Biología y ecología de "Viola cazorlensis". II: uso de sustratos, reproducción y consumo por los herbívoros
1989; Spanish National Research Council; Volume: 47; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1988-3196
Autores Tópico(s)Botanical Research and Chemistry
ResumoPlant distribution among substrates and its reproductive correlates are examined for Viola cazorlensis, a reputedly chasmophilous species, in two populations of the Sierra de Cazorla (Jaen province, southeastern Spain). The species was not confined to rocky substrates. For the two populations combined, 40% of the plants were rooted in the ground (sandy soils), 39% in large, nearly horizontal rocks, and 21 % in cliffs. All reproductive aspects examined exhibited significant differences between substrates. Ground and cliff plants were similar in number of flowers produced per individual, and exceeded rock plants in this magnitude. The proportion of flowers setting fruit increased in the direction ground-rocks-cliffs. The number of fruits (capsules) eventually produced per individual increased in the direction rocksground-cliffs. The higher quality of cliffs as a substrate for V. cazorlensis depended on the fact that mammalian herbivores affected differentially plants in different substrates, heavily depressing capsule production by ground and rock plants. It is concluded that cliffs represent an enemy-free space for V. cazorlensis. Results are interpreted in relation to the demography of this species and the persistence of its populations.
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