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Shen Q, Ranathunge K, de Tombeur F, Finnegan PM, Lambers H. Growing in phosphorus-impoverished habitats in south-western Australia: How general are phosphorus-acquisition and -allocation strategies among Proteaceae, Fabaceae and Myrtaceae species? PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2024. [PMID: 39072729 DOI: 10.1111/pce.15038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Numerous phosphorus (P)-acquisition and -utilisation strategies have evolved in plants growing in severely P-impoverished environments. Although these strategies have been well characterised for certain taxa, like Proteaceae, P-poor habitats are characterised by a high biodiversity, and we know little about how species in other families cope with P scarcity. We compared the P-acquisition and leaf P-allocation strategies of Fabaceae and Myrtaceae with those of Proteaceae growing in the same severely P-impoverished habitat. Myrtaceae and Fabaceae exhibited multiple P-acquisition strategies: P-mining by carboxylates or phosphatases, P uptake facilitated by carboxylate-releasing neighbours, and dependence on the elevated soil P availability after fire. Surprisingly, not all species showed high photosynthetic P-use efficiency (PPUE). Highly P-efficient species showed positive correlations between PPUE and the proportion of metabolite P (enzyme substrates), and negative correlations between PPUE and phospholipids (cellular membranes) and nucleic acid P (mostly ribosomal RNA), while we found no correlations in less P-efficient species. Overall, we found that Myrtaceae and Fabaceae used a wider range of strategies than Proteaceae to cope with P scarcity, at both the rhizosphere and leaf level. This knowledge is pivotal to better understand the mechanisms underlying plant survival in severely nutrient-impoverished biodiverse ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Shen
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Kosala Ranathunge
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Félix de Tombeur
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Patrick M Finnegan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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Chai S, Jiang H, Yang Y, Pan X, Zou R, Tang J, Chen Z, Zeng D, Wei X. Photosynthetic physiological characteristics, growth performance, and element concentrations reveal the calcicole-calcifuge behaviors of three Camellia species. Open Life Sci 2024; 19:20220835. [PMID: 38585630 PMCID: PMC10997145 DOI: 10.1515/biol-2022-0835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
We grew three yellow Camellia species (the calcifuge C. nitidissima and C. tunghinensis, and the calcicole C. pubipetala) in acidic and calcareous soils for 7 months and assessed their photosynthetic physiological characteristics, growth performance, and element concentrations in this developmental context. The calcifuge C. nitidissima and C. tunghinensis species exhibited poor growth with leaf chlorosis, growth stagnation, and root disintegration in calcareous soils, and with their P n, G s, T r, F v/F m, ΦPSII, ETR, qP, leaf Chla, Chlb, and Chl(a + b) concentrations, and root, stem, leaf, and total biomass being significantly lower when grown in calcareous soils relative to in acidic soils. In contrast, the calcicole C. pubipetala grew well in both acidic and calcareous soils, with few differences in the above parameters between these two soil substrates. The absorption and/or transportation of nutrient elements such as N, K, Ca, Mg, and Fe by the two calcifuge Camellia species plants grown in calcareous soils were restrained. Soil type plays a major role in the failure of the two calcifuge Camellia species to establish themselves in calcareous soils, whereas other factors such as competition and human activity are likely more important limiting factors in the reverse case. This study furthers our understanding of the factors influencing the distribution of these rare and endangered yellow Camellia species, allowing for improved management of these species in conservation projects and horticultural production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengfeng Chai
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Haidu Jiang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Yishan Yang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Xinfeng Pan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Rong Zou
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Jianmin Tang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Zongyou Chen
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Danjuan Zeng
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
| | - Xiao Wei
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin541006, China
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Liu ST, Gille CE, Bird T, Ranathunge K, Finnegan PM, Lambers H. Leaf phosphorus allocation to chemical fractions and its seasonal variation in south-western Australia is a species-dependent trait. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 901:166395. [PMID: 37597552 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
South-western Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot and has some of the oldest and most phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils in the world. Proteaceae is one of the dominant P-efficient plant families there, but it is unknown how leaf P concentrations and foliar P allocation of Proteaceae and coexisting dominant plant families vary between seasons and habitats. To investigate this, we selected 18 species from Proteaceae, Myrtaceae and Fabaceae, six from each family, in two habitats from Alison Baird Reserve (32°1'19''S 15°58'52''E) in Western Australia. Total leaf P and nitrogen (N) concentrations, leaf mass per area, photosynthetic rate, pre-dawn leaf water potential and foliar P fractions were determined for each species both at the end of summer (March 2019 and early April 2020) and at the end of winter (September 2019). Soil P availability was also determined for each site. This is the very first study that focused on seasonal changes of foliar P fractions from different P-impoverished environments in three plant families. However, contrary to our expectation, we found little evidence for convergence of foliar P allocation within family, season or habitat. Each species exhibited a specific species-dependent pattern of foliar P allocation, and many species showed differences between seasons. Native plants in south-western Australia converged on a high photosynthetic P-use efficiency, but each species showed its own unique way associated with that outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Tong Liu
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Clément E Gille
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Toby Bird
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Kosala Ranathunge
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Patrick M Finnegan
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
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Staudinger C, Renton M, Leopold M, Wasaki J, Veneklaas EJ, de Britto Costa P, Boitt G, Lambers H. Interspecific facilitation of micronutrient uptake between cluster-root-bearing trees and non-cluster rooted-shrubs in a Banksia woodland. PLANT AND SOIL 2023; 496:71-82. [PMID: 38510945 PMCID: PMC10948572 DOI: 10.1007/s11104-023-06092-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Background and aims Belowground interspecific plant facilitation is supposed to play a key role in enabling species co-existence in hyperdiverse ecosystems in extremely nutrient-poor, semi-arid habitats, such as Banksia woodlands in southwestern-Australia. Manganese (Mn) is readily mobilised by Banksia cluster root activity in most soils and accumulates in mature leaves of native Australian plant species without significant remobilisation during leaf senescence. We hypothesised that neighbouring shrubs are facilitated in terms of Mn uptake depending on distance to surrounding cluster root-forming Banksia trees. Methods We mapped all Banksia trees and selected neighbouring shrubs within a study site in Western Australia. Soil samples were collected and analysed for physical properties and nutrient concentrations. To assesses the effect of Banksia tree proximity on leaf Mn concentrations [Mn] of non-cluster-rooted woody shrubs, samples of similarly aged leaves were taken. We used multiple linear models to test for factors affecting shrub leaf [Mn]. Results None of the assessed soil parameters showed a significant correlation with shrub leaf Mn concentrations. However, we observed a significant positive effect of very close Banksia trees (2 m) on leaf [Mn] in one of the understorey shrubs. We found additional effects of elevation and shrub size. Conclusions Leaf micronutrient concentrations of understorey shrubs were enhanced when growing within 2 m of tall Banksia trees. Our model predictions also indicate that belowground facilitation of Mn uptake was shrub size-dependent. We discuss this result in the light of plant water relations and shrub root system architecture. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11104-023-06092-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiana Staudinger
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
- The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
- Institute of Agronomy, Institute of Soil Science, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, BOKU Vienna, 3400 Tulln, Austria
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences of Life, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8521 Japan
| | - Michael Renton
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Matthias Leopold
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Jun Wasaki
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences of Life, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8521 Japan
| | - Erik J. Veneklaas
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | | | - Gustavo Boitt
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, 6009 Australia
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Cross AT, Lambers H. Calcicole-calcifuge plant strategies limit restoration potential in a regional semi-arid flora. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:6941-6961. [PMID: 34141267 PMCID: PMC8207153 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM To examine calcicole and calcifuge plant strategies, as well as nutrient-acquisition strategies, as drivers of the distribution of species in response to edaphic factors, and the degree to which these strategies may act as filters to species establishment in ecological restoration on heavily altered or reconstructed substrates. LOCATION An 82,000-ha area within a major mining province in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, harboring vegetation communities ranging from species-poor halophytic scrub on saline flats to dense biodiverse shrubland on the skeletal soils of ancient Banded Ironstone Formations (BIF). METHODS Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to examine how variation in soil chemistry and landscape position (undulating plains, slopes, and BIF crests and ridges) influenced patterns of floristic diversity, calcifuge plant strategies, and nutrient-acquisition strategies in 538 plant species from 830 relevés. RESULTS Landscape position was the strongest driver of species richness and vegetation functional composition. Soils became increasingly acidic and P-impoverished along an increasing elevational gradient. Vegetation from different landscape positions was not compositionally dissimilar, but vegetation of BIF crests and ridges was up to twice as biodiverse as vegetation from adjacent lower-relief areas and harbored higher proportions of calcifuge species and species with mycorrhizal associations. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Topographic and edaphic complexity of BIF landforms in an otherwise relatively homogenous landscape has likely facilitated species accumulation over long time periods. They represent musea of regional floristic biodiversity, excluding only species that cannot establish or are inferior competitors in heavily weathered, acidic, skeletal, and nutrient-impoverished soils. Plant strategies likely represent a major filter in establishing biodiverse, representative vegetation on postmining landforms in geologically ancient regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T. Cross
- School of Molecular and Life SciencesCurtin UniversityBentleyWAAustralia
- EcoHealth NetworkBrooklineMAUSA
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Molecular and Life SciencesCurtin UniversityBentleyWAAustralia
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Western AustraliaPerthWAAustralia
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Lux A, Kohanová J, White PJ. The secrets of calcicole species revealed. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:968-970. [PMID: 33626153 PMCID: PMC7904150 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa555] [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: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
This article comments on: Kotula L, Clode PL, Ranathunge K, Lambers H. 2021. Role of roots in adaptation of soil-indifferent Proteaceae to calcareous soils in south-western Australia. Journal of Experimental Botany 72, 1490–1505.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Lux
- Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Jana Kohanová
- Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Philip J White
- Ecological Sciences Department, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, UK
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