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"ecophysiology"
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Twelve years of low nutrient input stimulates growth of trees and dwarf shrubs inthe treeline ecotone
1. Almost all natural terrestrial ecosystems are nutrient limited in terms of growth, and we expect treeline vegetation to be no exception. However, direct constraints of low temperature on tissue formation may superimpose effects of low nutrient availability. 2. We examined growth responses of two tree (Larix decidua and Pinus uncinata) and two dwarf shrub species (Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium gaultherioides) to 12 years of moderate fertilizer addition (NPK applied at a rate of 15 and 30 kg nitrogen ha⁻¹ a⁻¹) along an elevation gradient within the treeline ecotone in the Swiss Alps (2,083 to 2,225 m a.s.l.). We measured annual top- and side-shoot increments as well as stem ring width in trees and shoot increments in dwarf shrubs. 3. Fertilizer addition increased soil nutrient availability, indicated by enhanced soil extractable N, higher concentrations of N, P and K in leaves and higher foliar δ¹⁵N. 4. Fertilizer addition stimulated annual growth of all four species: by 11%-20% for L. decidua and 15%-36% for P. uncinata (depending on trait) and by 8%-16% for the two dwarf shrub species. Growth stimulation by the higher fertilizer dose was not significantly stronger than by the lower dose (except for V. gaultherioides), suggesting an overall low nutrient demand for growth and saturation at a rather low nutrient input. 5. Synthesis. Even slightly enhanced nutrient availability can stimulate growth of trees and dwarf shrubs in an alpine treeline ecosystem. Ongoing atmospheric nutrient deposition, in conjunction with global warming, may accelerate plant growth at the treeline.
Journal Article
No carbon \bet hedging\ in pine seedlings under prolonged summer drought and elevated CO
1. More frequent drought episodes are expected to cause higher mortality in isohydric tree species such as pines, because individuals close their stomata early during drought in order to maintain constant needle water potentials. It has been suggested that trees delay the ensuing carbon starvation by actively storing carbon at the expense of growth (\"bet hedging\"). Because such a strategy is only adaptive in drought-prone regions, we hypothesise that the degree of carbon \"bet hedging\" should differ between ecotypes. 2. We repeatedly measured the allocation of biomass, starch and soluble sugars to needles, stem and roots in seedlings of nine populations of Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra along a gradient from Central Europe to the Mediterranean. During two consecutive growing seasons, seedlings grown from seed were exposed to factorial combinations of 4 months of drought (D1, D2) and ambient/elevated CO₂ (aCO₂/eCO₂). 3. Drought-stressed pine seedlings did neither increase starch concentrations, nor change biomass production or experience lower mortality under eCO₂ compared to aCO₂. By the end of D2, seedlings from drier origin had accumulated more starch but at the same time also more biomass than seedlings from wetter origin. 4. Surprisingly, seedlings acclimatised to dry conditions after D1 so that mortality dropped to zero and drought effects on needle starch (P. sylvestris) and overall starch (P. nigra), respectively, disappeared after D2. 5. Synthesis, The absence of a trade-off between carbon storage (starch) and growth (biomass), and the patterns of mortality observed in seedlings growing under combined drought and eCO₂ do not support the theory of carbon \"bet hedging\" in isohydric Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra. Results suggest that reduced growth and acclimatisation minimised seedling mortality in the second year. Acclimatisation might thus enable pine seedlings to resist a moderate increase in summer drought frequency expected in the future.
Journal Article
FUTURE DIRECTIONS: Ecological effects of artificial light at night on wild plants
1. Plants use light as a source of both energy and information. Plant physiological responses to light, and interactions between plants and animals (such as herbivory and pollination), have evolved under a more or less stable regime of 24-h cycles of light and darkness, and, outside of the tropics, seasonal variation in day length. 2. The rapid spread of outdoor electric lighting across the globe over the past century has caused an unprecedented disruption to these natural light cycles. Artificial light is widespread in the environment, varying in intensity by several orders of magnitude from faint skyglow reflected from distant cities to direct illumination of urban and suburban vegetation. 3. In many cases, artificial light in the night-time environment is sufficiently bright to induce a physiological response in plants, affecting their phenology, growth form and resource allocation. The physiology, behaviour and ecology of herbivores and pollinators are also likely to be impacted by artificial fight. Thus, understanding the ecological consequences of artificial light at night is critical to determine the full impact of human activity on ecosystems. 4. Synthesis. Understanding the impacts of artificial night-time light on wild plants and natural vegetation requires linking the knowledge gained from over a century of experimental research on the impacts of light on plants in the laboratory and glasshouse with knowledge of the intensity, spatial distribution, spectral composition and timing of light in the night-time environment. To understand fully the extent of these impacts requires conceptual models that can (i) characterize the highly heterogeneous nature of the night-time light environment at a scale relevant to plant physiology; and (ii) scale physiological responses to predict impacts at the level of the whole plant, population, community and ecosystem.
Journal Article
Correction: Does Ecophysiology Determine Invasion Success? A Comparison between the Invasive Boatman Trichocorixa verticalis verticalis and the Native Sigara lateralis (Hemiptera, Corixidae) in South-West Spain
Please see correct Figure 1 here: thumbnail Download: * PPT PowerPoint slide * PNG larger image * TIFF original image Figures Citation: Coccia C, Calosi P, Boyero L, Green AJ, Bilton DT (2013) Correction: Does Ecophysiology Determine Invasion Success? A Comparison between the Invasive Boatman Trichocorixa verticalis verticalis and the Native Sigara lateralis (Hemiptera, Corixidae) in South-West Spain. No competing interests declared.
Journal Article
Digging deeper
The emergence of critical zone (CZ) science has provided an integrative platform for investigating plant ecophysiology in the context of landscape evolution, weathering and hydrology. The CZ lies between the top of the vegetation canopy and fresh, chemically unaltered bedrock and plays a pivotal role in sustaining life. We consider what the CZ perspective has recently brought to the study of plant ecophysiology. We specifically highlight novel research demonstrating the importance of the deeper subsurface for plant water and nutrient relations. We also point to knowledge gaps and research opportunities, emphasising, in particular, greater focus on the roles of deep, nonsoil resources and how those resources influence and coevolve with plants as a frontier of plant ecophysiological research.
Journal Article