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Li M, Jiang S, Wang T, Wang H, Xing L, Li H, Sun Y, Guo X. Clonal integration benefits Calystegia soldanella in heterogeneous habitats. AOB PLANTS 2024; 16:plae028. [PMID: 38854500 PMCID: PMC11161862 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plae028] [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: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Land-use change and tourism development have seriously threatened the ecosystems of coastal protection forests and beaches. Light and nutrients are spatially heterogeneously distributed between the two ecosystems. Clonal plants, such as Calystegia soldanella, which play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological stability of coastal habitats, are likely to encounter diverse environments. In this study, we investigated clonal integration and the division of labour in C. soldanella under heterogeneous (high nutrient and low light [HNLL]; low nutrient and high light [LNHL]) and homogeneous habitats. We cultivated pairs of connected and severed ramets of C. soldanella in these environments. Our results showed the total biomass (TB) of connected ramets was higher than that of severed ramets in heterogeneous environments, suggesting clonal integration enhances growth in heterogeneous habitats. The root shoot ratio was significantly lower in HNLL than in LNHL conditions for connected ramets, demonstrating a division of labour in growth under heterogeneous conditions. However, parameters of clonal propagation of C. soldanella did not significantly differ between connected and severed ramets in heterogeneous environments, indicating no division of labour in clonal propagation. In homogeneous environments, the growth of C. soldanella did not benefit from clonal integration. Connected ramets in heterogeneous habitats exhibited higher TB than in homogeneous habitats. The TB of one ramet in HNLL was consistently higher than that in LNHL, irrespective of ramet's states, which suggests that high soil nutrients may enhance the growth. We conclude that C. soldanella has the capability of clonal integration to achieve high biomass in heterogeneous but not in homogeneous conditions, and the establishment of coastal protection forests (high nutrient and low light) may foster the growth of C. soldanella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyan Li
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Siyu Jiang
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Tong Wang
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Hui Wang
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Lijun Xing
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Haimei Li
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Yingkun Sun
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
| | - Xiao Guo
- College of Landscape Architecture and Forestry, Qingdao Agricultural University, No. 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao 266109, P.R. China
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Zhang LM, Roiloa SR, Xue W, Yu FH. Effects of temporal heterogeneity in nutrient supply on intra- and inter-genet competition of a clonal herb. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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Effects of Clonal Integration on Foraging Behavior of Three Clonal Plants in Heterogeneous Soil Environments. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13050696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Environments are ubiquitously heterogeneous in nature, and clonal plants commonly benefit from both clonal integration and foraging responses in heterogeneous environments. While many studies have examined clonal integration and foraging responses separately, few have tested the effect of clonal integration on the foraging response of clonal plants to environmental heterogeneity. We grew offspring ramets of each of three clonal plants (Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Duchesnea indica, and Glechoma longituba) in both homogeneous and heterogenous soil environments and severed their stem connection to a mother ramet (to prevent clonal integration from the mother ramet) or kept it intact (to allow clonal integration). Without clonal integration from the mother ramet, soil heterogeneity had no effect on biomass or number of ramets for any of the three species. With clonal integration, soil heterogeneity also had no effect on biomass or number of ramets of D. indica and G. longituba, but significantly decreased biomass and marginally significantly decreased number of ramets of H. vulgaris. Without clonal integration, offspring ramets did not demonstrate either shoot or root foraging responses in terms of total, shoot and root biomass and ramet number in the heterogeneous soil environment in any of the three species. With integration, offspring ramets of H. vulgaris also did not demonstrate either root or shoot foraging responses, but offspring ramets of G. longituba demonstrated both root and shoot foraging responses, and those of D. indica demonstrated a root foraging response when they grew in the heterogeneous soil environment. We conclude that clonal integration can alter the foraging response of clonal plants, but this effect is species-specific. Our results also suggest that foraging responses of clonal plants in heterogeneous soil environments may not necessarily benefit the growth of clonal plants.
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Belowground mechanism reveals climate change impacts on invasive clonal plant establishment. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2860. [PMID: 35190658 PMCID: PMC8861118 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06918-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change and disturbance can alter invasion success of clonal plants by differentially affecting the clonal traits influencing their establishment as young plants. Clonal traits related to the vegetative reproduction of native Pascopyrum smithii and non-native Bromus inermis grass seedlings were evaluated under altered precipitation frequencies and a single grazing event. Pascopyrum smithii maintained similar vegetative reproduction under three simulated precipitation frequencies whereas B. inermis vegetative reproduction declined as precipitation became more intermittent. Vegetative reproduction of the non-native B. inermis was greater than the native P. smithii under all simulated precipitation frequencies except the most intermittent scenario. A single grazing event did not affect either species’ response to intra-annual precipitation variability but did slightly reduce their clonal growth and increase their bud dormancy. In young plants, clonal traits of the invasive grass favored its superior expansion and population growth compared to the native grass except under the most severe climate change scenario. Grassland restoration using native P. smithii seeds would be successful in most years due to its resilient clonal growth in a changing climate. Clonal infrastructure development in young plants is critical to clonal plant establishment and persistence in a changing climate and under disturbed conditions.
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Flory SL, Dillon W, Hiatt D. Interacting global change drivers suppress a foundation tree species. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:971-980. [PMID: 35132744 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Ecological stress caused by climate change, invasive species and anthropogenic disturbance is driving global environmental change, but how these stressors interact to impact native species are poorly understood. We used a field experiment to test how two stressors (drought and plant invasion by Imperata cylindrica) interacted to determine the effects of a third stressor (fire) on a foundation tree species (Pinus palustris). The invasion combined with prolonged drought resulted in shorter trees than invasion alone. The invasion also resulted in 65% greater fuel loads, four times taller flames, greater maximum temperatures and longer heating duration. Consequently, nearly all tree mortality occurred due to a synergistic interaction between the drought + invasion treatment and fire, where invasion caused taller flames that impacted trees that were shorter due to drought. These findings demonstrate that synergy amongst ecological stressors can dramatically impact native species, with significant implications for forecasting the effects of multiple stressors under global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Luke Flory
- Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Whalen Dillon
- Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Drew Hiatt
- Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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