scholarly journals Stress causes interspecific facilitation within a compost community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elze Hesse ◽  
Siobhan O'Brien ◽  
Adela M. Luján ◽  
Dirk Sanders ◽  
Florian Bayer ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 234
Author(s):  
Xiaojin Zou ◽  
Zhanxiang Sun ◽  
Ning Yang ◽  
Lizhen Zhang ◽  
Wentao Sun ◽  
...  

Intercropping is commonly practiced worldwide because of its benefits to plant productivity and resource-use efficiency. Belowground interactions in these species-diverse agro-ecosystems can greatly contribute to enhancing crop yields; however, our understanding remains quite limited of how plant roots might interact to influence crop biomass, photosynthetic rates, and the regulation of different proteins involved in CO2 fixation and photosynthesis. We address this research gap by using a pot experiment that included three root-barrier treatments with full, partial and no root interactions between foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P.Beauv.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) across two growing seasons. Biomass of millet and peanut plants in the treatment with full root interaction was 3.4 and 3.0 times higher, respectively, than in the treatment with no root interaction. Net photosynthetic rates also significantly increased by 112–127% and 275–306% in millet and peanut, respectively, with full root interaction compared with no root interaction. Root interactions (without barriers) contributed to the upregulation of key proteins in millet plants (i.e. ribulose 1,5-biphosphate carboxylase; chloroplast β-carbonic anhydrase; phosphoglucomutase, cytoplasmic 2; and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase) and in peanut plants (i.e. ribulose 1,5-biphosphate carboxylase; glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; and phosphoglycerate kinase). Our results provide experimental evidence of a molecular basis that interspecific facilitation driven by positive root interactions can contribute to enhancing plant productivity and photosynthesis.


Paleobiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily G. Mitchell ◽  
Nicholas J. Butterfield

AbstractBedding-plane assemblages of Ediacaran fossils from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, are among the oldest known records of complex multicellular life on Earth (dated to ~565 Ma). The in situ preservation of these sessile but otherwise deeply enigmatic organisms means that statistical analyses of specimen positions can be used to illuminate their underlying ecological dynamics, including the interactions between taxa.Fossil assemblages on Mistaken Point D and E surfaces were mapped to millimeter accuracy using differentiated GPS. Spatial correlations between 10 well-defined taxa (Bradgatia, Charniid,Charniodiscus,Fractofusus, Ivesheadiomorphs, Lobate Discs,Pectinifrons,Plumeropriscum,Hiemalora, andThectardis) were identified using Bayesian network inference (BNI), and then described and analyzed using spatial point-process analysis. BNI found that the E-surface community had a complex web of interactions and associations between taxa, with all but one taxon (Thectardis) interacting with at least one other. The unique spatial distribution ofThectardissupports previous, morphology-based arguments for its fundamentally distinct nature. BNI revealed that the D-surface community showed no interspecific interactions or associations, a pattern consistent with a homogeneous environment.On the E surface, all six of the abundant taxonomic groups (Fractofusus,Bradgatia, Charniid,Charniodiscus,Thectardis, andPlumeropriscum) were found to have a unique set of interactions with other taxa, reflecting a broad range of underlying ecological responses. Four instances of habitat associations were detected between taxa, of which two (Charniodiscus–PlumeropriscumandPlumeropriscum–Fractofusus) led to weak competition for resources. One case of preemptive competition between Charniid and Lobate Discs was detected. There were no instances of interspecific facilitation. Ivesheadiomorph interactions mirror those ofFractofususandCharniodiscus, identifying them as a form-taxonomic grouping of degradationally homogenized taphomorphs. The absence of increased fossil abundance in proximity to these taphomorphs argues against scavenging or saprophytic behaviors dominating the E-surface community.


2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1549) ◽  
pp. 2127-2135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Huxham ◽  
Marappullige P. Kumara ◽  
Loku P. Jayatissa ◽  
Ken W. Krauss ◽  
James Kairo ◽  
...  

Mangroves are intertidal ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. At the low tidal limits of their range, they face swamping by rising sea levels; at the high tidal limits, they face increasing stress from desiccation and high salinity. Facilitation theory may help guide mangrove management and restoration in the face of these threats by suggesting how and when positive intra- and interspecific effects may occur: such effects are predicted in stressed environments such as the intertidal, but have yet to be shown among mangroves. Here, we report the results of a series of experiments at low and high tidal sites examining the effects of mangrove density and species mix on seedling survival and recruitment, and on the ability of mangroves to trap sediment and cause surface elevation change. Increasing density significantly increased the survival of seedlings of two different species at both high and low tidal sites, and enhanced sediment accretion and elevation at the low tidal site. Including Avicennia marina in species mixes enhanced total biomass at a degraded high tidal site. Increasing biomass led to changed microenvironments that allowed the recruitment and survival of different mangrove species, particularly Ceriops tagal .


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Medina

AbstractSilkworm conditioning systems are widely popular due to enhancements observed in productivity and in resource efficiencies. However, limited knowledge is available on how intra-gut interspecific collaboration between the work and gut bacteria affects silk dry matter biomass production. The study was to study how gut bacteria, specifically fermicutes boost the dry silk production in Bombyx mori by altruistic/symbiotic interactions.Materials and methodsGreenhouse experiments were carried out to test the yield, biomass, nutrient uptake, parameters of gut morphology traits and glycolysis in 2017, the experiment included three treatments: no barrier treatment (NB) allowing complete gut collaboration, mesh barrier (MB) of partial gut collaboration and solid barrier (SB) without any exchanges of water and nutrients and gut collaboration.ResultsThe yield of silk production was increased by 53.6% and 27.8% in the treatments with complete gut collaborations compared to that without gut collaborations. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) acquisitions of silk proteins were 1.71, 1.97 and 1.47 times for silkworm, and 1.25, 1.21, and 1.19 times for firmicutes in complete gut collaborations as high as in no gut collaborations, respectively. The length and surface area was increased by 42.9% and 43.6% for silkworm, 62.4% and 58.8% for firmicutes in complete gut collaborations compared to that in no gut collaborations. The worm length, leave number and net photosynthetic rate of silkworm were significantly boosted, while there is no significant effect on firmicutes.ConclusionsThe improvement of yield and nutrient acquisition may result from silkworm morphological and functional pliability induced from altruistic collaborations of firmicutes. The results would contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the response of silkworm and firmicutes to the gut collaboration on the basis of interspecific facilitation for silkworm/firmicutes system.


Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan J. Raath‐Krüger ◽  
Christian Schöb ◽  
Melodie A. McGeoch ◽  
Peter C. le Roux

Nature ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 415 (6870) ◽  
pp. 426-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley J. Cardinale ◽  
Margaret A. Palmer ◽  
Scott L. Collins

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Stacy Zhang ◽  
Rachel K. Gittman ◽  
Sarah E. Donaher ◽  
Stacy N. Trackenberg ◽  
T. van der Heide ◽  
...  

Restoration is increasingly utilized as a strategy to stymie the loss of coastal habitats. Coastal habitat restoration has predominantly emphasized designs that minimize physical stress and competition. As evidence of the pervasiveness of this approach, we conducted a global survey of seagrass restorationers and found a strong affinity for stress-avoidant designs with adult shoots in dispersed rather than aggregated configurations. To test the alternative hypothesis that including positive interactions can enhance restoration success, we experimentally incorporated: (i) interspecific facilitation (clam additions) into seed sowing, and (ii) both intra- and interspecific facilitation (planting a single-large versus multiple-small patches and adding clams) into shoot planting. Clam additions to seeds significantly enhanced plant biomass and patch size; and nutrient analysis suggested the causative mechanism was clam enhancement of available nitrogen. In contrast, adult outplant growth was enhanced by intra- but not inter-specific facilitation. Dispersed configurations consistently declined, whereas large-intact patches, which had the same initial biomass as dispersed plots, increased in patch area and doubled in shoot density. These results demonstrate that expanding restoration strategies to include positive interactions with respect to seagrass ontogeny has the capability to switch the trajectory of restoration from failure to success.


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