New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts
Frost resistance of the New Zealand narrow-leaved snow tussock
grass, Chionochloa rigida
Peter Bannister
Department of Botany
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
Abstract The frost resistance of tillers of Chionochloa
rigida was measured at various dates and locations from late winter
(August 2004) to early summer (December 2004). Frost resistance changed
in accord with season, geographic location, and position on the tiller
and was strongly related to estimated minimum temperatures at the date
and site of collection. Foliar frost resistance was –21°C in late
winter and –10°C in summer; leaf sheaths and bases were less frost
resistance than laminas. The strong dependence on temperature suggests
that the frost resistance of C. rigida would adjust to
prevailing temperatures during a period of global warming, although it
might render C. rigida more susceptible to episodic frosts. On
a global scale, C. rigida is less frost resistant than many
temperate pasture grasses and cereals and shows some affinity with
tropical alpine vegetation.
Keywords frost resistance; tussock; grass; Chionochloa
rigida; temperature, New Zealand
B04049; Received 8 December 2004; accepted 28 February 2005; Online
publication date 5 May 2005
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2005, Vol. 43: 425–430
0028–825X/05/4302–0425 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2005
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