plants!! presented by ashwana fricker how do they interact?
TRANSCRIPT
PLANTS!!
Presented by Ashwana Fricker
How do they Interact?
BackgroundGrass: A monocotyledenous green plant in the family
Poacaea
Forb: Any non-woody flowering plant that is not a grass
Background
• Facilitative (+/+)
– Soil Improvement
– Structure
– Deter Predators
– Attract Pollinators
• Competitive (-/-)– Water – Nutrients (ex. Nitrogen)– Sunlight
• Commensalistic (+/0)– Plant secretions
Grass: A monocotyledenous green plant in the family Poacaea
Forb: Any non-woody flowering plant that is not a grass
Competition: An Argument For
• There is an increase in nutrients and water infiltration beneath plant canopy, suggesting an increase in the number of forbs in grass clumps
Commensalism: An Argument for
• C4 Photosynthesis in Blue and Black Grama suggests possible C3 photosynthesis in forbs
Facilitation: An Argument For
• There may be nutrient retention by forbs– Decreases nutrient leaching (benefits the
grasses)
The Question
• What type of relationship?– Competition (work against each other)
– Commensalism (one works for the other)– Facilitation (work with each other)
Methods• Quarter meter plots- randomly tossed in Black Grama,
Blue Grama, and Ranchland– Veg Surveys:
• Grass Area - quad• Forb Type• Forb Area• Forb Position
ResultsPlant Cover
21902056
2821.25
2178.785
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Black Blue
Grass
TotalPlant Cover
1240
595.395
1362.688
962.56375
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Ungrazed Grazed
Co
ver
(sq
cm
)
Grass
Total
ResultsTotal Number of Individuals in Black v
Blue Grama
51
28
149
2113
50
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Edge Clump Bare
Black
Blue
Total Number of Species in Black v Blue Grama
7
9
16
8
5
12
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Edge Clump Bare
Black
Blue
Total Number of Individuals in Grazed v Ungrazed
384
510
3313
126
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Edge Clump Bare
Grazed
Ungrazed
Total Number of Species in Grazed v Ungrazed
7
2
15
7
2
14
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Edge Clump Bare
Grazed
Ungrazed
Results
Forb Cover w ith respect to Grass Cover Grazed
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0 5 10 15 20 25
Grass Cover (percent)
Forb over Grass
Forb Cover w ith respect to Grass coverUngrazed
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 10 20 30 40 50
Grass Cover (percent)
Forb over Grass
Forb Cover w ith respect to Grass CoverBlue Grama
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
0 10 20 30 40 50
Grass Cover (percent)
Forb over Grass
Forb Cover w ith respect to Grass CoverBlack Grama
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0 20 40 60 80 100
Grass Cover (percent)
Forb over Grass
Methods
• Grasses were clipped in order to determine whether short- term grazing had an effect on forb growth– 10 cm radius– Clipped to the base– 2 species: caesalpenia drepanocarpa
macheranthera pinnatifida
Results
Clipped v Not Clipped Drepanocarpa by Quad
-200
0
200
400
600
800
0 20 40 60 80 100
Grass Area
% Change in Clipped
% Change in Not Clipped
Clipped v Not Clipped Drepanocarpa by Centimeter
-200
0
200
400
600
800
0 20 40 60 80 100
Grass Area
% Change in Clipped
% Change in Not Clipped
Clipped v Not Clipped Drepanocarpa by Chart
-200
0
200
400
600
800
0 20 40 60 80 100
Grass Area
% Change in Clipped
% Change in Not Clipped
Results
Clipped v Not Clipped Pinnatifida by Quad
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
0 10 20 30 40
Grass Area
% Change in Clipped
% Change in Not Clipped
Clipped v Not Clipped in Pinnatifida by Centimeter
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
0 10 20 30 40
Grass Area
% Change in Clipped
% Change in Not Clipped
Clipped v Not Clipped in Pinnatifida by Chart
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
0 10 20 30 40
Grass Area
% Change in Clipped
% Change in Not Clipped
Synopsis
• There is no strong correlation between grazing and forb growth in a season, but long term data shows that there is an increase in forb number when the grass cover decreases
References
• Callaway, R., Walker, L.; Ecology (1997); Competition and Facilitation: A Synthetic Approach to Interactions in Plant Communities; pp.1958-65
• Kieft, T., White, C., Loftin, S., Aguilar, R., Craig, J., Skaar, D. 1998. Temporal Dynamics in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Resources at a Grassland- Shrubland Ecotone. Ecosystems. p 671-683
• Bhark, E., Small E. 2003. Association between Plant Canopies and the Spatial Patterns of Infiltration in Shrubland and Grassland of the Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico. Ecosystems. p 185-196
Thanks to…• Sevilleta LTER
• Fish and Wildlife
• Scott Collins• Jennifer Johnson
• The Friggens• Michell
With help from…• Fred Whiteman
• Andrew Rominger• Caitlin Smith• Brenda Nieto
• Alex Benhumea• Tierney Adamson