Plants living on gypsum: beyond the specialist model.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Plants from gypsum habitats are classified as gypsophiles and gypsovags. The former include both narrow endemics limited to small gypsum areas and regionally dominant gypsophiles growing in gypsum areas of large regions, whereas gypsovags are plants that can grow both in gypsum and non-gypsum soils. Factors controlling the distribution of gypsum plants are still not fully understood.

Methods

To assess how the different types of gypsum plants deal with the stressful conditions of gypsum substrates, comparisons were made of the leaf chemical composition of four gypsovags, five regionally dominant gypsophiles and four narrow gypsum endemics growing in two massive gypsum areas of the Iberian Peninsula.

Key results

The chemical composition of gypsovags

SUBMITTER: Palacio S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2802996 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature