The influence of temperature and density on the growth of communities of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L. cv. Mount Barker)

Abstract

The influence of temperature on the growth of high and low density communities of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L. cv. Mount Barker) was studied at four temperatures ranging from 12�C day/7�C night to 27�C day/22�C night. The response to temperature depended on leaf area index (LAI). When the LAI was low (0.2), growth rate increased with increasing temperature to a maximum at 22� day/ 17�C night. This agreed with the temperature response of single plants of the same species previously reported. However, when the LAI was 3 the growth rate was not influenced by temperature within the range tested. At a still higher value of LAI (5.5), the response in growth became negative with increasing temperature, communities at the highest temperature growing at only half the rate of those at the lowest. The frequency distribution of plant size in the dense communities was measured, at eight times during the experiment. The distribution was influenced by both temperature and the total dry weight of the community. At low temperature it was approximately symmetrical, but at high temperature it rapidly became asymmetric as total dry weight increased, the amount of skewness being greatest at the highest temperature and dry weight. Plant death was greatest at the high temperature. The communities were divided into five equally populated groups of ascending plant size. At high temperature the largest plants increased in size throughout the experiment, but each of the groups of smaller plants reached a maximum size, subsequently losing weight. At lower temperatures only the groups of smaller size lost weight, the number of groups losing weight depending on temperature. The distribution data were used to try to explain the interaction between temperature and LAI. It was proposed that community growth rate was best when canopy cover was complete and the distribution of plant weight was not strongly skewed.