Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study

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dc.contributor.advisorBond, William Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorFebruary, Edmund Cen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorShabane, Tireloen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-11-10T06:32:55Z
dc.date.available2017-11-10T06:32:55Z
dc.date.issued2008en_ZA
dc.date.updated2017-03-10T14:46:26Z
dc.description.abstractOne of the central goals of plant ecology is to understand the factors that control the local distribution of plant species and thus the composition of communities. The aim of this study is to determine plant functional traits that can be associated with drought tolerance/avoidance and to test whether wood density is a good indicator of drought tolerance. The study was carried out in Kruger National Park in the month of June. A number of plant traits including wood density, leaf thickness, leaf life span/longevity and water potential were measured along a rainfall gradient (from south to north of the park). Wood density and water potential did not show any significant differences between the wet and dry sites. Leaf thickness and percent leaf cover showed significant correlations with the rainfall gradient (p=0.00 and 0.02 respectively). Wood density may not be the single most important factor that confers fitness during drought. Tolerance in plants may come about as a result of the interplay between plant traits and site characteristics that may result in the differential response even in plants that may be deemed drought tolerant.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationShabane, T. (2008). <i>Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26120en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationShabane, Tirelo. <i>"Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26120en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationShabane, T. 2008. Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Shabane, Tirelo AB - One of the central goals of plant ecology is to understand the factors that control the local distribution of plant species and thus the composition of communities. The aim of this study is to determine plant functional traits that can be associated with drought tolerance/avoidance and to test whether wood density is a good indicator of drought tolerance. The study was carried out in Kruger National Park in the month of June. A number of plant traits including wood density, leaf thickness, leaf life span/longevity and water potential were measured along a rainfall gradient (from south to north of the park). Wood density and water potential did not show any significant differences between the wet and dry sites. Leaf thickness and percent leaf cover showed significant correlations with the rainfall gradient (p=0.00 and 0.02 respectively). Wood density may not be the single most important factor that confers fitness during drought. Tolerance in plants may come about as a result of the interplay between plant traits and site characteristics that may result in the differential response even in plants that may be deemed drought tolerant. DA - 2008 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2008 T1 - Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study TI - Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26120 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/26120
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationShabane T. Plant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case study. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2008 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26120en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBotanyen_ZA
dc.titlePlant traits and drought tolerance in the savanna : a Kruger National Park case studyen_ZA
dc.typeBachelor Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelHonours
dc.type.qualificationnameBSc (Hons)en_ZA
uct.type.filetype
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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