Components of relative growth rate and sensitivity to nitrogen availability in annual and perennial species of Bromus.

Two grass species, the annual Bromus sterilis and the perennial Bromus erectus, were grown from seeds for 28 days in a hydroponic culture system at 1 and 100 μM NO3- in the nutrient solution. At 100 μM NO3-, the relative growth rate (RGR) of the perennial was 30% lower than that of the annual. This was only the consequence of the higher specific mass of its leaves, since its leaf mass ratio was higher than that of the annual and the unit leaf rates (ULR), calculated on an area basis, were similar for the two species. At 1 μM, the RGR of the annual was 50% lower than at 100 μM, while that of the perennial was not significantly lower. This was due mainly to a lower ULR for the annual. while for the perennial ULR was the same in both treatments. These differences between the two species were all the more striking in that the differences in total nitrogen concentrations and nitrate reductase activities between the two treatments were very similar for both species. These different responses together with differences in the nitrogen productivity of the two species suggest that the level of nutrient availability may play an important role in the distribution of these Bromus species in natural habitats.