Comparative Phenology and Growth in Three Chaparral Shrubs

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Abstract
The seasonality of Mediterranean-climate shrublands in California [USA] is reflected in the progression of physiological and phenological characteristics of the dominant shrub species. The progression of phenological stages and plant water stress was followed for 2 yr in 3 dominant chaparral shrubs, Adenostoma fasciculatum, Ceanothus cuneatus and Arctostaphylos viscida, in the foothills of Sequoia National Park. Ceanothus has a simultaneous progression of phenological stages; branch elongation, leaf initiation and flowering occur together. In Adenostoma, vegetative and reproductive growth are sequential. Arctostaphylos has a protracted sequence of reproductive development with flower buds forming in late spring of the season before flowering. Physiological plant functions have seasonal cycles in which some stages are more vulnerable to environmental perturbations than others.

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