Abiotic factors modulate phenotypic plasticity in an apomictic shrub [Miconia albicans (SW.) Triana] along a soil fertility gradient in a Neotropical savanna

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cibele S. Bedetti ◽  
Débora B. Aguiar ◽  
Maria C. Jannuzzi ◽  
Maria Z. D. Moura ◽  
Fernando A. O. Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
High Plasticity ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Heterogeneous Habitats ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

Phenotypic plasticity is an important means by which plants cope with environmental heterogeneity; therefore, understanding variation in plant traits in heterogeneous habitats is important to predict responses to changing environments. In this study, we examined the patterns of intraspecific variation in leaf traits of Miconia albicans (Melastomataceae), a widespread, obligatory apomictic shrub, across a soil fertility gradient in the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna). We predicted high plasticity because selection favours high phenotypic plasticity in asexual populations with low genetic variability. Leaves were sampled in campo sujo (grassland), cerrado (savanna) and cerradão (woodland) in south-eastern Brazil during both dry and rainy seasons to calculate leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf tissue thickness, trichome and stomata density. We found significant between-season variation in leaf traits, indicating that the production of season-specific leaves is a strategy to cope with the strong seasonality. Both multivariate analysis and the relative distance plasticity index indicate lower plasticity during the dry season, especially under shade. Our results show that the phenotypic plasticity can be modulated by changes in abiotic factors and the combination of shade and drought can limit the expression of phenotypic plasticity.

scholarly journals Does plant architectural complexity increase with increasing habitat complexity? A test with a pioneer shrub in the Brazilian Cerrado

2013 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
FAO Silveira ◽  
EG Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Ecological Gradients ◽  
Higher Plant ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Heterogeneous Habitats ◽  
Neotropical Savannas

Understanding variation in plant traits in heterogeneous habitats is important to predict responses to changing environments, but trait-environment associations are poorly known along ecological gradients. We tested the hypothesis that plant architectural complexity increases with habitat complexity along a soil fertility gradient in a Cerrado (Neotropical savanna) area in southeastern Brazil. Plant architecture and productivity (estimated as the total number of healthy infructescences) of Miconia albicans (SW.) Triana were examined in three types of vegetation which together form a natural gradient of increasing soil fertility, tree density and canopy cover: grasslands (campo sujo, CS), shrublands (cerrado sensu strico, CE) and woodlands (cerradão, CD). As expected, plants growing at the CS were shorter and had a lower branching pattern, whereas plants at the CD were the tallest. Unexpectedly, however, CD plants did not show higher architectural complexity compared to CE plants. Higher architectural similarity between CE and CD plants compared to similarity between CS and CE plants suggests reduced expression of functional architectural traits under shade. Plants growing at the CE produced more quaternary shoots, leading to a larger number of infructescences. This higher plant productivity in CE indicates that trait variation in ecological gradients is more complex than previously thought. Nematode-induced galls accounted for fruit destruction in 76.5% infructescences across physiognomies, but percentage of attack was poorly related to architectural variables. Our data suggest shade-induced limitation in M. albicans architecture, and point to complex phenotypic variation in heterogeneous habitats in Neotropical savannas.

scholarly journals Effects of Heterogeneous Environment After Deforestation on Plant Phenotypic Plasticity of Three Shrubs Based on Leaf Traits and Biomass Allocation

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinniu Wang ◽  
Jing Gao ◽  
Yan Wu ◽  
Bo Xu ◽  
Fusun Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Carbon Content ◽  
Nitrogen Content ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Biomass Allocation ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Heterogeneous Environment

Phenotypic plasticity among natural plant populations is a species-specific ecological phenomenon of paramount importance that depends on their life forms, development stages, as well as environmental factors. While this phenomenon is broadly understood, it has hardly been observed in nature. This study aimed at understanding phenotypic plasticity and ecological adaptability in three shrubs (Salix etosia, Rubus setchuenensis, and Hydrangea aspera) affected by potential environmental variables after deforesting in sparse Larix spp. forest and tall shrub mixed secondary forests. Soil organic carbon content, total nitrogen content, and available nitrogen content were greater outside the forests, contrary to other measured factors whose availability was higher in the forest interiors. In case of leaf traits and stoichiometric indicators, there were significant interactions of leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter (DW), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf phosphorus content (LPC) between shrub species and heterogeneous environments (P < 0.05) but not for leaf C/N, N/P, and C/P. Principal components analysis (PCA) indicated that soil temperature, pH value, soil carbon content, soil nitrogen content, and MBC and MBN mainly constituted the first component. Summarized results indicated that TB and leaf C/P of S. etosia were significantly correlated with three principal components, but only marginal significant correlations existed between R/S and relevant components. SLA and R/S of R. setchuenensis had marginal significant relationships with independent variables. Both SLA and TB of H. aspera were significantly correlated with three principal components. Based on the pooled values of leaf functional traits and leaf stoichiometric indicators, R. setchuenensis (vining type) had better leaf traits plasticity to adapt to a heterogeneous environment. In descending order, the ranks of biomass allocation plasticity index of three shrubs were H. aspera (bunch type), R. setchuenensis (vining type), and S. etosia (erect type). The highest integrated plasticity values of leaf traits and biomass allocation was observed in H. aspera (bunch type), followed by R. setchuenensis, and by S. etosia with less adaptive plasticity in heterogeneous environments.

Do leaf traits in two Dalbergia species present differential plasticity in relation to light according to their habitat of origin?

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (8) ◽  
pp. 592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Silvia Franco Pinheiro Moreira ◽  
Ana Clara Luppi Queiroz ◽  
Fernanda de Vasconcelos Barros ◽  
Maíra Figueiredo Goulart ◽  
José Pires de Lemos-Filho
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Stomatal Density ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Light Interception ◽  
High Plasticity ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Palisade And Spongy Parenchyma ◽  
Changing Light

The phenotypic plasticity to light of two congeneric species of leguminous trees from distinct habitats was evaluated in a common-garden experiment. For that, we assessed the following two groups of leaf morphological and anatomical traits of 1-year-old seedlings: (1) traits related to light interception (tissues thickness and leaflet mass per area), and (2) traits related to gas exchange (number of leaflets per leaf and measurements of stomatal size and density). Dalbergia nigra (Vell.) Allemão ex Benth. is an endemic Atlantic forest species, and D. miscolobium Benth. is a typical cerrado species. Both were grown under shade and full-sunlight conditions. The phenotypic plasticity of leaves was determined by a relative distance plasticity index (RDPI). For both species, sun leaflets were thicker than shade ones, and only D. nigra presented lower values for stomatal density (nst), percentage of the leaflet area occupied by stomatal pores (nast) and estimated stomatal conductance (gst) under shade conditions. The forest species (D. nigra) had higher plasticity for variables related to gas exchange (number of leaflets per leaf, nst, ast, nast and gst), whereas the cerrado species (D. miscolobium) had higher plasticity for variables related to light interception, such as leaflet mass per area, leaflet thickness and palisade and spongy parenchyma thickness. The degree of plasticity was different for each analysed parameter, and not used to define which species is more plastic. The leaf traits of D. nigra and D. miscolobium that showed high plasticity were related to resources that are not limiting to improve its photosynthesis in a changing light environment.

Seed availability constrains plant species sorting along a soil fertility gradient

2010 ◽  
pp. no-no ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan L. Foster ◽  
Erin J. Questad ◽  
Cathy D. Collins ◽  
Cheryl A. Murphy ◽  
Timothy L. Dickson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Sorting ◽  
Seed Availability ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

scholarly journals Variation in wood nutrients along a tropical soil fertility gradient

2016 ◽  
Vol 211 (2) ◽  
pp. 440-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine D. Heineman ◽  
Benjamin L. Turner ◽  
James W. Dalling
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Tropical Soil ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

scholarly journals Changes of ground vegetation after shelter wood cuttings in pine forests, the hemiboreal zone, Lithuania

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitas Marozas
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Site Conditions ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Indicator Values ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

Sustainable forestry plays an important role in applying forest management measures. In many forests, management is oriented towards closer natural forest processes. Silvicultural systems that retain some part of the trees in the stand, such as shelter wood cuttings have been introduced. The aim of the study was to evaluate the early changes of ground vegetation after shelter wood cuttings in sites of different soil fertility gradient in pine dominated stands on sandy soils in the European hemiboreal zone. The Scots pine stands in which first step of shelter wood cuttings was applied were investigated. The stands were selected in fresh (normal humidity) sites according to soil fertility gradient: very poor, poor and medium fertility soils. All mosses, lichens, herbaceous vegetation and dwarf shrubs were recorded, and projection cover was estimated in June - August. Ellenberg’s indicator figures were used to evaluate site conditions. In shelter wood cuttings (5-6-year-old) the number of species was higher in medium fertile sites than in very poor sites. After shelter wood cuttings the abundance of herbaceous species increased in all sites, while the abundance of mosses and lichens decreased. Within the first year after shelter wood cuttings, the abundance of Ericaceae species decreased, and abundance of Rosaceae and Poaceae species increased. Average Ellenberg’s indicator values showed that site conditions changed after shelter wood cuttings. The changes were more intensive in medium fertile sites than in poor sites. After shelter wood cuttings the richness and abundance of ground vegetation changed. The intensity of change differed in sites of certain soil fertility and was caused by alteration of site conditions, which were more homogenous in sites of the certain fertility in uncut stands than in cuttings. Key words: herbs, mosses, non-clear cuttings, vegetation

scholarly journals Changes in fungal communities along a boreal forest soil fertility gradient

2015 ◽  
Vol 207 (4) ◽  
pp. 1145-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Sterkenburg ◽  
Adam Bahr ◽  
Mikael Brandström Durling ◽  
Karina E. Clemmensen ◽  
Björn D. Lindahl
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

Lack of host specificity leads to independent assortment of dipterocarps and ectomycorrhizal fungi across a soil fertility gradient

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 807-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kabir G. Peay ◽  
Sabrina E. Russo ◽  
Krista L. McGuire ◽  
Zhenyu Lim ◽  
Ju Ping Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Host Specificity ◽  
Ectomycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Independent Assortment ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient
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