Plant Ecology in a Changing World
  • Topics
    • Topic Overview
    • Biomes and Climates in a Changing World >
      • Adaptation, biodiversity, and environment
      • Climate constrains plant distributions
      • Biome and climate relationships
      • Deserts
      • Grassland, savanna, and shrub biomes
      • Forest biomes
      • Alpine and tundra biomes
    • Plant adaptation >
      • Plant microclimate 1
      • Plant microclimate 2
      • Leaf energy budgets
      • Water movement through the soil-plant continuum
      • Principles of photosynthesis
      • Photosynthesis responses to light and temperature
      • Environmental stresses limit resource capture and use
      • Nutrients in the environment
      • Adaptation to environmental stress
    • Resource Allocation Changes with Environment >
      • Architecture and canopy processes
      • Plant phenology and resource allocation enhance performance
      • Leaf economic spectrum
      • Life history and reproduction
      • Defense against herbivory
      • Plant competition
    • Plant Responses to a Changing World >
      • Global changes occurring today
      • Invasive species
      • Atmospheric CO2 impacts plant
      • C3/C4 photosynthesis and climate
      • Climate change and the global carbon cycle
      • Climate warming and its impacts
    • Engineering Plant Communities >
      • Remember Utah's past and envision our future
      • Restoration ecology
      • Managed ecosystems
      • Utah urban ecology
      • Urban ecological futures
  • Assignments
    • Assignment Overview
    • Discussion
    • Problem sets
    • Ecology & Global Changes
    • Plant ecology policy
    • Defense of policy
    • Exam #1
    • Exam #2
  • Campus
    • Campus Overview
    • Grasses
    • Green infrastructure >
      • GI Overview
      • Stormwater >
        • GI 1
        • GI 2
        • GI 3
        • GI 4
        • GI 10
      • Green roof
      • Pollinator >
        • Pollinator species
    • Trees of the Wasatch
    • Shrubs of the Wasatch
    • Invasives
  • Biomes
    • Biome Overview
    • Climate diagrams
    • Vegetation sight-seeing trip
    • Biome images
  • Models
  • Lab

C3 and C4 grasses across campus

On our campus, you will find both C3 and C4 grasses. Some of the grasses have been planted by university staff to provide floristic diversity, some are native, some are invasive. In this walk and exercise, we will explore some of this photosynthetic, life form, and geographic diversity.
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Campus grasses walk
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Distinguishing C3 vs C4 and bunch vs sod grasses
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Species list for grasses walk
By the end of this walk, students will have been introduced to a dozen grasses and be able to (a) distinguish C3 and C4 grasses on the basis of looking at a leaf tear with a 10-20X hand lens, (b) distinguish between sod grasses and bunch grasses (also known as tussock grasses), and (c) recognize invasive grasses commonly seen on campus.

Click here to download instructional material for this walk.

If you wish to take this walk on your own and would like to hear what will be described on this walk, click here to send Jim a message to receive the YOUTUBE link.

Click here to download questions to be answered on this campus walk.
Jim Ehleringer, University of Utah