scholarly journals Studies of NH4+ and NO3- uptake ability of subalpine plants and resource-use strategy identified by their functional traits

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Legay Nicolas ◽  
Grassein Fabrice ◽  
Arnoldi Cindy ◽  
Segura Raphaël ◽  
Laîné Philippe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽  
Peak Biomass ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Environmental Variations

AbstractThe leaf economics spectrum (LES) is based on a suite of leaf traits related to plant functioning and ranges from resource-conservative to resource-acquisitive strategies. However, the relationships with root traits, and the associated belowground plant functioning such as N uptake, including nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+), is still poorly known. Additionally, environmental variations occurring both in time and in space could uncouple LES from root traits. We explored, in subalpine grasslands, the relationships between leaf and root morphological traits for 3 dominant perennial grass species, and to what extent they contribute to the whole-plant economics spectrum. We also investigated the link between this spectrum and NO3- and NH4+ uptake rates, as well as the variations of uptake across four grasslands differing by the land-use history at peak biomass and in autumn. Although poorly correlated with leaf traits, root traits contributed to an economic spectrum at the whole plant level. Higher NH4+ and NO3- uptake abilities were associated with the resource-acquisitive strategy.Nonetheless, NH4+ and NO3- uptake within species varied between land-uses and with sampling time, suggesting that LES and plant traits are good, but still incomplete, descriptors of plant functioning. Although the NH4+: NO3- uptake ratio was different between plant species in our study, they all showed a preference for NH4+, and particularly the most conservative species. Soil environmental variations between grasslands and sampling times may also drive to some extent the NH4+ and NO3- uptake ability of species. Our results support the current efforts to build a more general framework including above- and below-ground processes when studying plant community functioning.

scholarly journals A direct comparison of ecological theories for predicting the relationship between plant traits and growth

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Goud ◽  
Anurag Agrawal ◽  
Jed Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Plant Height ◽  
Growth Analysis ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Total Leaf Area ◽  
Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽  
Total Leaf ◽  
Whole Plant

Abstract Despite long-standing theory for classifying plant ecological strategies, limited data directly links organismal traits to whole-plant growth. We compared trait-growth relationships based on three prominent theories: growth analysis, Grime’s CSR triangle, and the leaf economics spectrum (LES). Under these schemes, growth is hypothesized to be predicted by traits related to biomass investments, leaf structure or gas exchange, respectively. In phylogenetic analyses of 30 diverse milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) and 21 morphological and ecophysiological traits, growth rate varied 50-fold and was best predicted by growth analysis and CSR traits, as well as total leaf area and plant height. Despite two LES traits correlating with growth, they contradicted predictions and leaf traits did not scale with root and stem characteristics. Thus, although combining leaf traits and whole-plant allocation best predicts growth, when destructive measures are not feasible, we suggest total leaf area and plant height, or easy-to-measure traits associated with the CSR classification.

How well do seed production traits correlate with leaf traits, whole-plant traits and plant ecological strategies?

Plant Ecology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 215 (11) ◽  
pp. 1351-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Pierce ◽  
Arianna Bottinelli ◽  
Ilaria Bassani ◽  
Roberta M. Ceriani ◽  
Bruno E. L. Cerabolini
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Production Traits ◽  
Ecological Strategies ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Plant Ecological

scholarly journals Shoot–Root Interplay Mediates Defoliation-Induced Plant Legacy Effect

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiliang Li ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Fenghui Guo ◽  
Junjie Duan ◽  
Juan Sun
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Leymus Chinensis ◽  
Shoot Biomass ◽  
Grassland Species ◽  
Legacy Effect ◽  
Trait Plasticity ◽  
Grassland Plants ◽  
Defoliation Treatment

Shoot defoliation by grazers or mowing can affect root traits of grassland species, which may subsequently affect its aboveground traits and ecosystem functioning (e.g., aboveground primary production). However, experimental evidence for such reciprocal feedback between shoots and roots is limited. We grew the perennial grass Leymus chinensis–common across the eastern Eurasian steppe–as model species in a controlled-hydroponics experiment, and then removed half of its shoots, half of its roots, or a combination of both. We measured a range of plant aboveground and belowground traits (e.g., phenotypic characteristics, photosynthetic traits, root architecture) in response to the shoot and/or root removal treatments. We found the regenerated biomass was less than the lost biomass under both shoot defoliation and root severance, generating a under-compensatory growth. Root biomass was reduced by 60.11% in the defoliation treatment, while root severance indirectly reduced shoot biomass by 40.49%, indicating a feedback loop between shoot and root growth. This defoliation-induced shoot–root feedback was mediated by the disproportionate response and allometry of plant traits. Further, the effect of shoot defoliation and root severance on trait plasticity of L. chinensis was sub-additive. That is, the combined effects of the two treatments were less than the sum of their independent effects, resulting in a buffering effect on the existing negative influences on plant persistence by increased photosynthesis. Our results highlight the key role of trait plasticity in driving shoot–root reciprocal feedbacks and growth persistence in grassland plants, especially perennial species. This knowledge adds to earlier findings of legacy effects and can be used to determine the resilience of grasslands.

scholarly journals The leaf economics spectrum’s morning coffee: plant size-dependent changes in leaf traits and reproductive onset in a perennial tree crop

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R Martin ◽  
Marney E Isaac
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Leaf Mass ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Reproductive Onset ◽  
Leaf Economics

Abstract Background and Aims Size-dependent changes in plant traits are an important source of intraspecific trait variation. However, there are few studies that have tested if leaf trait co-variation and/or trade-offs follow a within-genotype leaf economics spectrum (LES) related to plant size and reproductive onset. To our knowledge, there are no studies on any plant species that have tested whether or not the shape of a within-genotype LES that describes how traits covary across whole plant sizes, is the same as the shape of a within-genotype LES that represents environmentally driven trait plasticity. Methods We quantified size-dependent variation in eight leaf traits in a single coffee genotype (Coffea arabica var. Caturra) in managed agroecosystems with different environmental conditions (light and fertilization treatments), and evaluated these patterns with respect to reproductive onset. We also evaluated if trait covariation along a within-genotype plant-size LES differed from a within-genotype environmental LES defined with trait data from coffee growing in different environmental conditions. Key Results Leaf economics traits related to resource acquisition – maximum photosynthetic rates (A) and mass-based leaf nitrogen (N) concentrations – declined linearly with plant size. Structural traits – leaf mass, leaf thickness, and leaf mass per unit area (LMA) – and leaf area increased with plant size beyond reproductive onset, then declined in larger plants. Three primary LES traits (mass-based A, leaf N and LMA) covaried across a within-genotype plant-size LES, with plants moving towards the ‘resource-conserving’ end of the LES as they grow larger; in coffee these patterns were nearly identical to a within-genotype environmental LES. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that a plant-size LES exists within a single genotype. Our findings indicate that in managed agroecosystems where resource availability is high the role of reproductive onset in driving within-genotype trait variability, and the strength of covariation and trade-offs among LES traits, are less pronounced compared with plants in natural systems. The consistency in trait covariation in coffee along both plant-size and environmental LES axes indicates strong constraints on leaf form and function that exist within plant genotypes.

scholarly journals Traits controlling shade tolerance in tropical montane trees

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisée Bahati Ntawuhiganayo ◽  
Félicien K Uwizeye ◽  
Etienne Zibera ◽  
Mirindi E Dusenge ◽  
Camille Ziegler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Shade Tolerance ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Tolerant Species ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Shade Tolerant Species

Abstract Tropical canopies are complex, with multiple canopy layers and pronounced gap dynamics contributing to their high species diversity and productivity. An important reason for this complexity is the large variation in shade tolerance among different tree species. At present, we lack a clear understanding of which plant traits control this variation, e.g., regarding the relative contributions of whole-plant versus leaf traits or structural versus physiological traits. We investigated a broad range of traits in six tropical montane rainforest tree species with different degrees of shade tolerance, grown under three different radiation regimes (under the open sky or beneath sparse or dense canopies). The two distinct shade-tolerant species had higher fractional biomass in leaves and branches while shade-intolerant species invested more into stems, and these differences were greater under low radiation. Leaf respiration and photosynthetic light compensation point did not vary with species shade tolerance, regardless of radiation regime. Leaf temperatures in open plots were markedly higher in shade-tolerant species due to their low transpiration rates and large leaf sizes. Our results suggest that interspecific variation in shade tolerance of tropical montane trees is controlled by species differences in whole-plant biomass allocation strategy rather than by difference in physiological leaf traits determining leaf carbon balance at low radiation.

scholarly journals Testing models for the leaf economics spectrum with leaf and whole-plant traits inArabidopsis thaliana

AoB Plants ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. plv049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Blonder ◽  
François Vasseur ◽  
Cyrille Violle ◽  
Bill Shipley ◽  
Brian J. Enquist ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Leaf Economics

scholarly journals PocketMaize: An Android-Smartphone Application for Maize Plant Phenotyping

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingbo Liu ◽  
Lejun Yu ◽  
Dan Wu ◽  
Junli Ye ◽  
Hui Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Plant Phenotyping ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
Calibration Algorithm ◽  
Trait Measurement

A low-cost portable wild phenotyping system is useful for breeders to obtain detailed phenotypic characterization to identify promising wild species. However, compared with the larger, faster, and more advanced in-laboratory phenotyping systems developed in recent years, the progress for smaller phenotyping systems, which provide fast deployment and potential for wide usage in rural and wild areas, is quite limited. In this study, we developed a portable whole-plant on-device phenotyping smartphone application running on Android that can measure up to 45 traits, including 15 plant traits, 25 leaf traits and 5 stem traits, based on images. To avoid the influence of outdoor environments, we trained a DeepLabV3+ model for segmentation. In addition, an angle calibration algorithm was also designed to reduce the error introduced by the different imaging angles. The average execution time for the analysis of a 20-million-pixel image is within 2,500 ms. The application is a portable on-device fast phenotyping platform providing methods for real-time trait measurement, which will facilitate maize phenotyping in field and benefit crop breeding in future.

Effect of species, root branching order and season on the root traits of 13 perennial grass species

2011 ◽  
Vol 353 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 47-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Picon-Cochard ◽  
Rémi Pilon ◽  
Emilie Tarroux ◽  
Loïc Pagès ◽  
Jean Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Branching Order ◽  
Root Branching ◽  
Root Branching Order

Hymenachne acutigluma (Steud.) Gilliland in GBS 20:314 - An exceptionally important perennial grass for anatomy and indigenous practice.

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (04) ◽  
pp. 4958
Author(s):  
Dulal De
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Secondary Growth ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Stem Anatomy

Hymenachne acutigluma (Steud.) Gilliland, a robust rhizomatous perennial grass spreads on moist and swampy land and also floating in water. Being a grass species, they do not have any cambium for secondary growth. A peculiarity in stem anatomy especially the spongy pith of secondary tissues found in absence of the cambium. The origin and development of the parenchymatous pith tissues has been investigated in the present study. Economically this spongy pith is of very much potent for its high absorbing and filtering capacity and also used as a good fodder.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document