Fig. 7.

Plant p/c ratios (A), protein contents (B), and carbohydrate contents (C) collected from field sites in Bolivia (pink), Paraguay (blue), and Argentina (purple). Boxplots are interquartile ranges with the median shown as a bold line and mean as an X. The small dots are the raw data points. In panel A, values above the 1:1 line are protein-biased (more protein than carbohydrate). There were significant main effects of plant type and country on plant p:c ratios and protein. Graminoids had lower p:c and protein values than forbs or woody vegetation, as represented by the bars and lower-case letters in panel A and B. Bolivia plants had lower p:c and protein values than Paraguay and Argentina (Tukey posthoc analysis not shown). For more statistical details, see the section Plant collection and nutrient assays.