Ecophysiology of native species from Patagonian Monte, Argentina.

CENZANO AM; VARELA MC; LUNA MV

Volume V: The Americas (Tasks for Vegetation Science).

Springer

Año: 2016; p. 369 - 387

In the Patagonian Monte of Argentina two main stresses affect the structure and function of the ecosystem: grazing by domestic and native herbivores as the main biotic stress, and drought as the main abiotic stress. Several drought resistance strategies have been described among different plant functional types but with pour attention to physiological aspects. Indeed, differences in endogenous abscisic acid (drought stress hormone) production and changes in its metabolites (products of catabolism) may contribute to establish different patterns of plastic responses between plant functional types and may help to understand the ecological distribution of some species and their role in a given environment. In this chapter we describe several topics related to drought resistance strategies of plant functional types from Patagonian Monte, Argentina, focusing on morphological, biochemical and physiological traits and phenotypic plasticity of the main grasses inhabiting this arid shrubland.