LEAF TURNOVER RATES OF ADENOSTOMA FASCICULATUM (ROSACEAE) |
| |
Authors: | William M Jow Stephen H Bullock Jochen Kummerow |
| |
Institution: | Department of Botany, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, 92182 |
| |
Abstract: | The age structure of the foliage of a 26-yr-old stand of Adenostoma fasciculatum H. & A. (chamise) was analyzed. The mean number of standing leaves and the yearly increase in leaf scars on the leaf-producing short shoots allowed an estimate of annual leaf production. The average chamise leaf persists for two seasons. Short shoots produce 4–6 leaves per yr; however after 4–5 yr their productivity declines. About 72% of the standing leaves were produced during the current and 28% during the foregoing season. Nearly one-half of all the leaves produced was found on current-year short shoots (i.e., on long shoots that had developed during the spring of the same year). Thus, earlier estimates of leaf production in chamise based only on current-year long shoot growth were too low. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|