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Comparative Ecology of Annual Grasses: Native Versus Californian Habitats and Populations

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Grassland structure and function

Part of the book series: Tasks for vegetation science ((TAVS,volume 20))

Abstract

California’s annual grasslands are mainly composed of annual plant species native to the Mediterranean Basin. The success of these plants in California has been attributed to their high densities (Bartolome 1979; Young et al. 1981) and to their ability to complete their life cycles in the short period of water availability (Gulmon 1979; Ewing and Menke 1983). Here, we address two issues about the comparative ecology of annual grass species in their homeland and in California: first, their different ecological roles in the two regions, and second, characteristics that preadapted these plants to conditions in California.

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

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Jackson, L.E., Roy, J. (1989). Comparative Ecology of Annual Grasses: Native Versus Californian Habitats and Populations. In: Huenneke, L.F., Mooney, H.A. (eds) Grassland structure and function. Tasks for vegetation science, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3113-8_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3113-8_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7900-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3113-8

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