Abstract
Growth and allocation patterns of biomass and nutrients of herbaceous species from grasslands at Cherrapunji in north-eastern India were studied under varied nutrient stress situations. Though populations from a nutrient richer soil had better growth rate than those from nutrient poor sites, this difference was not reflected in the tissue concentration of nutrients. Populations in nutrient deficient soils had high allocation to the belowground organs of reproduction than for aboveground parts. ThoughIschaemum andEragrostiella had generally lower nitrogen uptake efficiencies, their use efficiency was fairly high. Soils that are generally nutrient deficient had more C4 grass components than the rich soil underOsbeckia-type.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen S E, Grimshaw H M, Parkinson J A and Quarnby C 1974Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials (Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications)
Auclair A N D 1977 Factors affecting tissue nutrient concentrations in aCarex meadow,Oecologia 28 233–246
Black C C 1971 Ecological implications of dividing plants into groups with distinct photosynthetic production capacities;Adv. Ecol. Res. 7 87–114
Black C C, Chen T M and Brown R H 1969 Biochemical, basis for plant competition;Weed Sci. 17 338–344
Blair G J and Cordero S 1978 The phosphorus efficiency of three annual legumes;Plant Soil 50 387–398
Brown R H 1978 A difference in N use efficiency in C3 and C4 plants and its implication in adaptation and evolution;Crop Sci. 18 93–98
Bull T A 1971 The C4 pathway related to growth rates in sugarcane; inPhotosynthesis and photorespiration (eds) M D Hatch, C B Osmond and R O Slatyer (New York: Wiley Interscience) pp 68–75
Caldwell M M 1974 Carbon balance and productivity of two cool desert communities dominated by shrubs, possessing C3 and C4 photosynthesis;Proc. Ist Int. Conf. Ecol. 52–56
Chapin F S 1980 The mineral nutrition of wild plants;Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11 233–260
Curtis J T 1959The Vegetation of Wisconsin: An Ordination of Plant Communities (Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press)
Gifford R M 1974 A comparison of potential photosynthesis, productivity and yield of plant species with differing photosynthetic metabolisms;Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 1 107–117
Grime J P 1979 Plant Strategies and Vegetation Processes (New York: John Wiley)
Hickman J C 1975 Environmental unpredictability and plastic energy allocation strategies inPolygonum cascadense (Polygonaceae);J. Ecol. 63 681–698
Hofstra J J and Steinstra A W 1977 Growth and photosynthesis of closely related C3 and C4 grasses as influenced by light intensity and water supply;Acta Bot. Neerl. 26 63–72
Hughes A P and Freeman P R 1967 Growth analysis using frequent small harvests;J. Appl. Ecol. 4 553–560
Jackson M L 1962Soil Chemical Analysis (New Jersey: Prentice Hall)
Keeley J E and Keeley S E 1977 Energy allocation pattern of a sprouting and a nonsprouting species ofArctostaphylos in the California Chaparral;Am. Midl. Nat. 98 1–10
Nye P H 1977 The rate limiting step in plant nutrient absorption from soil;Soil. Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 24 33–35
Nye P H and Tinker P M 1977Solute Movement in the Soil Root System (Berkeley: California University Press)
Radford P J 1967 Growth analysis formulae—their use and abuse;Crop Sci. 7 171–175
Ram S C 1986Ecosystem structure and function, of seral, communities of degraded environment at Cherrapunji and adjoining areas; Ph.D. thesis, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong
Ramakrishnan P S 1984 Conservation of rainforest in north-eastern India; inEnvironmental Regeneration in the Himalaya: A Concept and Strategies (eds) K S Valdiya and J S Singh (Nainital: Central Himalayan Environ. Assoc.) pp 69–84
Ramakrishnan P S 1985a Humid tropical forests; inResearch on Humid Tropical Forests, Proc. of regional meeting of the national MAB committee of Central and South Asian countries, New Delhi
Ramakrishnan P S 1985b Tribal man in the humid tropics of the north-east;Man India 65 1–32
Ramakrishnan P S, Toky O P, Mishra B K and Saxena K G 1981 Slash and burn agriculture in north-eastern India; inFire Regimes and Ecosystem Properties (eds) H A Mooney, J M Bonnickser, N L Christensen, J E, Lotan and W A Reiners (USDA For Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. WD 26) pp 570–584
Saxena K G and Ramakrishnan P S 1981 Growth, strategy and allocation pattern inEupatorium odoratum andImperata cylindrica at different successional stage;Proc. Indian Natl. Sci. Acad. B47 861–866
Saxena K G and Ramakrishnan P S 1983 Growth and allocation strategies of some perennial weeds of slash and burn agriculture (Jhum) in north-eastern India;Can. J. Bot. 61 1300–1306
Saxena K G and Ramakrishnan P S 1984 C3/C4 species distribution among successional herbs following slash and burn agriculture in north-eastern India;Acta Oecol. Oeco. Plant. 5 335–346
Van den Driessche R 1974 Prediction of mineral nutrient status of trees by foliar analysis;Bot. Rev. 40 374–394
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ram, S.C., Ramakrishnan, P.S. Growth and allocation strategy of some important species of seral grasslands at Cherrapunji in north-eastern India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 98, 13–23 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03053363
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03053363