A comparative study of the distribution of C₃ and C₄ species of Cyperaceae in South Africa in relation to climate
Bachelor Thesis
1999
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
In this study the contribution of the climatic factors such as temperature, altitude, and mean annual precipitation as well as phylogeny to the determination of the distribution of C₃ and C₄ genera of Cyperaceae in South Africa has been investigated. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the climatic factor that best predicted percent C₄ distribution. To see if the C₄ syndrome was influenced by taxonomy, the percentages of C₄ species was determined for each of the subtribes and genera. The results show that the relationship between the climatic factors and percentage of C₄ Cyperaceae species is similar to what has been found for the grasses (Vogel et al., 1978). However C₃ species of Cyperaceae seem to be abundant in most parts of South Africa. Only minimum growing season temperature showed significant correlation (P = 0.000391) with percentage C₄. The presence of the C₄ syndrome is shown to have some consistency within subfamilies, tribes and genera.
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Chuba, D. 1999. A comparative study of the distribution of C₃ and C₄ species of Cyperaceae in South Africa in relation to climate. University of Cape Town.