Ecology 6th Edition by Manuel Molles

Exercise 8

Where would you place the following plant species, in Grime's and in Winemiller and Rose's classifications of life histories (see figs. 12.20 and 12.21) The plant species lives in an environment where it has access to plenty of water and nutrients but is subject to disturbance by flooding and wind. An average individual produces several million seeds per year and may live several centuries. However, ideal conditions for reproduction by the species occurs only once or twice per decade.

Figure 12.20 Grime's classification of plant life history strategies (after Grime 1979).

Figure 12.21 Classification of life histories based on juvenile survival, l x , fecundity, m x , and age at reproductive maturity, (after Winemiller and Rose 1992).