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Effects of Competition, Salinity and Disturbance on the Growth of Poa pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass) and Puccinellia nuttalliana (Nuttall’s Alkaligrass)

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Sabkha Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Tasks for Vegetation Science ((TAVS,volume 48))

Abstract

Saline wetland and ponds in Canada can be found in arid and semi-arid regions where evaporation exceeds precipitation. An increase in salinity can reduce plant growth and affect competitive interactions between plants. A field experiment and a greenhouse experiment tested the effects of salinity and competition on the growth of two wetland plants, Poa pratensis (a glycophyte) and Puccinellia nuttalliana (a halophyte). For the field experiment, seedlings of Poa pratensis and Puccinellia nuttalliana were transplanted to six sites (two highly saline, two moderate, and two at low salinity) with and without plant neighbours. All sites were affected by high mortality and poor growth of the transplants. Survivorship was greater for plants grown alone. Biomass of plants grown alone was greatest at one of the moderate saline sites. The greenhouse experiment tested the response of P. nuttalliana and P. pratensis in a factorial design with 70 combinations (2 species × 7 salinity × 5 competition) replicated 6 times. Both of the species’ biomass was greatest when grown alone without salt. Species, salt type and competition had greatest effect on survivorship. Puccinellia nuttalliana displayed a greater degree of salt tolerance than P. pratensis. Re-growth after clipping was suppressed at higher salinities. Our results indicate that the interactions between plant species, salinity and clipping (or grazing) can affect the potential quality and quantity of forage for livestock and wildlife.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada

    Ashleigh Anne Gilbert & Lauchlan Hugh Fraser

Authors
  1. Ashleigh Anne Gilbert
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  2. Lauchlan Hugh Fraser
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Correspondence to Lauchlan Hugh Fraser .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University Center for Sust. Development, Doha, Qatar

    M. Ajmal Khan

  2. UNESCO Liaison Office, UNECA Bldg New Bldg, 1st floor, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia

    Benno Boër

  3. Ege University, Izmir, Turkey

    Münir Ȫzturk

  4. Division of Ecological and Earth Science, UNESCO Headquarters, Natural Sci Div of Ecological & Earth Science, Paris Cedex 15, France

    Miguel Clüsener-Godt

  5. Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utili, University of Karachi Inst.of Sustainable Halophyte Utili, Karachi, Pakistan

    Bilquees Gul

  6. Abteilung 3 - Ökologie, Universität Bielefeld Fakultät für Biologie, Bielefeld, Germany

    Siegmar-W. Breckle

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Gilbert, A.A., Fraser, L.H. (2016). Effects of Competition, Salinity and Disturbance on the Growth of Poa pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass) and Puccinellia nuttalliana (Nuttall’s Alkaligrass). In: Khan, M., Boër, B., Ȫzturk, M., Clüsener-Godt, M., Gul, B., Breckle, SW. (eds) Sabkha Ecosystems. Tasks for Vegetation Science, vol 48. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27093-7_19

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