@Article{phyton.2009.78.017,
AUTHOR = {Peláez DV, RM Bóo, MD Mayor, OR Elia, SA Martínez},
TITLE = {Effect of post-fire defoliation on growth of two native grasses in the Caldenal, Argentina},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {78},
YEAR = {2009},
NUMBER = {all},
PAGES = {17--24},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v78nall/36915},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
ABSTRACT = {Plant growth in semiarid rangelands may be affected by time grazing is excluded during the post-fire regeneration period. The objective of this field work was to study the effect of post-fire defoliation at different phenological stages [vegetative (early-season defoliation) and internode elongation (late-season defoliation)] on growth of <sup></sup>                       <i>Piptochaetium napostaense</i> and <i>Poa ligularis</i>, two very important perennial native grasses in the temperate semi-arid region of central Argentina (Caldenal). In general, the post-fire defoliation treatments did not affect the number of green leaves on tillers of <i>P. napostaense</i>. Early-season post-fire defoliation generally reduced the number of green leaves on tillers of <i>P. ligularis</i> in comparison to those in control plants. Late-season defoliation, however, usually increased the number of green leaves on tillers of <i>P. ligularis.</i> Nevertheless, very few significant (p<0.05) differences were detected within either one or the other phenological stage. Height and total green length (leaves + stem + sheaths) of tillers on plants of <i>P. napostaense</i> and <i>P. ligularis</i> exposed to defoliation were lower (p<0.05) or similar (p>0.05) than values on non-defoliated plants, respectively. Immediately after early- and late-season defoliation treatments, relative growth rates for tiller height and total green length were reduced (p<0.05) on plants of both species with respect to control plants. Our results suggest that a one-year-period without severe defoliations after fire would be at least necessary for not risking the persistence of these perennial grasses in the Caldenal community.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2009.78.017}
}