{"title":"Drought resistance does not explain epiphytic abundance of accidental epiphytes","authors":"Vincent Hoeber, Moritz Klinghardt, G. Zotz","doi":"10.1080/17550874.2020.1729888","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background Accidental epiphytism is common among vascular plants in forest ecosystems around the globe. A frequent observation in surveys of accidental epiphytes is the occurrence of few species with high epiphytic abundance, while most co-occurring terrestrial species are rarely found as epiphytes. Aims Based on the general assumption that water is the major limiting factor for epiphytic plants, we hypothesised that differences in drought resistance of accidental epiphytes explain the difference in epiphytic abundances. Methods We exposed 16 species with different epiphytic abundance in central Europe to experimentally induced drought during germination and growth of juvenile plants. Results Drought resistance differed substantially among species but did not correlate with their epiphytic abundance, neither during germination nor during juvenile growth. Conclusions In central Europe, accidental epiphytes are usually found on moss cushions or in accumulated arboreal soil on their host tree. In such water-storing substrates, water availability might be less limiting than it is for obligate epiphytes that typically grow on bare bark, which would explain the lack of a correlation between drought resistance and epiphytic abundance of the studied species. Hence, other factors must explain the consistent differences in epiphytic abundance, e.g. dispersal traits and mass effect.","PeriodicalId":1,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of Chemical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.4000,"publicationDate":"2020-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17550874.2020.1729888","citationCount":"10","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Accounts of Chemical Research","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2020.1729888","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 10
Abstract
ABSTRACT Background Accidental epiphytism is common among vascular plants in forest ecosystems around the globe. A frequent observation in surveys of accidental epiphytes is the occurrence of few species with high epiphytic abundance, while most co-occurring terrestrial species are rarely found as epiphytes. Aims Based on the general assumption that water is the major limiting factor for epiphytic plants, we hypothesised that differences in drought resistance of accidental epiphytes explain the difference in epiphytic abundances. Methods We exposed 16 species with different epiphytic abundance in central Europe to experimentally induced drought during germination and growth of juvenile plants. Results Drought resistance differed substantially among species but did not correlate with their epiphytic abundance, neither during germination nor during juvenile growth. Conclusions In central Europe, accidental epiphytes are usually found on moss cushions or in accumulated arboreal soil on their host tree. In such water-storing substrates, water availability might be less limiting than it is for obligate epiphytes that typically grow on bare bark, which would explain the lack of a correlation between drought resistance and epiphytic abundance of the studied species. Hence, other factors must explain the consistent differences in epiphytic abundance, e.g. dispersal traits and mass effect.
期刊介绍:
Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance.
Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.