Abstract
We examined biomass allocation patterns throughout the entire vegetative growth phase for three species of annual plants along three separate gradients of resource availability to determine whether observed patterns of allocational plasticity are consistent with optimal partitioning theory. Individuals of the annual plant species Abutilon theophrasti, Chenopodium album, and Polygonum pensylvanicum were grown from locally field-gathered seed in controlled greenhouse conditions across gradients of light, nutrients, and water. Frequent harvests were used to determine the growth and allocation (root vs. shoot, and leaf area vs. biomass) responses of these plants over a 57-d period. Growth analysis revealed that each species displayed significant plasticity in growth rates and substantial amounts of ontogenetic drift in root:shoot biomass ratios and ratios of leaf area to biomass across each of the three resource gradients. Ontogenetically controlled comparisons of root:shoot and leaf area ratios across light ...
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