Water status of plants under strips management in shrub-grass steppe of Southern Patagonia

Abstract

In the province of Santa Cruz Junellia tridens shrublands cover 2,8 million ha. These cummunities grow on site with coarser textured soil are dominated by 60-70 cm tall shrubs. Water is the most important factor regulating primary production. No prior studies of shrubland management to improve grass and animal production have been conducted in the region. Therefore, the objetive of this work was to determine the water status (a surrogate of plant response) of shrubs, tussocks, and short grasses of a shrub-grass steppe ecosystem under ship management.