scholarly journals Unraveling plant strategies in tidal marshes by investigating plant traits and environmental conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilla Schulte Ostermann ◽  
Maike Heuner ◽  
Elmar Fuchs ◽  
Stijn Temmerman ◽  
Ken Schoutens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Plant Strategies

A model of stomatal closure driven by nonlinearities in soil-plant hydraulics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Wankmüller ◽  
Mohsen Zarebanadkouki ◽  
Andrea Carminati
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Leaf Water Potential ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Stomatal Closure ◽  
Leaf Water ◽  
Optimization Models ◽  
Soil Conditions

<p>Predicting plant responses to drought is a long-standing research goal. Since stomata regulate gas-exchange between plants and the atmosphere, understanding their response to drought is fundamental. Current predictions of stomatal behavior during drought mainly rely on empirical models. These models may suit well to a specific set of plant traits and environmental growth conditions, but their predictive value is doubtful when atmospheric and soil conditions change. Stomatal optimization offers an alternative framework to predict stomatal regulation in response to drought for varying environmental conditions and plant traits. Models which apply this optimization principle posit that stomata maximize the carbon gain in relation to a penalty caused by water loss, such as xylem cavitation. Optimization models have the advantage of requiring a limited number of parameters and have been successfully used to predict stomatal response to drought for varying environmental conditions and species. However, a mechanism that enables stomata to optimally close in response to water limitations, and more precisely to a drop in the ability of the soil-plant continuum to sustain the transpiration demand, is not known. Here, we propose a model of stomatal regulation that is linked to abscisic acid (ABA) dynamics (production, degradation and transport) and that allows plants to avoid excessive drops in leaf water potential during soil drying and increasing vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The model assumes that: 1) stomatal conductance (g<sub>s</sub>) decreases when ABA concentration close to the guard cells (C<sub>ABA</sub>) increases; 2) C<sub>ABA</sub> increases with decreasing leaf water potential (due to higher production); and 3) C<sub>ABA</sub> decreases with increasing photosynthesis (e.g. due to faster degradation or transport to the phloem). Our model includes simulations of leaf water potential based on transpiration rate, soil water potential and variable hydraulic conductances of key elements (rhizosphere, root and xylem), and a function linking stomatal conductance to assimilation. It was tested for different soil properties and VPD. The model predicts that stomata close when the relation between assimilation and leaf water potential becomes nonlinear. In wet soil conditions and low VPD, when there is no water limitation, this nonlinearity is controlled by the relation between stomatal conductance and assimilation. In dry soil conditions, when the soil hydraulic conductivity limits the water supply, nonlinearity is controlled by the excessive drop of leaf water potential for increasing transpiration rates. The model predicts different relations between stomatal conductance and leaf water potential for varying soil properties and VPD. For instance, the closure of stomata is more abrupt in sandy soil, reflecting the steep decrease in hydraulic conductivity of sandy soils. In summary, our model results in an optimal behavior, in which stomatal closure avoids excessive (nonlinear) decrease in leaf water potential, similar to other stomatal optimization models. As based on ABA concentration which increases with decreasing leaf water potential but declines with assimilation, this model is a preliminary attempt to link optimization models to a physiological mechanism.</p>

scholarly journals Blue Mood for Superfood

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1934578X1300800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Taulavuori ◽  
Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto ◽  
Valtteri Hyöky ◽  
Erja Taulavuori
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Blue Light ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Yield Improvement ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Bioactive Phytochemicals ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
First Time

The term superfood refers to food with high levels of either nutrient or bioactive phytochemicals with human health benefits. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds in plants that provide their color, flavor and odor. Phenolic compounds form the major constituents of phytochemicals. Plant traits in phytochemical production are tightly bound with the genome while modified markedly by the environmental conditions. Here, we studied the effect of supplemented blue light on the production of several phenolics in the leaves of tomato, basil and parsley, which are widely cultivated food plant species. The results indicated doubled or higher increases in the accumulation of several species-specific phenolic acids or flavonoids. In conclusion, we showed for the first time, that supplemented blue light results in high yield improvement of phytochemicals related to superfood products.

Linking plant strategies and plant traits derived by radiative transfer modelling

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teja Kattenborn ◽  
Fabian Ewald Fassnacht ◽  
Simon Pierce ◽  
Javier Lopatin ◽  
John Philip Grime ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Plant Strategies ◽  
Transfer Modelling

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 Intraspecific Variation In Plant Economic Traits Predicts Trembling Aspen Resistance To A Generalist Insect Herbivore

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay J. Morrow ◽  
Samuel J. Jaeger ◽  
Richard L. Lindroth
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Insect Herbivore ◽  
Economic Traits ◽  
Plant Strategies ◽  
Leaf Economics Spectrum ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Generalist Insect ◽  
Leaf Economics

Abstract Patterns of trait expression within some plant species have recently been shown to follow patterns described by the leaf economics spectrum paradigm. Resistance to herbivores is also expected to covary with leaf economics traits. We selected multiple mature Populus tremuloides genotypes from a common garden to assess whether aspen leaf economics patterns follow those observed among species globally. We also evaluated leaf economics strategies in the context of insect resistance by conducting bioassays to determine the effects of plant traits on preference and performance of Lymantria dispar. We found that: 1) intraspecific trait patterns of P. tremuloides parallel those exhibited by the interspecific leaf economics spectrum, 2) herbivores preferred leaves from genotypes with resource-acquisitive strategies, and 3) herbivores also performed best on genotypes with resource-acquisitive strategies. We conclude that a leaf economics spectrum that incorporates defense traits is a useful tool for explaining intraspecific patterns of variation in plant strategies, including resistance to herbivores.

scholarly journals Vegetation and hydrology stratification as proxies to estimate methane emission from tidal marshes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kyle Derby ◽  
Brian A. Needelman ◽  
Ana A. Roden ◽  
J. Patrick Megonigal
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Plant Community Composition ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sulfate Depletion

AbstractDirect measurement of methane emissions is cost-prohibitive for greenhouse gas offset projects, necessitating the development of alternative accounting methods such as proxies. Salinity is a useful proxy for tidal marsh CH4 emissions when comparing across a wide range of salinity regimes but does not adequately explain variation in brackish and freshwater regimes, where variation in emissions is large. We sought to improve upon the salinity proxy in a marsh complex on Deal Island Peninsula, Maryland, USA by comparing emissions from four strata differing in hydrology and plant community composition. Mean CH4 chamber-collected emissions measured as mg CH4 m−2 h−1 ranked as S. alterniflora (1.2 ± 0.3) ≫ High-elevation J. roemerianus (0.4 ± 0.06) > Low-elevation J. roemerianus (0.3 ± 0.07) = S. patens (0.1 ± 0.01). Sulfate depletion generally reflected the same pattern with significantly greater depletion in the S. alterniflora stratum (61 ± 4%) than in the S. patens stratum (1 ± 9%) with the J. roemerianus strata falling in between. We attribute the high CH4 emissions in the S. alterniflora stratum to sulfate depletion likely driven by limited connectivity to tidal waters. Low CH4 emissions in the S. patens stratum are attributed to lower water levels, higher levels of ferric iron, and shallow rooting depth. Moderate CH4 emissions from the J. roemerianus strata were likely due to plant traits that favor CH4 oxidation over CH4 production. Hydrology and plant community composition have significant potential as proxies to estimate CH4 emissions at the site scale.

scholarly journals Plants signal the time

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeenat B Noordally ◽  
Antony N Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Model Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Rotation Of The Earth ◽  
Agricultural Food ◽  
Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana

Plants are generally sessile photosynthetic autotrophs; they depend on light for their existence and cannot move to escape challenging environmental conditions. This means that the lives of plants are intimately linked to daily fluctuations in environmental conditions caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis. As a result, circadian regulation has an incredibly pervasive influence upon plant physiology, metabolism and development. For example, around 30% of the transcriptome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is circadian regulated. In plants, the circadian clock influences processes of crucial importance such as photosynthesis, opening of the stomatal pores that allow gas exchange with the atmosphere, plant growth rates and organ position. It also contributes to the seasonal regulation of flowering. Taken together, this means that the circadian clock influences plant traits that are crucial to agricultural food production.

Linking plant strategies (CSR) and remotely sensed plant traits

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teja Kattenborn ◽  
Javier Lopatin ◽  
Fabian Fassnacht ◽  
Sebastian Schmidtlein
Keyword(s):  
Plant Traits ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Plant Strategies

scholarly journals High Small-Scale Variation of Leaf Traits And Their Plasticity Within And Among Genotypes of A Clonal Species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vello Jaaska
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Clonal Species

Abstract Genetic variation of plant traits and their phenotypic plasticity are two supplementary ways of plant adaptation to temporarily fluctuating and spatially heterogeneous environmental conditions. Genetic variability and plasticity of leaf traits have been studied extensively as important indicators of the plant survival. In the case of clonal species with a patchy local distribution of clonal individuals, it would be important to investigate leaf traits at a small spatial scale. Here, small-scale variability of leaf traits and their plasticity within and among clonally spread genotypes in small 2 x 2 m plots was examined on the example of the clonal legume Trifolium alpestre. Seven leaf traits, leaflet length, area, width, fresh and dry weights, dry matter content (LDMC), and specific leaf area (SLA), were measured for ramets of various clonal genotypes sampled from five natural populations of T. alpestre. High variation of leaf traits and their plasticity was detected among the individual ramets of genotypes in 2 x 2 m plots of within the same population, as well as differential variation among the genotypes from different populations. The extent of variation in leaf traits and plasticity was found to be specific for the particular trait, genotype and site. The observed high variation of leaf traits and their plasticity within and among the clonally spread genotypes in local sites of populations is attributed to their differential combined response on the small-scale heterogeneity in the habitat conditions and genetic factors. High variation of leaf traits and their plasticity allows plants effectively respond to spatiotemporally fluctuating environmental conditions.

Vibration Isolator System for Electron Microscope

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-183
Author(s):  
K. Ohi ◽  
M. Mizuno ◽  
T. Kasai ◽  
Y. Ohkura ◽  
K. Mizuno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Vibration Isolator ◽  
Air Conditioners ◽  
Vibration Isolators ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Electron Microscopes

In recent years, with electron microscopes coming into wider use, their installation environments do not necessarily give their performance full play. Their environmental conditions include air-conditioners, magnetic fields, and vibrations. We report a jointly developed entirely new vibration isolator which is effective against the vibrations transmitted from the floor.Conventionally, large-sized vibration isolators which need the digging of a pit have been used. These vibration isolators, however, are large present problems of installation and maintenance because of their large-size.Thus, we intended to make a vibration isolator which1) eliminates the need for changing the installation room2) eliminates the need of maintenance and3) are compact in size and easily installable.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document