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Xie Y, Hua Y, Zhang J, Wei W, Yin B. Brandt's vole ( Lasiopodomys brandtii) affects the dominant position of three gramineous species by altering defense traits and interspecific competition. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70086. [PMID: 39091336 PMCID: PMC11293948 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Rodents can cause considerable changes in plant community composition. However, relationships between shifts in species dominance and plant functional traits caused by rodents have seldom been investigated, especially for belowground functional traits. In this study, a set of enclosures was constructed to analyze the effects of 10 years of Brandt's voles' activities on the defense strategies and dominant position changes of three gramineous plants (Leymus chinensis, Stipa krylovii, and Cleistogenes squarrosa) in Inner Mongolia. Here, we measured the dominance, biomass, and fourteen functional traits of three plants. The effects of Brandt's voles on dominance, biomass, and functional traits were analyzed, and then we explored the effect of functional traits on plant dominance by using the structural equation model. Results showed that long-term feeding by Brandt's voles resulted in a significant decrease in the dominance of L. chinensis and S. krylovii, whereas C. squarrosa was positively affected. The belowground biomass of L. chinensis and S. krylovii was higher in the vole treatment, which showed that they were increasing their escape characteristics. The leaf thickness of L. chinensis and the leaf C:N ratio of S. krylovii significantly increased, while the specific leaf area of C. squarrosa significantly decreased. All three gramineous showed increased resistance traits in response to Brandt's voles, which positively affected their dominance. Tolerance-related traits of S. krylovii significantly increased, with the increasing growth rate of root length contributing to enhancing its dominance. We highlight that selective feeding by rodents led to the selection of different defense strategies by three gramineous plants, and that changes in biomass allocation and functional traits in the different species affected plant dominance, driving changes in the plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjin Xie
- College of Bioscience and BiotechnologyYangzhou UniversityYangzhouChina
| | - Yongle Hua
- College of Bioscience and BiotechnologyYangzhou UniversityYangzhouChina
| | - Jiading Zhang
- College of Bioscience and BiotechnologyYangzhou UniversityYangzhouChina
| | - Wanhong Wei
- College of Bioscience and BiotechnologyYangzhou UniversityYangzhouChina
| | - Baofa Yin
- College of Bioscience and BiotechnologyYangzhou UniversityYangzhouChina
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Yang X, Shen K, Xia T, He Y, Guo Y, Wu B, Han X, Yan J, Jiao M. Invasive and Native Plants Differentially Respond to Exogenous Phosphorus Addition in Root Growth and Nutrition Regulated by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12112195. [PMID: 37299174 DOI: 10.3390/plants12112195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Plant invasion has severely damaged ecosystem stability and species diversity worldwide. The cooperation between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant roots is often affected by changes in the external environment. Exogenous phosphorus (P) addition can alter the root absorption of soil resources, thus regulating the root growth and development of exotic and native plants. However, it remains unclear how exogenous P addition regulates the root growth and development of exotic and native plants mediated by AMF, affecting the exotic plant invasion. In this experiment, the invasive plant Eupatorium adenophorum and native plant Eupatorium lindleyanum were selected and cultured under intraspecific (Intra-) competition and interspecific (Inter-) competition conditions, involving inoculation with (M+) and without AMF (M-) and three different levels of P addition including no addition (P0), addition with 15 mg P kg-1 soil (P15), and addition with 25 mg P kg-1 soil (P25) for the two species. Root traits of the two species were analyzed to study the response of the two species' roots to AMF inoculation and P addition. The results showed that AMF significantly promoted the root biomass, length, surface area, volume, tips, branching points, and carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and P accumulation of the two species. Under M+ treatment, the Inter- competition decreased the root growth and nutrient accumulation of invasive E. adenophorum but increased the root growth and nutrient accumulation of native E. lindleyanum relative to the Intra- competition. Meanwhile, the exotic and native plants responded differently to P addition, exhibiting root growth and nutrient accumulation of invasive E. adenophorum increased with P addition, whereas native E. lindleyanum reduced with P addition. Further, the root growth and nutrition accumulation of native E. lindleyanum were higher than invasive E. adenophorum under Inter- competition. In conclusion, exogenous P addition promoted the invasive plant but reduced the native plant in root growth and nutrient accumulation regulated by AMF, although the native plant outcompeted the invasive plant when the two species competed. The findings provide a critical perspective that the anthropogenic P fertilizer addition might potentially contribute to the successful invasion of exotic plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xionggui Yang
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Kaiping Shen
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Tingting Xia
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yuejun He
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yun Guo
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
- College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Guizhou Minzu University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Bangli Wu
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Xu Han
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Jiawei Yan
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Min Jiao
- Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
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Mo YX, Corlett RT, Wang G, Song L, Lu HZ, Wu Y, Hao GY, Ma RY, Men SZ, Li Y, Liu WY. Hemiepiphytic figs kill their host trees: acquiring phosphorus is a driving factor. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 236:714-728. [PMID: 35811425 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Hemiepiphytic figs killing their host trees is an ecological process unique to the tropics. Yet the benefits and adaptive strategies of their special life history remain poorly understood. We compared leaf phosphorus (P) content data of figs and palms worldwide, and functional traits and substrate P content of hemiepiphytic figs (Ficus tinctoria), their host palm and nonhemiepiphytic conspecifics at different growth stages in a common garden. We found that leaf P content of hemiepiphytic figs and their host palms significantly decreased when they were competing for soil resources, but that of hemiepiphytic figs recovered after host death. P availability in the canopy humus and soil decreased significantly with the growth of hemiepiphytic figs. Functional trait trade-offs of hemiepiphytic figs enabled them to adapt to the P shortage while competing with their hosts. From the common garden to a global scale, the P competition caused by high P demand of figs may be a general phenomenon. Our results suggest that P competition is an important factor causing host death, except for mechanically damaging and shading hosts. Killing hosts benefits hemiepiphytic figs by reducing interspecific P competition and better acquiring P resources in the P-deficient tropics, thereby linking the life history strategy of hemiepiphytic figs to the widespread P shortage in tropical soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Xuan Mo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Richard T Corlett
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Gang Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Liang Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Hua-Zheng Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Yi Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Guang-You Hao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110010, China
| | - Ren-Yi Ma
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Ecological Security of Gaoligong Mountains, Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Shi-Zheng Men
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Yuan Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Wen-Yao Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
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Angulo V, Beriot N, Garcia-Hernandez E, Li E, Masteling R, Lau JA. Plant-microbe eco-evolutionary dynamics in a changing world. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 234:1919-1928. [PMID: 35114015 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Both plants and their associated microbiomes can respond strongly to anthropogenic environmental changes. These responses can be both ecological (e.g. a global change affecting plant demography or microbial community composition) and evolutionary (e.g. a global change altering natural selection on plant or microbial populations). As a result, global changes can catalyse eco-evolutionary feedbacks. Here, we take a plant-focused perspective to discuss how microbes mediate plant ecological responses to global change and how these ecological effects can influence plant evolutionary response to global change. We argue that the strong and functionally important relationships between plants and their associated microbes are particularly likely to result in eco-evolutionary feedbacks when perturbed by global changes and discuss how improved understanding of plant-microbe eco-evolutionary dynamics could inform conservation or even agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Violeta Angulo
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, the Netherlands
| | - Nicolas Beriot
- Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, PO Box 47, Wageningen, 6700AA, the Netherlands
- Sustainable Use, Management and Reclamation of Soil and Water Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48, Cartagena, 30203, Spain
| | - Edisa Garcia-Hernandez
- Microbial Community Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9700 CC, the Netherlands
| | - Erqin Li
- Plant-Microbe Interactions Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, the Netherlands
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Raul Masteling
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), PO Box 50, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333 BE, the Netherlands
| | - Jennifer A Lau
- Biology Department and the Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, 1001 East 3rd St., Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
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Zhu YH, Weiner J, Jin Y, Yu MX, Li FM. Biomass Allocation Responses to Root Interactions in Wheat Cultivars Support Predictions of Crop Evolutionary Ecology Theory. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:858636. [PMID: 35401614 PMCID: PMC8984106 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.858636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The goal of agriculture is to optimize the population yield, but natural selection has produced active competition among plants, which decreases population performance. Therefore, cultivar breeding should be based on group selection, increasing yield by weakening individual competitive responses. We hypothesize that this has occurred inadvertently to some degree, so modern cultivars have weakened competitive traits and responses, such as reduced root proliferation in response to neighboring roots. We conducted a field experiment with eight cultivars of spring wheat that have been released over the last hundred years, which we grew at two densities. Two contrasting wheat cultivars, a landrace and a modern cultivar, were used in a second field experiment on competition within and between the two cultivars to quantify their competitiveness. Finally, a greenhouse experiment was conducted with these two cultivars gown (a) in mixture and monoculture, (b) at four densities, (c) two watering levels, and (d) with permeable vs. non-permeable soil dividers, to study root proliferation responses to competition. Results of field experiment 1 showed that the population aboveground biomass (AGB) had increased, while belowground biomass had decreased over the course of breeding, so that the root to shoot ratio (R/S) was negatively correlated with the release year of the cultivar. The landrace had stronger competitiveness than the modern cultivar in the field experiment 2. There was clear evidence of root proliferation and a resultant reduction in AGB in response to neighboring roots in the greenhouse experiment, and the modern variety showed less root proliferation in response to neighbors. We conclude that the newer cultivar was a weaker competitor but higher-yielding in two ways: (1) it had higher reproductive effort and therefore less allocation to structures that increase competitive ability, and (2) it had reduced root proliferation in response to the roots of neighboring plants. Our results show that wheat plants change their biomass allocation in response to resource levels and the presence of neighboring roots. The presence of root proliferation in the modern cultivar, albeit less than in the landrace, suggests that further increases in yield via group selection are possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-He Zhu
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jacob Weiner
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Yi Jin
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ming-Xi Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, Institute of Arid Agroecology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Feng-Min Li
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agroecosystems, Institute of Arid Agroecology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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Lee J, Murren CJ. Macroscopic variation in Arabidopsis mutants despite stomatal uniformity across soil nutrient environments. Genetica 2021; 149:253-266. [PMID: 34606015 DOI: 10.1007/s10709-021-00133-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Stomata are essential pores flanked by guard cells that control gas exchange in plants. We can utilize stomatal size and density measurements as a proxy for a plant's capacity for gas exchange. While stomatal responses to stressful environments are well studied; data are lacking in the responses across mutant genotypes of the same species in these trait and treatment interactions or genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity. We evaluated the effects of soil nutrient variation on macroscopic and stomatal traits of Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA insertion mutants for which prior performance in a single benign growing condition were available. Nutrient-induced stress significantly impacted traits including plant biomass, height, fruit number, and leaf number which we denote as macroscopic traits. We found evidence that genotype by environment effects exist for macroscopic traits, yet total stomatal area variation, or "microscopic variation" across environments was modest. Divergence from the wildtype line varied by mutant background and these responses were variable among traits. These findings suggest that Arabidopsis employs a strategy of physiological compensation, sacrificing morphological traits to maintain stomatal production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamison Lee
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
| | - Courtney J Murren
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA.
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Potts AS, Hunter MD. Unraveling the roles of genotype and environment in the expression of plant defense phenotypes. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:8542-8561. [PMID: 34257915 PMCID: PMC8258211 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic variability results from interactions between genotype and environment and is a major driver of ecological and evolutionary interactions. Measuring the relative contributions of genetic variation, the environment, and their interaction to phenotypic variation remains a fundamental goal of evolutionary ecology.In this study, we assess the question: How do genetic variation and local environmental conditions interact to influence phenotype within a single population? We explored this question using seed from a single population of common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, in northern Michigan. We first measured resistance and resistance traits of 14 maternal lines in two common garden experiments (field and greenhouse) to detect genetic variation within the population. We carried out a reciprocal transplant experiment with three of these maternal lines to assess effects of local environment on phenotype. Finally, we compared the phenotypic traits measured in our experiments with the phenotypic traits of the naturally growing maternal genets to be able to compare relative effect of genetic and environmental variation on naturally occurring phenotypic variation. We measured defoliation levels, arthropod abundances, foliar cardenolide concentrations, foliar latex exudation, foliar carbon and nitrogen concentrations, and plant growth.We found a striking lack of correlation in trait expression of the maternal lines between the common gardens, or between the common gardens and the naturally growing maternal genets, suggesting that environment plays a larger role in phenotypic trait variation of this population. We found evidence of significant genotype-by-environment interactions for all traits except foliar concentrations of nitrogen and cardenolide. Milkweed resistance to chewing herbivores was associated more strongly with the growing environment. We observed no variation in foliar cardenolide concentrations among maternal lines but did observe variation among maternal lines in foliar latex exudation.Overall, our data reveal powerful genotype-by-environment interactions on the expression of most resistance traits in milkweed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail S. Potts
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Mark D. Hunter
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
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Sun Y, Zang H, Splettstößer T, Kumar A, Xu X, Kuzyakov Y, Pausch J. Plant intraspecific competition and growth stage alter carbon and nitrogen mineralization in the rhizosphere. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2021; 44:1231-1242. [PMID: 33175402 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Plant roots interact with rhizosphere microorganisms to accelerate soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization for nutrient acquisition. Root-mediated changes in SOM mineralization largely depend on root-derived carbon (root-C) input and soil nutrient status. Hence, intraspecific competition over plant development and spatiotemporal variability in the root-C input and nutrients uptake may modify SOM mineralization. To investigate the effect of intraspecific competition on SOM mineralization at three growth stages (heading, flowering, and ripening), we grew maize (C4 plant) under three planting densities on a C3 soil and determined in situ soil C- and N-mineralization by 13 C-natural abundance and 15 N-pool dilution approaches. From heading to ripening, soil C- and N-mineralization rates exhibit similar unimodal trends and were tightly coupled. The C-to-N-mineralization ratio (0.6 to 2.6) increased with N availability, indicating that an increase in N-mineralization with N depletion was driven by microorganisms mining N-rich SOM. With the intraspecific competition, plants increased specific root lengths as an efficient strategy to compete for resources. Root morphologic traits rather than root biomass per se were positively related to C- and N-mineralization. Overall, plant phenology and intraspecific competition controlled the intensity and mechanisms of soil C- and N- mineralization by the adaptation of root traits and nutrient mining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Sun
- Department of Agroecology, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Department of Agricultural Soil Science, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Huadong Zang
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Thomas Splettstößer
- Department of Soil Science of Temperate and Boreal Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Amit Kumar
- Chair of Ecosystem Functioning and Services, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Xingliang Xu
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, China
| | - Yakov Kuzyakov
- Department of Agricultural Soil Science, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Soil Science of Temperate and Boreal Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Johanna Pausch
- Department of Agroecology, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
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Colom SM, Baucom RS. Below-ground competition favors character convergence but not character displacement in root traits. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 229:3195-3207. [PMID: 33220075 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Character displacement can play a major role in species ecology and evolution; however, research testing whether character displacement can influence the evolution of root traits in plant systems remains scarce in the literature. Here we investigated the potential that character displacement may influence the evolution of root traits using two closely related morning glory species, Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea hederacea. We performed a field experiment where we grew the common morning glory, I. purpurea, in the presence and absence of competition from I. hederacea and examined the potential that the process of character displacement could influence the evolution of root traits. We found maternal line variation in root phenotypes and evidence that below-ground competition acts as an agent of selection on these traits. Our test of character displacement, however, showed evidence of character convergence on our measure of root architecture rather than displacement. These results suggest that plants may be constrained by their local environments to express a phenotype that enhances fitness. Therefore, the conditions of the competitive environment experienced by a plant may influence the potential for character convergence or displacement to influence the evolution of root traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Colom
- University of Michigan, 4034 Biological Sciences Building, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Regina S Baucom
- University of Michigan, 4034 Biological Sciences Building, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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Murren CJ, Alt CHS, Kohler C, Sancho G. Natural variation on whole-plant form in the wild is influenced by multivariate soil nutrient characteristics: natural selection acts on root traits. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2020; 107:319-328. [PMID: 32002983 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE In the complex soil nutrient environments of wild populations of annual plants, in general, low nutrient availability restricts growth and alters root-shoot relationships. However, our knowledge of natural selection on roots in field settings is limited. We sought to determine whether selection acts directly on root traits and to identify which components of the soil environment were potential agents of selection. METHODS We studied wild native populations of Arabidopsis thaliana across 4 years, measuring aboveground and belowground traits and analyzing soil nutrients. Using multivariate methods, we examined patterns of natural selection and identified soil attributes that contributed to whole-plant form. In a common garden experiment at two field sites with contrasting soil texture, we examined patterns of selection on root and shoot traits. RESULTS In wild populations, we uncovered selection for above- and belowground size and architectural traits. We detected variation through time and identified soil components that influenced fruit production. In the garden experiment, we detected a distinct positive selection for total root length at the site with greater water-holding capacity and negative selection for measures of root architecture at the field site with reduced nutrient availability and water holding capacity. CONCLUSIONS Patterns of natural selection on belowground traits varied through time, across field sites and experimental gardens. Simultaneous investigations of above- and belowground traits reveal trait functional relationships on which natural selection can act, highlighting the influence of edaphic features on evolutionary processes in wild annual plant populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney J Murren
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
| | - Claudia H S Alt
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Clare Kohler
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
- Environmental Sciences Initiative, CUNY ASRC, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Gorka Sancho
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
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