Ramona Werner, Lisa T Gasser, Matthias Steinparzer, Mathias Mayer, Iftekhar U Ahmed, Hans Sandén, Douglas L Godbold, Boris Rewald
{"title":"Early overyielding in a mixed deciduous forest is driven by both above- and below ground species-specific acclimation.","authors":"Ramona Werner, Lisa T Gasser, Matthias Steinparzer, Mathias Mayer, Iftekhar U Ahmed, Hans Sandén, Douglas L Godbold, Boris Rewald","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae150","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Mixed forest plantations are increasingly recognised for their role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and enhancing ecosystem resilience. Yet, there remains a significant gap in understanding the early-stage dynamics of species trait diversity and interspecies interactions, particularly in pure deciduous mixtures. This study aims to explore the timing and mechanisms by which trait diversity of deciduous species and competitive interactions influence yield, carbon allocation, and space occupation in mixed forests, both above- and belowground.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A forest inventory was conducted in planted monocultures, 2-species, and 4-species mixtures of European Acer, Tilia, Carpinus, and Quercus, representing a spectrum from acquisitive to conservative tree species. Competition effects were assessed with linear mixed-effects models at the level of biomass and space acquisition, including leaf, canopy, stem, and fine root traits.</p><p><strong>Key results: </strong>Early aboveground growth effects were observed six years post-planting, with significant biomass accumulation after eight years, strongly influenced by species composition. Mixtures, especially with acquisitive species, exhibited aboveground overyielding, 1.5- to 1.9-times higher than monocultures. Fine roots showed substantial overyielding in high diversity stands. Biomass allocation was species-specific and varied markedly by tree size, the level of diversity, and between acquisitive Acer and the more conservative species. No root segregation was found.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings underscore the critical role of species trait diversity in enhancing productivity in mixed deciduous forest plantations. Allometric changes highlight the need to differentiate between (active) acclimations and (passive) tree size-related changes, but illustrate major consequences of competitive interactions for the functional relation between leaves, stem, and roots. This study points towards the significant contributions of both above- and belowground components to overall productivity of planted mixed-species forests.</p>","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142279679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhisen Yan, Yue Zhou, Yuxin Lai, Yunshan Liu, Yulin Li, Yan Wang, Bo Li, Yi Wang
{"title":"Latitudinal trends in an invasive plant: genetic differentiation, phenotypic plasticity, and the effects of heavy metals and herbivores on growth, defence, and reproductive characteristics.","authors":"Zhisen Yan, Yue Zhou, Yuxin Lai, Yunshan Liu, Yulin Li, Yan Wang, Bo Li, Yi Wang","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae171","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae171","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Invasive species usually demonstrate remarkable adaptability across diverse environments, successfully inhabiting a wide variety of regions. This adaptability often links to genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity, leading to latitudinal trends in phenotypic traits. In this study, we collected seeds of invasive plant Phytolacca americana from different latitudes and planted them in homogeneous gardens to investigate the latitudinal variation of P. americana phenotypic traits and to evaluate the effects of herbivory and heavy metals on plant growth, defence, and reproductive characteristics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>P. americana seeds from different latitudes were planted in a homogeneous garden. For the experimental treatment, the seeds were divided into four groups: a heavy metal treatment group and its corresponding control group, and a cover treatment group with its corresponding control group. After the fruits matured, their growth, reproduction, and defence indicators were measured.</p><p><strong>Key results: </strong>Significant latitudinal trends were observed in P. americana's growth and defence characteristics, including changes in branch number, underground biomass, total biomass, and leaf tannin content. Compared to previous field surveys on P. americana, our study found that the latitude trends in growth structure and defence traits were consistent. But the latitudinal trend of reproductive structure is different. Moreover, heavy metals and herbivory substantially influenced the plant's growth, reproduction, and defence mechanisms, further shaping its latitudinal patterns.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The observed phenotypic variations in P. americana across latitudes can be largely attributed to the synergistic effects of phenotypic plasticity and genetic variation. At a broader geographical scale, adaptations to heavy metal stress and herbivory pressure among different P. americana populations involve distinct trade-offs related to growth, reproduction, and defence strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142279680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"New beginnings for dead ends: polyploidy, -SSE models, and the dead-end hypothesis.","authors":"Eric R Hagen, Jeremy M Beaulieu","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae143","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Since the mid-twentieth century, it has been argued by some that the transition from diploidy to polyploidy is an \"evolutionary dead end\" in plants. While this point has been debated ever since, multiple definitions of \"dead end\" have been used in the polyploidy literature without sufficient differentiation between alternative uses.</p><p><strong>Scope: </strong>Here, we focus on the two most common conceptions of the dead-end hypothesis currently discussed: the \"lowering diversification\" hypothesis and the \"rarely successful\" hypothesis. We discuss the evidence for both hypotheses, and we employ a recently developed method of inferring tip diversification rates to demonstrate tests for the effect of ploidy on diversification in Solanaceae.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We find that diversification rates in the family are not strongly correlated with ploidy or with the closely related trait of breeding system. We also outline recent work in the field that moves beyond the relatively simple question of whether polyploidy increases, decreases, or does not significantly affect diversification rates in plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142279681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ji-Hyeon Jeon, Masayuki Maki, Yu-Chung Chiang, Seung-Chul Kim
{"title":"Inferring complex evolutionary history of the closely related East Asian wild roses in Rosa sect. Synstylae (Rosaceae) based on genomic evidence from conserved orthologs","authors":"Ji-Hyeon Jeon, Masayuki Maki, Yu-Chung Chiang, Seung-Chul Kim","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae170","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Aims The section Synstylae in genus Rosa (Rosaceae) comprises 25–36 species and includes several major progenitors of modern rose cultivars. East Asian Synstylae species have recently diverged and are closely related, and their phylogenetic relationships remain unclear. In the present study, we employed a conserved ortholog set (COS) markers and genome-wide nuclear orthologs to elucidate their phylogenetic relationships and unravel their complex evolutionary history. Methods Utilising on eight Rosaceae COS (RosCOS) markers, we analysed a total of 137 accessions representing 15 East Asian Synstylae taxa to establish a robust phylogenetic framework and reconstruct ancestral areas. Furthermore, we constructed the species tree for eight representative species and estimated their divergence times based on 1,683 genome-wide orthologs. The species tree-gene tree coalescence time comparison, Patterson’s D, f4-ratio, and f-branch statistics were analysed to identify incomplete lineage sorting (ILS), genetic introgression, and reticulation events using conserved ortholog data. Key Results RosCOS markers and genome-wide orthologs effectively resolved the robust phylogeny of East Asian Rosa sect. Synstylae. Species divergence times estimated with genome-wide orthologs indicated that East Asian Synstylae species have recently diverged, with an estimated crown age of approximately 2 Mya. The rampant gene tree discordance indicated the possibility of ILS and/or genetic introgression. In the section Synstylae, deeper coalescence in the gene trees compared to the species tree suggested ILS as a source of gene tree discordance. Further, Patterson’s D and f-branch statistics indicated that several lineages in the section were involved in genetic introgression. Conclusions We have unravelled the complex evolutionary history of East Asian Rosa sect. Synstylae, including recent species divergences, ILS, and genetic introgression. Coupled with the geographical and ecological complexity of East Asia, ILS and genetic introgression may have contributed to the rapid diversification of East Asian Synstylae species by permitting adaptation to diverse environments.","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yan Sun, Jinting Zhang, Weiwei Li, Zikai Xu, Siji Wang, Manli Zhao, Jianbo Shen, Lingyun Cheng
{"title":"Regulation of maize root growth by local phosphorus availability, sucrose metabolism, and partitioning","authors":"Yan Sun, Jinting Zhang, Weiwei Li, Zikai Xu, Siji Wang, Manli Zhao, Jianbo Shen, Lingyun Cheng","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae169","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Aims Understanding how maize roots proliferate in phosphorus (P)-rich soil patches is critical for improving nutrient acquisition and crop productivity. This study explores the mechanisms of root adaptation to heterogeneous P availability, focusing on sucrose metabolism and the role of local P signals. Methods A split-root system with chambers of differing Pi concentrations (0 and 500 μM) was used to examine maize root responses. Various physiological and biochemical parameters, including root growth, sucrose partitioning, enzyme activities, and gene expression, were measured to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Key Results Root proliferation, particularly of second-order lateral roots, was markedly enhanced in P-rich patches. Sucrose was preferentially allocated to the Pi-supplied side, as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy. Sucrose content in these roots decreased, indicating active metabolism. Higher activities of cell-wall invertase and sucrose synthase were observed in the Pi-supplied roots, supporting enhanced carbohydrate utilization. Conclusions Local P availability triggers significant adjustments in sucrose metabolism and allocation, enhancing the sink capacity of maize roots in P-rich patches. These changes facilitate efficient lateral root proliferation and Pi utilization, highlighting the critical role of local P signals in nutrient acquisition strategies. This research provides deeper insights into the adaptive responses of maize to heterogeneous P environments, offering potential strategies for improving crop nutrient efficiency.","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Raquel Martins-Noguerol, Blanca Gallego-Tévar, Ignacio M Pérez-Ramos, Luis Matías, Anthony J Davy, Jesús Cambrollé
{"title":"Evaluation of direct and transgenerational influences of salinity on germination and early seedling growth in an edible halophyte, Crithmum maritimum","authors":"Raquel Martins-Noguerol, Blanca Gallego-Tévar, Ignacio M Pérez-Ramos, Luis Matías, Anthony J Davy, Jesús Cambrollé","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae168","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Aims Crithmum maritimum is a wild, edible halophyte with large potential as a cash crop for salinized soils. However, the tolerance during seed germination appears to be highly site-specific and contradictory, whereas little is known on salinity tolerance during early seedling growth. This study was aimed at characterizing variation in the responses of germination and early seedling growth in diverse C. maritimum populations along the Iberian Southwest coast. Specifically, we sought to distinguish between direct salinity effects and those influenced by the salinity of maternal environments. Methods Physicochemical properties, including salinity of maternal environments, were assessed across diverse habitats. A total of 3480 seeds from 58 mother plants were utilized. Seeds were subjected to germination assays under various salinity treatments (0-500 mM NaCl), with subsequent monitoring of germination parameters. Non-germinated seeds were tested for recovery germination, and viability was assessed using the tetrazolium test. Of germinated seeds, 1160 seedlings were monitored for survival and early growth metrics. General Linear Models were employed to analyze the effects of salinity and maternal environmental influence on germination and early growth. Key Results Despite reduced and delayed germination under salinity, seeds showed remarkable tolerance up to 150 mM, surpassing prior reports, with consistent viability up to 500 mM, indicating substantial salinity-induced dormancy. Seedling growth was more sensitive to continued treatment; no plants survived above 150 mM. The salinity experienced by maternal plants had only a marginal effect on germination but significantly contributed to reduce seedling biomass production, both above and below ground. Conclusions This study highlights the significance of maternal salinity on early growth in C. maritimum, emphasizing the species' resilience to salt stress during germination and recovery. These insights are crucial for optimizing cultivation techniques and informing research on other halophytes in saline environments.","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdussabur M Kaleh, Pooja Singh, Kah Ooi Chua, Jennifer Ann Harikrishna
{"title":"Modulation of Plant Transcription Factors and Priming of Stress Tolerance by Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria: A Systematic Review","authors":"Abdussabur M Kaleh, Pooja Singh, Kah Ooi Chua, Jennifer Ann Harikrishna","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae166","url":null,"abstract":"Background Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been shown to improve plant growth and stress tolerance through mechanisms including improved access to nutrients and biotic competition with pathogens. As such, the use of PGPB can help to address challenges to crop productivity, however, information on interactions between PGPB and their plant hosts, especially at the level of gene regulation, is distributed across diverse studies involving several different plants and PGPB. Scope For this review, we analysed recent research publications reporting specifically on plant transcription factor (TF) expression in association with PGPB, to determine if there are any common findings and to identify gaps that offer opportunities for focused future research. Conclusions The inoculation of plants with PGPB elicits a dynamic and temporal response. Initially, there is an upregulation of defence-responsive TFs, followed by their downregulation in an intermediate phase, and finally, another upregulation, providing longer term stress tolerance. PGPB-priming activates plant defences in the form of induced systemic resistance (ISR), often via the MAMP/MAPK pathways and involving one or more of the major plant hormone-signalling pathways and their crosstalk. Following PGPB-priming, the TFs families most commonly reported as expressed across different plants and for different pathogens are ERF and WRKY, while the TFs most commonly expressed across different plants for different abiotic stresses are ERF and DREB. There were inconsistencies between studies regarding the timing of the shift from the initial phase to the intermediate phase, and some of the TFs expressed during this process have not been fully characterized. This calls for more research to investigate the regulatory functions and phases of TF expression, to enhance crop resilience. Most reports on abiotic stresses have focused on salinity and drought, with fewer studies addressing nutrient deficiency, heavy metals, flooding, and other stresses, highlighting the need for further research in these areas.","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using the Montgomery-Koyama-Smith equation to calculate the stomatal area per unit lamina area for 12 Magnoliaceae species","authors":"Chunxiu Yan, Peijian Shi, Kexin Yu, Xuchen Guo, Meng Lian, Qinyue Miao, Lin Wang, Weihao Yao, Yiwen Zheng, Fuyuan Zhu, Karl J Niklas","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae165","url":null,"abstract":"Background and aims The Montgomery-Koyama-Smith (MKS) equation predicts that total leaf area per shoot is proportional to the product of the sum of individual leaf widths and maximum individual leaf length, which has been validated for some herbaceous and woody plants. The equation is also predicted to be valid in describing the relationship between the total stomatal area per micrograph (AT) and the product of the sum of individual stomatal widths (denoted as LKS) and maximum individual stomatal length (denoted by WKS) in any particular micrograph. Methods To test the validity of the MKS equation, 69,931 stomata (from 720 stomatal micrographs from 12 Magnoliaceae species) were examined. The area of each stoma was calculated using empirical measurements of stomatal length and width multiplied by a constant. Six equations describing the relationships among AT, LKS, and WKS were compared. The root-mean-square (RMSE) and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to measure the goodness of fit, and the trade-off between the goodness of fit and the structural complexity of each model, respectively. Key Results Analyses supported the validity of the MKS equation and the power-law equation AT ∝ (LKS∙WKS)α, where a is a scaling exponent. The estimated values of α at the species level and for the pooled data were all statistically smaller than unity, which did not support the hypothesis that AT ∝ LTS∙WTS. The power-law equation had smaller RMSE and AIC values than the MKS equation for the data from the 12 individual species and the pooled data. Conclusions These results indicate that AT tends to allometrically scale with LKS∙WKS, and that increases in AT do not keep pace with increases in LTS∙WTS. In addition, using the product of LKS and WKS is better than using only one of the two variables.","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":"203 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Loudmila Jelinscaia Lagou, Gudrun Kadereit, Diego F Morales-Briones
{"title":"Phylogenomic Analysis of Target Enrichment and Transcriptome Data Uncovers Rapid Radiation and Extensive Hybridization in Slipper Orchid Genus Cypripedium L","authors":"Loudmila Jelinscaia Lagou, Gudrun Kadereit, Diego F Morales-Briones","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae161","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Aims Cypripedium is the most widespread and morphologically diverse genus of slipper orchids. Despite several published phylogenies, the topology and monophyly of its infrageneric taxa remained uncertain. Here, we aimed to reconstruct a robust section-level phylogeny of Cypripedium and explore its evolutionary history using target capture data for the first time. Methods We used the orchid-specific bait set Orchidaceae963 in combination with transcriptomic data to reconstruct the phylogeny of Cypripedium based on 913 nuclear loci, covering all 13 sections. Subsequently, we investigated discordance among nuclear and chloroplast trees, estimated divergence times and ancestral ranges, searched for anomaly zones, polytomies, and diversification rate shifts, and identified potential gene (genome) duplication and hybridization events. Key Results All sections were recovered as monophyletic, contrary to the two subsections within sect. Cypripedium. The two subclades within this section did not correspond to its subsections but matched the geographic distribution of their species. Additionally, we discovered high levels of discordance in the short backbone branches of the genus and within sect. Cypripedium, which can be attributed to hybridization events detected based on phylogenetic network analyses, and incomplete lineage sorting caused by rapid radiation. Our biogeographic analysis suggested a Neotropical origin of the genus during the Oligocene (~30 Ma), with a lineage of potentially hybrid origin spreading to the Old World in the Early Miocene (~22 Ma). The rapid radiation at the backbone likely occurred in Southeast Asia around the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (~15–13 Ma), followed by several independent dispersals back to the New World. Moreover, the Pliocene-Quaternary glacial cycles may have contributed to further speciation and reticulate evolution within Cypripedium. Conclusions Our study provided novel insights into the evolutionary history of Cypripedium based on high-throughput molecular data, shedding light on the dynamics of its distribution and diversity patterns from its origin to the present.","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142257066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carlos A Ordóñez-Parra, Natália F Medeiros, Roberta L C Dayrell, Soizig Le Stradic, Daniel Negreiros, Tatiana Cornelissen, Fernando A O Silveira
{"title":"Seed functional ecology in Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation: an integrative synthesis.","authors":"Carlos A Ordóñez-Parra, Natália F Medeiros, Roberta L C Dayrell, Soizig Le Stradic, Daniel Negreiros, Tatiana Cornelissen, Fernando A O Silveira","doi":"10.1093/aob/mcae160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae160","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Rock outcrop vegetation is distributed worldwide and hosts a diverse and unique flora that evolved under harsh environmental conditions. Unfortunately, seed ecology in such ecosystems has received little attention, especially regarding seed traits, germination responses to abiotic factors and the potential role of phylogenetic relatedness on such features Here, we provide the first quantitative and phylogenetically-informed synthesis of the seed functional ecology of Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation, with a particular focus on quartzitic and ironstone campo rupestre.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a database of functional trait data, we calculated the phylogenetic signal of seven seed traits for 371 taxa and tested whether they varied among growth forms, geographic distribution, and microhabitats. We also conducted meta-analyses that included 4,252 germination records for 102 taxa to assess the effects of light, temperature, and fire-related cues on the germination of campo rupestre species and explored how the aforementioned ecological groups and seed traits modulate germination responses.</p><p><strong>Key results: </strong>All traits and germination responses showed a moderate-to-strong phylogenetic signal. Campo rupestre species responded positively to light and had maximum germination between 20-25 ºC. The effect of temperatures beyond this range was moderated by growth form, species geographic distribution, and microhabitat. Seeds exposed to heat shocks above 80 °C lost viability, but smoke accelerated germination. We found a moderating effect of seed mass for in responses to light and heat shocks, with larger, dormant seeds tolerating heat better but less sensitive to light. Species from xeric habitats evolved phenological strategies to synchronise germination during periods of increased soil water availability.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Phylogenetic relatedness plays a major role in shaping seed ecology of Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation. Nevertheless, seed traits and germination responses varied significantly between growth forms, species geographic distribution and microhabitats, providing support to the regeneration niche hypothesis and the role of functional traits in shaping germination in these ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":8023,"journal":{"name":"Annals of botany","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142153016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}