Local Adaptation to Freezing in High and Low Latitude Populations of L. tridentata (Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico; Higuerillas, Mexico) and L. divaricata (Bajada del Diablo and Chamical, Argentina) (2006-2009))

Authors

Juliana Medeiros

Date

4-5-2011

Abstract

If freezing limits establishment of warm desert shrubs at high latitudes, shrubland distributions may be altered as a result of rising global temperatures. However, variation in plant physiology and morphology can be observed across climate gradients and may be acted on by selection to produce adaptation to local climate conditions, thereby ameliorating low temperature stress. Freezing damage in evergreens is closely linked to vessel size distribution because larger xylem conduits are more likely to become air-filled during freezing. In addition, plastic variation, rather than genetic, may be responsible for differences in freezing tolerance among populations. In order to determine if local adaptation to freezing is present in two species of the genus Larrea, L. tridentata and L. divaricata, we investigated xylem vessel size distributions in field grown L. tridentata adults and saplings grown in a common garden from high latitude (Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge) and low latitude (Higuerillas, Mexico) sites in the Chihuahuan Desert in North America. High latitude (Bajada del Diablo, Argentina) and low latitude (Chamical, Argentina) populations of Larrea divaricata were selected for investigation from the Monte Desert in South America.

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/1928/29966

Other Identifier

SEV227

Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) Identifier

knb-lter-sev.227.275475

Document Type

Dataset

Comments

This dataset was originally published on the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Data Portal, https://portal.lternet.edu, and potentially via other repositories or portals as described. The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the source data package is doi:10.6073/pasta/532db408e8b6c8024d0d82cd4f4acc2a, and may be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/532db408e8b6c8024d0d82cd4f4acc2a. Metadata and files included in this record mirror as closely as possible the source data and documentation, with the provenance metadata and quality report generated by the LTER portal reproduced here as '*-provenance.xml' and *-report.html' files, respectively.

Rights

Data Policies: This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated Contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement of the Sevilleta LTER. Datasets must be cited as in the example provided. A copy of any publications using these data must be supplied to the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager. By downloading any data you implicitly acknowledge the LTER Data Policy (http://www.lternet.edu/data/netpolicy.html).

Source

http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/532db408e8b6c8024d0d82cd4f4acc2a

Temporal coverage

2006-12-01 - 2007-01-30

Spatial coverage

Bajada del Diablo, Chubut, Argentina.Chamical, La Rioja, Argentina.The Five Points area emcompasses both the Five Points Black Grama and Five Points Creosote study sites. Five Points falls along the transition between the Chihuahuan Desert Scrub and Desert Grassland habitats. Both core sites are subject to intensive research activities, including NPP measurements, phenology observations, pollinator diversity studies, and ground dwelling arthropod and rodent population assessments. There are rain-out shelters for drought studies in both the Five Points Black Grama and Five Points Creosote sites.Higurillas, Queretaro, Mexico.GAN represents samples collected at a fifth study area located in Gan Gan, Chubut, Argentina at 42° 30' 0" South, 68° 16' 0" West, altitude 907 m. The landform is montane and the vegetation is mixed cold desert scrub. The site has a history of sheep grazing.

DOI

doi:10.6073/pasta/532db408e8b6c8024d0d82cd4f4acc2a

Permanent URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/532db408e8b6c8024d0d82cd4f4acc2a

Recommended Citation

Medeiros, Juliana (2011-04-05): Local Adaptation to Freezing in High and Low Latitude Populations of L. tridentata (Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico; Higuerillas, Mexico) and L. divaricata (Bajada del Diablo and Chamical, Argentina) (2006-2009)). Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/532db408e8b6c8024d0d82cd4f4acc2a