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Relative drought tolerance of evergreen-rainforest and evergreen-savanna species in a long unburnt Eucalyptus savanna, north Queensland
Citation
Bowman, DMJS and Wilson, BA and Fensham, RJ, Relative drought tolerance of evergreen-rainforest and evergreen-savanna species in a long unburnt Eucalyptus savanna, north Queensland, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 108 pp. 27-31. ISSN 0080-469X (1999) [Refereed Article]
Abstract
Woody plant species that are typically restricted to rainforest were observed to have established in a Eucalyptus savanna. The savanna had never been grazed by exotic herbivores and had remained unburnt for a very long time. This unusual situation provided the opportunity to compare the frequency of damaged canopies (defined by >40% of the canopy with dead foliage) in evergreen rainforest and savanna species following a severe drought. It was found that there was no statistical difference in the number of damaged juvenile evergreen rainforest or savanna species. However, significantly (P<0.001) more savanna saplings had damaged canopies compared to evergreen rainforest species. These results are interpreted as demonstrating a tolerance of most dry evergreen-rainforest species to severe moisture stress. Only 7 out of the 26 species were deciduous and all of these were considered to be rainforest specialists. The predominance of evergreen species may reflect their greater capacity to opportunistically respond to favorable moisture conditions given the high variability of rainfall in the study region.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Evolutionary biology |
Research Field: | Biological adaptation |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Fresh, ground and surface water systems and management |
Objective Field: | Assessment and management of freshwater ecosystems |
UTAS Author: | Bowman, DMJS (Professor David Bowman) |
ID Code: | 69187 |
Year Published: | 1999 |
Deposited By: | Plant Science |
Deposited On: | 2011-04-19 |
Last Modified: | 2011-08-05 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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