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Evaluation of the population dynamics of the forage legume (Lotus corniculatus), using matrix population models

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1999

K. M. EMERY
Affiliation:
Plant Sciences Unit, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA (fax +1 706 542 1262; e-mail [email protected]).
P. BEUSELINCK
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS, Plant Genetics Research Unit, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
J. T. ENGLISH
Affiliation:
Plant Sciences Unit, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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Abstract

The population dynamics of perennial crop plants are influenced by numerous factors, including management practices. Conditions in the field vary from year to year, and matrix population models are useful for evaluating population behaviour in relation to environmental variability. In Missouri, the stand persistence of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), a perennial legume, is often limited by disease and poor seed production. A stage-based, matrix population model was developed to evaluate the population dynamics of birdsfoot trefoil in relation to clipping treatment. The plant growth stages represented in the model were seeds, seedlings, mature vegetative and reproductive plants. Two phases of population growth were evaluated in clipped and unclipped stands. Establishment-phase populations were characterized by relatively high mortality and low reproduction. Elasticity analysis indicated that growth of these populations was most sensitive to the survival of vegetative plants. Mature vegetative plants and seeds comprised the majority of surviving individuals in clipped and unclipped populations, respectively; however, establishment-phase populations under both management treatments tended toward extinction. Populations in the post-establishment phase of growth were characterized by relatively low mortality and high reproduction. Population growth in this phase of growth was most sensitive to seed production, and most individuals in these populations were at the seed stage.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Trustees of the New Phytologist 1999

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