Environmental Sensitivity of Ecotypes as a Potential Influence on Primary Productivity
Fetcher N and Shaver GR. 1990. Environmental Sensitivity of Ecotypes as a Potential Influence on Primary Productivity. The American Naturalist. 136(1):126-131
Since the pioneering studies of Turesson and Clausen et al., the notion of ecotypic differences has become an accepted concept in plant ecology. Despite advances in our understanding of physiological and morphological differences between ecotypes, the effect of ecotypic differentiation on ecosystem parameters has received little attention. Here we present an example of ecotypic differentiation in a dominant plant species of the tussock tundra ecosystems of northern Alaska and suggest how such differentiation can affect ecosystem responses such as primary productivity. Eriophorum vaginatum L. is a tussock-forming member of the Cyperaceae with a circumpolar distribution.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Fetcher, Ned; Shaver, Gaius
- Units
- ARCN , BELA , CAKR , GAAR , KOVA , NOAT
- Keywords
- Arctic, Arctic LTER Site, Brooks Range Foothills, ecotypes, Eriophorum vaginatum, Primary Production, Toolik Lake