Control of Relative Abundance of Perennials in Chalk Grassland in Southern England. III. Shoot Phenology

Abstract

(1) The shoot phenology of five graminoid and five dicotyledonous species is described from the time-course of leaf birth and death on marked individuals (tillers and rosettes) in chalk grassland in Sussex at intervals between February 1982 and March 1983. (2) Pronounced seasonal patterns in leaf number per unit studied were found for the dicotyledons but were much less obvious for the graminoids; shoot phenological patterns are more likely to be expressed at the level of tiller populations. (3) Considerable variation in the cycles of leaf birth and death were found for all species; differences in phase of these cycles results in the phenological patterns observed for leaf number. (4) It is concluded that interspecific differences in shoot phenology, particularly in relation to early-season and asynchronous growth, may be of significance in the determination of relative abundance of perennials in chalk grassland.