Vegetation structure and microclimate of three Dutch Calthion palustris communities under different climatic conditions
✍ Scribed by Fliervoet, M. ;Werger, M. J. A.
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Year
- 1985
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 632 KB
- Volume
- 59
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1573-5052
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✦ Synopsis
Three Dutch Calthionpalustris communities, situated in different phytogeographic districts which vary in climatic conditions, are compared with respect to vegetation structure and microclimate. The three Calthion stands which are similar in soil, management and hydrology, differ slightly in total aboveground biomass in the period just before cutting, but there is a larger difference in the biomass contributed by phanerogams, bryophytes and litter. The structure of the Calthion communities varies in vertical distribution of biomass and leaf area (LA I), and growth form and leaf size composition. These differences are interpreted in terms of climatic differences such as length of growing season, temperature and wind. Profiles of decreasing light intensity within the vegetation canopy are related to the vertical distribution of biomass, LAI and leaf inclination of the various Calthion communities. Temperature and saturation deficit of the air on the different sites show profiles of a similar shape which suggests that in such ecologically comparable plant communities, vegetation structure differs under influence of the macroclimate in such a way that the resulting vegetation canopies modify the microclimate within the vegetation to become homologous.