Photosynthesis and dark respiration in three alpine snow tussocks (Chionochloaspp.) under controlled environments

Shoot properties of nine species ofChionochloaZotov (Gramineae)

“…The relatively low weight of C. macra shoots in the present study is consistent with those authors' findings, and those of Mark (1965Mark ( , 1975. Some of the differences between the North and South Island populations of C. rllbra are possibly phenotypic, because most North Island populations were from the sub-alpine zone of the Central Volcanic Plateau, whereas many South Island populations were from lowland sites.…”

Maximizing water yield with indigenous non-forest vegetation: a New Zealand perspective

“…In New Zealand, upland indigenous tall tussock grasses are resistant to wind and snow cover. In comparison to most other dominant plants here, these grasses also have relatively low water loss (transpiration), because their stomata are located in deeply incised furrows on the concave side of the rolled leaves (Mark 1975; Figure 1b). Moreover, the degree of rolling increases in response to desiccation (Clearwater 1999).…”

Stability and Instability of Ecological Systems in New Zealand Mountains

“…For many centuries after glaciation, plants of open country would have had the opportunity to evolve at lower altitudes before they were confined to alpine and subalpine belts by the expansion of closed forests. High productivity is not characteristic of New Zealand mountain flora but there are many examples of adaptation to particular features of island mountain climate (Scott, 1961(Scott, , 1970Wardle, 1963;Mark, 1969Mark, , 1975Hadley and Rosen, 1974;Payton and Brasch, 1978;Sakai and Wardle, 1978;Benecke and Havranek, 1980). As presented by Cockayne (1928), the mountain vegetation of New Zealand is characterized by tussock grasslands and evergreen forests as well as shrublands, herbfields, and dwarf vegetation, often of cushion form.…”

“…Some shrublands, for example, Podocarpus nivalis, are adapted to unstable surfaces and, like Leptospermum, to periodic fire. The tolerance of periodic fire by the grasslands has been revealed by Mark (1969), Connor (1964), and O' Connor and Powell (1963). Differences in edaphic adaptation shown in species of Chionochloa by Williams et al (1977Williams et al ( , 1978 and Bell (1973) are indicated to be significant in the evolutionary pathways postulated by Cowlishaw (1982) from leaf wax analyses.…”

“…Nitrogen-fixing shrub species of the grasslands, Carmichaelia, Corollospartium, and Discaria have also shown responses to phosphatic dress- ings, consistent with their colonizing role on new surfaces. Many plants of the alpine zone proper appear well adapted to the low energy regimes of that zone (Bliss and Mark, 1974), but their edaphic adaptation or disturbance adaptation has not been studied in great detail; such qualities might be inferred from their micro-distribution (Mark and Bliss, 1970;Mark, 1979).…”