| ABSTRACT Previous ecological studies of dioecious plant species have found that female plants preferentially occur at lower altitudes where there are typically better nutritional conditions, while male plants often occur in less favorable sites. We compared the ecophysiological performance of male and female plants in three populations of the dioecious Baccharis concinna, an endemic species of rupestrian grasslands of Serra do Cipó, in southeastern Brazil. We hypothesized that physiological differences between the sexes would explain the distribution patterns of the populations. Analyses of the tissue content of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and sodium (Na), and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, were used to assess nutritional status and... |
