Diagram of the experiment 1.

Diagrammatic presentation of Sporobolusvirginicus horizontal apical rhizomes segments consisting in rhizome interconnections and nodes, at the start of the experiment. In the disturbed treatments, the position (third, sixth or twelfth internode from the apical meristem) at which the rhizome was artificially disconnected from the parent clone is indicated with parallel lines. In the control (undisturbed), the point at which the rhizome was tagged is indicated with a curved arrow. The apical portion considered in this experiment is showed in black whereas the rest of the rhizome portion connected to parent clone is showed in grey. In the burial treatments, the apical rhizome portion covered by sand is indicated with a shadowed area.