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Patterns and determinants of potential carbon gain in the C₃ evergreen Yucca glauca (Liliaceae) in a C₄ grassland¹

¹ Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506 USA; and ² Department of Biology, Principia College, Elsah, Illinois 62028 USA

ABSTRACT

Yucca glauca is a C₃ evergreen rosette species locally common in the C₄-dominated grasslands of the central Great Plains. Most congeners of Y. glauca are found in deserts, and Y. glauca’s morphological similarities to desert species (steeply angled leaves, evergreen habit) may be critical to its success in grasslands. We hypothesized that the evergreen habit of Y. glauca, coupled with its ability to remain physiologically active at cool temperatures, would allow this species to gain a substantial portion of its annual carbon budget when the C₄ grasses are dormant. Leaf-level gas exchange was measured over an 18-mo period at Konza Prairie in northeast Kansas to assess the annual pattern of potential C gain. Two short-term experiments also were conducted in which nighttime temperatures were manipulated to assess the cold tolerance of this species. The annual pattern of C gain in Y. glauca was bimodal, with a spring productive period (maximum monthly photosynthetic rate = 21.1 ± 1.97 µmol·m·s) in March through June, a period of midseason photosynthetic depression, and a fall productive period in October (15.6 ± 1.25 µmol·m·s). The steeply angled leaves resulted in interception of photon flux density at levels above photosynthetic saturation throughout the year. Reduced photosynthetic rates in the summer may have been caused by low soil moisture, but temperature was strongly related (r = 0.37) to annual variations in photosynthesis, with nocturnal air temperatures below -5°C in the late fall and early spring, and high air temperatures (>32°C) in the summer, limiting gas exchange. Overall, 31% of the potential annual carbon gain in Y. glauca occurred outside the "frost-free" period (April–October) at Konza Prairie and 43% occurred when the dominant C₄ grasses were dormant. Future climates that include warmer minimum temperatures in the spring and fall may enhance the success of Y. glauca relative to the C₄ dominants in these grasslands.

Key Words: climate change • cold tolerance • evergreen • grasslands • Liliaceae • photosynthesis • tallgrass prairie • water relations • Yucca.

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