Abstract

RAUBER, Ruth B; DEMARIA, Manuel R  and  STEINAKER, Diego F. Effect of the availability of water on an invasive grass of the Caldenal Region. Ecol. austral [online]. 2019, vol.29, n.1, pp.050-054. ISSN 1667-782X.

In the last years, in the semi-arid central region of Argentina, the increase of C₃ non-palatable native grass species known generally as "pajas" was observed. One possible cause of the success of these species is the increase in rainfall observed in the region in recent years. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of a greater water availability and its seasonal distribution on the biomass and the production of reproductive structures of a non-palatable and highly invasive C₃ species (Jarava ichu) and a non-palatable C₄ species (Setaria lachnea). For this, a greenhouse experiment was carried out, consisting in manual irrigation of individuals of both species in pots. Treatments were: dry year, wet year with autumnal peak and wet year with spring peak. The increase in water availability favored the biomass of leaves and stems of J. ichu, independently of the seasonal distribution, with respect to the dry year. On the contrary, the biomass of S. lachnea did not respond to the different treatments (P>0.05). Likewise, the number of panicles was greater for J. ichu under the wet year treatment with spring peak, but there were no differences for S. lachnea.

Keywords : Invasion; Phenology; Precipitations.

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