Growth and gas exchange of Andropogon gerardii as influenced by burning
- Svejcar, T. J.
- Browning, J. A.
DOIAbstract
Late spring burning response of the dominant big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) was studied on a tallgrass site in central Oklahoma (USA) during a dry (1984) and a wet (1985) year. During active growth (May and June) when temperatures were not limiting, photosynthesis (PS) was higher for burned (25-27 micromoles-2-1) relative to unburned plants (20-25 micromoles m-2 s-1); but during summer drought, PS declined to <10 micromoles m-2 s-1 and treatment rank reversed. However, the 2 treatments had similar transpiration per unit leaf area, and burned plots had much higher peak big bluestem leaf area indices (6.4 in 1984 and 4.5 in 1985) than unburned plots (2.0 both years). Apparently higher transpirational demand in burned plots lowered soil mo...
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