Descripción: |
Three species of spiny shrubs (Withania frutescens, Lycium intricatum and Asparagus albus) were found
living together in Nueva Tabarca island and, with Rhamnus lycioides ssp. lycioides in the Santa Pola cape, the
study site selected, forming the association Chamaeropo
Rhamnetum lycioides O. de Bolós 1957. All these species
have a common, interesting feature: loss or reduction
of leaves in dry summer.
In this work, a first approach to the phenology
of this species was done and also one attempt of quantification
of the leaf reduction phenomenon, with the
definition of Leaf Persistence Index (LPI) and the searching for its interrelations with water, pigments and
the mineral nutrient content in leaves.
A sampling of ten individuals of each species
was made with two week intervals and phenological observations were made each time. In the samples, water con
tent of leaves and stems, chlorophyll a and b and N, P
Ca, Mg, Na and K concentrations in leaves were measured.
In the phenology the behaviour is different in
R.lycioides ssp. lycioides than in the other species,
completely deciduous during part of the summer, which
is precisely when they flower.
The study of the variation of leaf content in
relation with the LPI shows positive (accumulation) and
negative (loss) significative correlations. In the fit
to linear regressions the results are very similar in
W.frutescens and A.albus and also, in part, in L.intricatum. The other species, R.lycioides ssp. lycioides
is the more asynchronous in leaves' fall. The speed of accumulation of elements in relation to LPI changes
in senescing leaves, can be measured with the slope of
fitted linear regressions. Loss of water in stems was
especially high in Solanaceae. The disappearance of chlorophylles is more similar in A.albus and L.intricatum. In elements such N and P, W.frutescens and A. albus have a more economical behaviour than L.intricatum. Este trabajo ha disfrutado de una Ayuda de Investigación Cooperativa
Hispano-Norteamericana. |