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Verboom GA, Slingsby JA, Cramer MD. Fire-modulated fluctuations in nutrient availability stimulate biome-scale floristic turnover in time, and elevated species richness, in low-nutrient fynbos heathland. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 133:819-832. [PMID: 38150535 PMCID: PMC11082518 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS In many systems, postfire vegetation recovery is characterized by temporal changes in plant species composition and richness. We attribute this to changes in resource availability with time since fire, with the magnitude of species turnover determined by the degree of resource limitation. Here, we test the hypothesis that postfire species turnover in South African fynbos heathland is powered by fire-modulated changes in nutrient availability, with the magnitude of turnover in nutrient-constrained fynbos being greater than in fertile renosterveld shrubland. We also test the hypothesis that floristic overlaps between fynbos and renosterveld are attributable to nutritional augmentation of fynbos soils immediately after fire. METHODS We use vegetation survey data from two sites on the Cape Peninsula to compare changes in species richness and composition with time since fire. KEY RESULTS Fynbos communities display a clear decline in species richness with time since fire, whereas no such decline is apparent in renosterveld. In fynbos, declining species richness is associated with declines in the richness of plant families having high foliar concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and possessing attributes that are nutritionally costly. In contrast, families that dominate late-succession fynbos possess adaptations for the acquisition and retention of sparse nutrients. At the family level, recently burnt fynbos is compositionally more similar to renosterveld than is mature fynbos. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that nutritionally driven species turnover contributes significantly to fynbos community richness. We propose that the extremely low baseline fertility of fynbos soils serves to lengthen the nutritional resource axis along which species can differentiate and coexist, thereby providing the opportunity for low-nutrient extremophiles to coexist spatially with species adapted to more fertile soil. This mechanism has the potential to operate in any resource-constrained system in which episodic disturbance affects resource availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Anthony Verboom
- Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - Jasper A Slingsby
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
- Fynbos Node, South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michael D Cramer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
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Frederica CF, Irving LJ. Hemiparasite Phtheirospermum japonicum growth benefits from a second host and inflicts greater host damage with exogenous N supply. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 296:154238. [PMID: 38581742 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2024.154238] [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: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
While parasites are likely to connect to multiple host plants in nature, parasitism dynamics under multiple association conditions remain unclear and are difficult to separate from competitive effects. In this study, a five-compartment split root-box was constructed to allow a single facultative root hemiparasite, Phtheirospermum japonicum, to connect to zero, one or two Medicago sativa hosts while maintaining constant plant number and independently controlling nutrient supply. In the first experiment, we found that P. japonicum derived equal, additive benefits from attachment to a second host irrespective of parasite N status. In the second experiment, parasites were grown at four N levels in either parasitic or control conditions. Attachment caused a constant, absolute increase in parasite mass at all N levels, while host damage increased at higher parasite N levels despite an apparent decrease in host to parasite N transfer. Our findings suggest that host damage caused by P. japonicum may be strengthened by exogenous nitrogen supply to the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa Frances Frederica
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8577, Japan
| | - Louis John Irving
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8577, Japan.
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Wang A, Bose AK, Lehmann MM, Rigling A, Gessler A, Yu L, Li M. Water status and macronutrient concentrations, but not carbon status, of Viscum album ssp. album are determined by its hosts: a study across nine mistletoe-host pairs in central Switzerland. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1142760. [PMID: 37223783 PMCID: PMC10200922 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1142760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Introduction European mistletoe, Viscum album L., is a hemiparasite that can infect various tree species, yet our understanding of its physiological interactions with host species is limited. Methods Nine mistletoe-host pairs (i.e. V. album ssp. album growing on nine different broadleaf tree species) under different growth conditions in central Switzerland were selected to examine the carbon, water and nutrient relationships between mistletoe and its hosts. We measured leaf morphological traits, isotopic compositions (δ13C and δ15N), concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and specific compounds (i.e. mobile sugars and starch), and macronutrients (i.e. N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S) in leaf and xylem tissues of both mistletoe and its hosts. Results and Discussion There were only non-significant relationships between NSC concentrations in mistletoe and in its host species across the nine mistletoe-host pairs, suggesting the carbon condition of V. album ssp. album is determined by both the heterotrophic carbon transfer and self-photosynthetic capacity among different mistletoe-host pairs. However, mistletoe leaf morphological traits (single leaf area and mass, and leaf mass per unit leaf area) did not change across the nine mistletoe-host pairs, and mistletoe leaf δ13C, water content and macronutrient concentrations were linearly correlated with those in the host leaves. Macronutrients showed accumulations in mistletoe across the nine pairs. Further, tissue N concentrations were significantly higher in mistletoe grown on N-fixing hosts than on non-N-fixing hosts. Finally, leaf N:P in mistletoe was significantly correlated with the ratio in the host across the nine mistletoe-host pairs. Overall, our results indicate strong relationships between mistletoe and its hosts for water- and nutrient-related traits, but not for carbon-related traits, which demonstrates that V. album ssp. album can adjust its physiology to survive on different deciduous tree species hosts and under different site conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ao Wang
- Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ITES, Swiss Federal Istitute of Technology, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Arun K. Bose
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
| | - Marco M. Lehmann
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Rigling
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ITES, Swiss Federal Istitute of Technology, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Arthur Gessler
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems ITES, Swiss Federal Istitute of Technology, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Longfei Yu
- Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Maihe Li
- Forest Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China
- College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China
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Lathraea squamaria aqueous extract as source of secondary metabolites for facile green synthesis of Ag nanoparticles with the possibility of methylene blue catalytic degradation. CHEMICAL PAPERS 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02594-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Těšitel J, Těšitelová T. Approaching a revolution in hemiparasitic plant biology? A commentary on 'Distinguishing carbon gains from photosynthesis and heterotrophy in C3-hemiparasite-C3-host-pairs'. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2022; 129:i-ii. [PMID: 35262668 PMCID: PMC9113168 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This article comments on: Philipp Giesemann and Gerhard Gebauer, Distinguishing carbon gains from photosynthesis and heterotrophy in C3-hemiparasite–C3-host pairs, Annals of Botany, Volume 129, Issue 6, 12 May 2022, Pages 647–656 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcab153
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Těšitel
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tamara Těšitelová
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
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