Fire induced reproductive mechanisms of a Symphoricarpos (Caprifoliaceae) shrub after dormant season burning.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Symphoricarpos, a genus of the Caprifoliaceae family, consists of about 15 species of clonal deciduous shrubs in North America and 1 species endemic to China. In North American tallgrass prairie, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (buckbrush) is the dominant shrub often forming large colonies via sexual and asexual reproductive mechanisms. Symphoricarpos shrubs, in particular S. orbiculatus, use a unique sexual reproductive mechanism known as layering where vertical stems droop and the tips root upon contact with the soil. Because of conflicting societal values of S. orbiculatus for conservation and agriculture and the current attempt to restore historical fire regimes, there is a need for basic research on the biological response of S. orbiculatus to anthropogenic burning regim

SUBMITTER: Scasta JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5432769 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature