Photosynthetic Capacity Increases with Plant Size

Tunicate bulb size variation in monocots explained by temperature and phenology

Plant bulbs are modified shoot systems comprised of short internodes with apical bud(s) surrounded by layers of leaf bases. Bulb diameters can vary greatly, with overall bulb size playing a role in flower formation and resource allocation. Despite the importance of bulb size to the overall fitness of an individual, evolutionary and ecological aspects of this trait have been almost completely neglected. Examining over 2,500 herbarium vouchers for 115 selected species, we analyzed monocot tunicate bulb size within a phylogenetic context in order to investigate its evolutionary significance. We recorded two bulb diameter optima and observed that as bulb size increases taxa inhabit warmer areas with less temperature seasonality. Furthermore, we found that hysteranthous taxa, a habit where leaves emerge separately from flowers, exhibit overall larger bulbs potentially due to reliance upon belowground stored resources to flower rather than on current environmental inputs. This work highlights the importance of including the belowground portion of plants into ecological and evolutionary studies in order to gain a more complete understanding of the evolution of plant forms and functions.

Influence of plant size on the ecophysiology of the epiphytic fern Asplenium auritum (Aspleniaceae) from Costa Rica

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

A central goal of plant ecophysiological studies is to generate patterns of physiological behavior that are applicable to a species, which can be complicated when plant size is considered. Studies indicate that plant size can influence numerous ecophysiological parameters, especially in vascular epiphytes. The few studies that have included ferns in their analyses suggest that plant size is less important in ferns than angiosperms. This study investigates this apparent disparity by examining the relationship between plant size and an array of ecophysiological parameters in the epiphytic fern Asplenium auritum, especially the role of plant size in determining responses to water stress.

METHODS

Plants were classified according to size and measured for a variety of functional traits, including maximum photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, water-use efficiency, stomatal density, chlorophyll content, chlorophyll a/b ratio, specific leaf area, whole plant drying rates, and desiccation tolerance. Results for all traits were compared across size classes to determine size-related differences.

KEY RESULTS

Plant size significantly influenced most traits examined, most notably photosynthetic rate, stomatal density, stomatal conductance, whole plant drying rates, and recovery from desiccation. We report the first evidence of size-mediated shifts in desiccation tolerance in plants: small individuals tolerated water loss, whereas larger individuals avoided desiccation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that size-mediated ecophysiological shifts are more important than previously thought in ferns, particularly in regard to water relations. Desiccation tolerance may allow young fern sporophytes to establish in stressful environments and is subsequently lost in older individuals.

Small plants, large plants: the importance of plant size for the physiological ecology of vascular epiphytes

Recently, a number of publications have reported that many physiological properties of vascular epiphytes are a function of plant size. This short review will summarize what is known to date about this phenomenon, describe the possible mechanism and will discuss the consequences for the present understanding of epiphyte biology. Size-related changes are also known from other plant groups and it is argued that close attention should be paid to the size of the organisms under study in order to understand the performance and survival of a species in the field. In the light of these findings, the results of many earlier studies on epiphyte ecophysiology are now difficult to interpret because essential information on the size of the specimens used is missing.