Buried but unsafe – defoliation depletes the underground storage organ (USO) of the mesic grassland geophyte, Hypoxis hemerocallidea

• Published in: bioRxiv
• Main Author: Morris, Craig D
• Format: Paper
• Language: English
• Published: Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 19.03.2021; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Edition: 1.1
• Subjects: Biomass; Burning; Carbohydrates; Corms; Defoliation; Ecology; Flowers; Forbs; Grasslands; Grazing; Hypoxis; Livestock; Minerals; Mowing; Photosynthesis; Rhizomes; Rootstocks; Species richness; Stocking rates; Storage organs; Trampling; Underground storage; fire; overgrazing; belowground biomass; biodiversity; forbs

Abstract Mesic grasslands in South Africa (> 650 mm a-1 MAP) are rich in herbaceous forbs, which outnumber grass species by more than 5 to 1. Many of these forbs have underground storage units (USOs), such as thickened rootstocks, rhizomes, bulbs, or corms, that provide resources (non-structural...