Solar ultraviolet radiation as an ecological factor for alpine plants

Author:

Caldwell, Martyn M.

Title:

Solar ultraviolet radiation as an ecological factor for alpine plants

Periodical:

Ecological Monographs

Year:

1968

Volume:

38

Pages:

243-268

Subject:

Ultraviolet radiation Mountain ecology

Summary:

This study was done in an effort to determine if ultraviolet radiation, (UV), is an important environmental factor for alpine plants as studies have shown that many plant morphological and physiological responses to the UV have ranged from changes in stem height and flower development to effects on cytoplasmic viscosity, photosynthesis, and nutrient intake. However, little had been done to evaluate solar UV as a natural environmental factor for plants. As a result, the objectives of this paper were to determine the quantitative characterization of the alpine UV climate with respect to biologically effective wavelengths, to evaluate the effect of excluding UV from the natural alpine plant community, and to investigate the possible adaptations of alpine plants to relatively intense solar UV.

Label:

Ecology

URL:

http://cletus.uhh.hawaii.edu:2074/10.2307/1942430

Collection:

Periodicals