Abstract
Plasticity of growth and of biomass allocation was investigated in three populations of Galium aparine during the summer annual life-cycle in their habitats (one arable field, two forest sites). Ontogenetic drift of relative growth rate, biomass allocation as well as biomass and seed production were closely related to the light factor differing between the three ecosystems. Allocation between vegetative and reproductive growth was characterized by a complete switch at the start of the reproductive phase in the most light-limited (forest) population and by a large overlap under more favourable conditions (arable field). Biomass allocation among the vegetative organs was strongly dependent on total biomass of the individuals. Phenotypic and genotypic components of variation could not be separated under the chosen experimental design. Some of the differences, however, seemed to be due to phenotypic plasticity. Multivariate comparisons revealed that the entire allocation patterns of the forest populations were rather similar at the date of peak vegetative biomass, but differed substantially from the agrestal population.
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