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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Plant Morphology And Herbivory: Review Of M.J.A. Werger Et Al., Eds., Plant Form And Vegetation Structure: Adaptation, Plasticity And Relation To Herbivory, Svata M. Louda
Svata M. Louda Publications
This edited volume contains 26 contributed papers presented at the International Symposium on Vegetation Structure in Utrecht 14-18 July 1987. The editors organize the papers into three broadly related areas: (1) morphological plasticity of plant growth form in response to environmental variation, (2) morphological and ecological aspects of dry matter partitioning, and (3) herbivory in plant growth and plant community structure. All of the papers take a functional view of plant growth form and vegetation architectural structure, to one extent or another. The papers are uneven; stated objectives, scope of the subject matter covered, and degree of conceptualization vary substantially …
Predispersal Seed Predation, Postdispersal Seed Predation And Competition In The Recruitment Of Seedlings Of A Native Thistle In Sandhills Prairie, Svata M. Louda, Martha A. Potvin, Sharon K. Collinge
Predispersal Seed Predation, Postdispersal Seed Predation And Competition In The Recruitment Of Seedlings Of A Native Thistle In Sandhills Prairie, Svata M. Louda, Martha A. Potvin, Sharon K. Collinge
Svata M. Louda Publications
Platte thistle (Cirsium canescens Nutt.) is a native monocarpic plant species of Sandhills prairie. We concurrently tested three biological interactions that could influence its recruitment and population density: (1) predispersal flower and seed consumption by insects; (2) postdispersal loss of seeds to vertebrates, and (3) seedling competition with established plants. Few previous experimental studies have analyzed more than one of these processes at a time. Each interaction had a significant negative impact on seedling establishment. Insect seed predation caused major losses that were magnified in each succeeding life history stage. A 3-fold reduction in viable seeds by insects led …