Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought
Includes bibliographical references.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Biological Sciences
2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613916590243840 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Skelton, Robert Paul |
| author2 | West, Adam |
| author_browse | Skelton, Robert Paul West, Adam |
| author_facet | West, Adam Skelton, Robert Paul |
| author_sort | Skelton, Robert Paul |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Includes bibliographical references. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13033 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:45.215Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Biological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Biological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13033 The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought Skelton, Robert Paul West, Adam Botany Includes bibliographical references. This dissertation is an investigation into the relevance of the hydraulic framework (sensu McDowell et al., 2008) in understanding the response of diverse communities to drought. This framework distinguishes species that respond to dehydration by rapidly decreasing stomatal conductance (gs) (isohydric), thereby maintaining relatively constant midday minimum water potential, from those that maintain relatively high gs (anisohydric), thereby maintaining carbon assimilation albeit at the cost of hydraulic dysfunction. However, currently, the importance of the hydraulic framework in explaining drought response in diverse communities is poorly understood. Drought-related plant mortality is of particular concern in South Africa’s fynbos biome, a global biodiversity hotspot. This Mediterranean-type region is predicted to experience an increase in drought, with unknown consequences for the endemic flora. We asked whether drought affected this diverse ecosystem in a predictable manner and if these patterns fit with existing frameworks of plant drought-mortality mechanisms. 2015-05-28T12:31:53Z 2015-05-28T12:31:53Z 2014 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13033 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Botany Skelton, Robert Paul The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| title_full | The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| title_fullStr | The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| title_short | The role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| title_sort | role of hydraulic strategies in understanding the response of fynbos to drought |
| topic | Botany |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13033 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT skeltonrobertpaul theroleofhydraulicstrategiesinunderstandingtheresponseoffynbostodrought AT skeltonrobertpaul roleofhydraulicstrategiesinunderstandingtheresponseoffynbostodrought |