standen
Changes In Plant Community Composition, Structure, And Function In Response To Permafrost Thaw, Katherine Standen
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Air temperature is increasing at three or more times the global average in high latitudes, causing widespread permafrost thaw across the boreal biome. Since the boreal biome stores 30-40% of global terrestrial carbon (C), of which about 30-45% is found in permafrost soils, this temperature increase could cause a large efflux of C to the atmosphere. Climate warming and permafrost thaw are also expected to alter plant community composition and productivity and, given the link between plant functional traits and ecosystem C fluxes, may alter overall ecosystem function. Across the boreal biome of western Canada, we know surprisingly little about …
Diversity And Evolution Of Inflorescences In Cuscuta, Morgan Glofcheskie
Diversity And Evolution Of Inflorescences In Cuscuta, Morgan Glofcheskie
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Cuscuta (dodder) includes ca. 200 species of plant obligate stem parasites with both ecological and economical significance. Inflorescences have been historically used in Cuscuta for species descriptions and identification keys, but no comprehensive study exists to date. The main objective of this study was to survey the diversity of inflorescences, and to understand their evolution and possible form-function relationships. The inflorescence architecture of 132 Cuscuta taxa was analyzed using herbarium specimens, and eight species were grown to study their inflorescence development. Inflorescence traits were mapped into a genus phylogeny obtained from a combined analysis of nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-F …