The Ecophysiology of Veronica Chamaedrys, V. Montana and V. Officinalis. IV. Effects of Shading on Nutrient Allocations--A Field Experiment

Veronica chamaedrys, V. montana and V. officinalis were grown outside, in a loam/grit soil, for 18 months either in full light or subject to canopy shading. Y. officinalis failed to grow in shade. Vegetative and reproductive organs were analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and ash. The proportion of the total amount of a particular element in a plant that is allocated to a specific organ can be expressed as a quotient of the proportion of total plant biomass (i.e. carbon) allocated to that organ. The allocation index (AI) was calculated for each element and each organ (...)