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EFFECTS OF ULTRAVIOLET-B RADIATION ON PLANT COMPETITION IN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
Citation:
Gold, W. AND M. Caldwell. EFFECTS OF ULTRAVIOLET-B RADIATION ON PLANT COMPETITION IN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-83/110 (NTIS PB84124916), 1983.
Description:
Evidence regarding the interaction of ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280-320 nm) radiation and plant competition in terrestrial ecosystems is examined. The competitive interactions of some species pairs were affected even by ambient solar UV-B radiation (as exists without ozone depletion), when compared to control pairs grown without UV-B. Also the total shoot biomass of these species pairs was depressed under ambient UV-B. Recent field experiments have examined the competitive interactions of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and wild oat (Avena fatua) under a simulated increased UV-B regime resulting from a 16% ozone layer reduction when weighted with the generalized plant action spectrum. This increase in UV-B altered the competitive interactions of these two species without affecting the total shoot biomass production of the species pair.