Soil P availability limits legume persistence and distribution in the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region

• Main Author: Power, Simon C
• Other Authors: Chimphango, SBM
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Botany
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11841

Includes abstract. === Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-83). === Legumes are unable to persist through post-fire succession in fynbos vegetation of the CFR unlike species in families such as Proteaceae and Restionaceae. The majority of fynbos legumes are seeders which tend to be shorter-lived than co-occurring resprouters. Seeders are likely to have a higher nutrient requirement than resprouters as they tend to invest more biomass- above ground, grow faster and produce more seed. In the oligo-trophic soils occupied by fynbos, symbiotic N2-fixation enables legumes to overcome low N availability but not low P availability. I hypothesized that: legumes are less effective at acquiring P from sparingly soluble sources compared with members of Proteaceae and Restionaceae ; legume seeders occupy soils with a higher nutrient status than resprouters. P-acquisition strategies of legumes and non-legumes were assessed.