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Liu S, Zheng J. Adaptive strategies based on shrub leaf-stem anatomy and their environmental interpretations in the eastern Qaidam Basin. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 24:323. [PMID: 38658848 PMCID: PMC11040798 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05026-3] [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: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Water stress seriously affects the survival of plants in natural ecosystems. Plant resistance to water stress relies on adaptive strategies, which are mainly based on plant anatomy with following relevant functions: (1) increase in water uptake and storage; (2) reduction of water loss; and (3) mechanical reinforcement of tissues. We measured 15 leaf-stem anatomical traits of five dominant shrub species from 12 community plots in the eastern Qaidam Basin to explore adaptive strategies based on plant leaf-stem anatomy at species and community levels. and their relationship with environmental stresses were tested. RESULTS Results showed that the combination of leaf-stem anatomical traits formed three types of adaptive strategies with the drought tolerance of leaf and stem taken as two coordinate axes. Three types of water stress were caused by environmental factors in the eastern Qaidam Basin, and the established adaptive strategy triangle could be well explained by these environmental stresses. The interpretation of the strategic triangle was as follows: (1) exploitative plant strategy, in which leaf and stem adopt the hydraulic efficiency strategy and safety strategy, respectively. This strategy is mostly applied to plants in sandy desert (i.e., Nitraria tangutorum, and Artemisia sphaerocephala) which is mainly influenced by drought stress; (2) stable plant strategy, in which both leaf/assimilation branches and stem adopt hydraulic safety strategy. This strategy is mostly applied to plants in salty desert (i.e., Kalidium foliatum and Haloxylon ammodendron) which aridity has little effect on them; and (3) opportunistic plant strategy, in which leaf and stem adopt hydraulic safety strategy and water transport efficiency strategy. This strategy is mostly applied to plants in multiple habitats (i.e., Sympegma regelii) which is mainly affected by coldness stress. CONCLUSION The proposed adaptive strategy system could provide a basis for elucidating the ecological adaptation mechanism of desert woody plants and the scientific management of natural vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Forest Resource Ecosystem Processes, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jingming Zheng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Forest Resource Ecosystem Processes, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
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Steinbauer K, Lamprecht A, Winkler M, Di Cecco V, Fasching V, Ghosn D, Maringer A, Remoundou I, Suen M, Stanisci A, Venn S, Pauli H. Recent changes in high-mountain plant community functional composition in contrasting climate regimes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 829:154541. [PMID: 35302025 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154541] [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: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
High-mountain plant communities are strongly determined by abiotic conditions, especially low temperature, and are therefore susceptible to effects of climate warming. Rising temperatures, however, also lead to increased evapotranspiration, which, together with projected shifts in seasonal precipitation patterns, could lead to prolonged, detrimental water deficiencies. The current study aims at comparing alpine plant communities along elevation and water availability gradients from humid conditions (north-eastern Alps) to a moderate (Central Apennines) and a pronounced dry period during summer (Lefka Ori, Crete) in the Mediterranean area. We do this in order to (1) detect relationships between community-based indices (plant functional leaf and growth traits, thermic vegetation indicator, plant life forms, vegetation cover and diversity) and soil temperature and snow duration and (2) assess if climatic changes have already affected the vegetation, by determining directional changes over time (14-year period; 2001-2015) in these indices in the three regions. Plant community indices responded to decreasing temperatures along the elevation gradient in the NE-Alps and the Apennines, but this elevation effect almost disappeared in the summer-dry mountains of Crete. This suggests a shift from low-temperature to drought-dominated ecological filters. Leaf trait (Leaf Dry Matter Content and Specific Leaf Area) responses changed in direction from the Alps to the Apennines, indicating that drought effects already become discernible at the northern margin of the Mediterranean. Over time, a slight increase in vegetation cover was found in all regions, but thermophilisation occurred only in the NE-Alps and Apennines, accompanied by a decline of cold-adapted cushion plants in the Alps. On Crete, xeromorphic shrubs were increasing in abundance. Although critical biodiversity losses have not yet been observed, an intensified monitoring of combined warming-drought impacts will be required in view of threatened alpine plants that are either locally restricted in the south or weakly adapted to drought in the north.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Steinbauer
- GLORIA Coordination, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria; GLORIA Coordination, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria; UNESCO-Chair on Sustainable Management of Conservation Areas, Carinthia University of Applied Science, 9524 Villach, Austria; E.C.O. - Institut für Ökologie, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria.
| | - A Lamprecht
- GLORIA Coordination, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria; GLORIA Coordination, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - M Winkler
- GLORIA Coordination, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria; GLORIA Coordination, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - V Di Cecco
- Maiella Seed Bank, Maiella National Park, Loc. Colle Madonna, Lama dei Peligni 66010, Italy
| | - V Fasching
- GLORIA Coordination, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria; GLORIA Coordination, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - D Ghosn
- Department of Geoinformation in Environmental Management - CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Alsyllio Agrokepiou, 73100 Chania, Greece
| | - A Maringer
- Gesaeuse National Park, 8911 Admont, Austria
| | - I Remoundou
- Department of Geoinformation in Environmental Management - CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Alsyllio Agrokepiou, 73100 Chania, Greece
| | - M Suen
- Gesaeuse National Park, 8911 Admont, Austria
| | - A Stanisci
- Dep. Bioscience and Territory, University of Molise, Termoli 86039, Italy
| | - S Venn
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia
| | - H Pauli
- GLORIA Coordination, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria; GLORIA Coordination, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
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Qi W, Kang X, Knops JMH, Jiang J, Abuman A, Du G. The Complex Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function Relationships for the Qinghai-Tibetan Grassland Community. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 12:772503. [PMID: 35154174 PMCID: PMC8829388 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.772503] [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: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Despite the long history of the study of the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship, uncertainty remains about the relationship of natural grassland ecosystems under stressful conditions. Recently, trait- and phylogenetic-based tests provide a powerful way to detect the relationship in different spaces but have seldom been applied to stressful zones on a large spatial scale. We selected Qinghai-Tibetan as the study area and collected a grassland community database involving 581 communities. We calculated biomass and species', functional, and phylogenetic diversity of each community and examined their relationships by using linear and non-linear regression models. Results showed an overall positive biodiversity-productivity relationship in species', functional and phylogenetic space. The relationship, however, was non-linear, in which biodiversity explained better the variation in community biomass when species diversity was more than a threshold, showing a weak effect of biodiversity on ecosystem function in low species diversity communities. We also found a filled triangle for the limit of the relationship between species and functional diversity, implying that functional diversity differs significantly among communities when their species diversity is low but finally converges to be a constant with increasing communities' species diversity. Our study suggests that multiple niche processes may structure the grassland communities, and their forces tend to balance in high-biodiversity communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiaomei Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Johannes M. H. Knops
- Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University, Suzhou, China
| | - Jiachang Jiang
- Gansu Provincial Extension Station of Grassland Techniques, Lanzhou, China
| | - A. Abuman
- Gansu Provincial Extension Station of Grassland Techniques, Lanzhou, China
| | - Guozhen Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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Ohdo T, Takahashi K. Plant species richness and community assembly along gradients of elevation and soil nitrogen availability. AOB PLANTS 2020; 12:plaa014. [PMID: 32467749 PMCID: PMC7243275 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plaa014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Environmental filters affect community assembly through the functional traits of species. However, the process of community assembly remains unclear because of the complex interactions among the many biotic and abiotic factors. This study aimed to examine the community assembly process of vascular plants along gradients of elevation (45‒2500 m a.s.l.) and soil nitrogen availability. This study examined the trait distribution patterns of four functional traits (plant height, leaf area, specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen concentration) of vascular plants (trees, herbs and ferns) in central Japan, using null model testing. The number of species decreased and increased at high elevations for tree species and herb and fern species, respectively. The numbers of both tree species and herb and fern species were positively correlated with soil nitrogen availability. Community-weighted means (CWMs) of the four traits decreased with elevation. CWMs and ranges of the three leaf traits were positively correlated with soil nitrogen availability. The community-weighted variance of plant height was higher at higher elevations, indicating that niche differentiation of vertical stratum in habitats with a low canopy was important for community assembly. This study suggests that severe climatic conditions reduce the number of tree species and the canopy height at high elevations, leading to increases in the number of herb and fern species due to increased light intensity at the forest floor. The elevational change of leaf traits also indicates the change of adaptive leaf traits. It further suggests that lower nitrogen availability decreases the number of tree, herb and fern species by excluding those species with leaf traits unsuited to lower nitrogen availability. Therefore, community structure is most likely regulated by both elevation and soil nitrogen availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taro Ohdo
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan
| | - Koichi Takahashi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan
- Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University, Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan
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Wang Y, Yang XD, Ali A, Lv GH, Long YX, Wang YY, Ma YG, Xu CC. Flowering Phenology Shifts in Response to Functional Traits, Growth Form, and Phylogeny of Woody Species in a Desert Area. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:536. [PMID: 32435256 PMCID: PMC7219254 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Climatic factors are considered the major driving forces for variation of flowering phenology among species. Yet, whether flowering phenology of woody species varies with functional traits, growth form, and phylogeny in arid regions is unknown. In the present study, we evaluated the relationships of three characteristics of flowering phenology (i.e., first flowering date, end of flowering date, and flowering duration) against functional traits, growth form, and phylogeny across 59 woody plant species across 3 years in Ürümqi city of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, in Northwest China. The results showed that, plant functional traits and growth form had significant influences on the variability of flowering phenology among species. The contributions of fruit type (34.7-43.5%) and flower color (30.1-30.7%) to the variability of flowering phenology were larger than those of pollination mode (4.6-14.4%), life form (8.4-14%) and maximum plant height (9.7-13.1%). Trees had the significant correlations in terms of flowering duration against first flowering date and end of flowering date, while shrubs showed the opposite pattern. The values of phylogenetic signal (Blomberg's K) of the three characteristics of flowering phenology ranged from 0.36 to 0.43, which were significantly lower than the expectation of the Brownian motion model. Our results suggested that functional traits, growth form and phylogeny all affected variability of flowering phenology among species. Our results provide a new perspective for correctly evaluating the relationship between global climate change and plant reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- Institute of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China
- Department of Geography and Spatial Information Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
- Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ürümqi, China
| | - Xiao-Dong Yang
- Department of Geography and Spatial Information Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Arshad Ali
- Department of Forest Resources Management, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Guang-Hui Lv
- Institute of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China
- Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ürümqi, China
| | - Yan-Xin Long
- Institute of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China
- Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ürümqi, China
| | - Ya-Yun Wang
- Institute of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China
- Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ürümqi, China
| | - Yong-Gang Ma
- Institute of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China
- Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ürümqi, China
| | - Chang-Chun Xu
- Institute of Resources and Environment Science, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China
- Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ürümqi, China
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Roth T, Allan E, Pearman PB, Amrhein V. Functional ecology and imperfect detection of species. Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Roth
- University of BaselZoological Institute Basel Switzerland
- Hintermann & Weber AG Reinach Switzerland
| | - Eric Allan
- University of Bern Institute of Plant Sciences Bern Switzerland
| | - Peter B. Pearman
- Department of Plant Biology and EcologyFaculty of Sciences and TechnologyUniversity of the Basque CountryUPV/EHU Leioa Spain
- IKERBASQUEBasque Foundation for Science Bilbao Spain
| | - Valentin Amrhein
- University of BaselZoological Institute Basel Switzerland
- Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach Switzerland
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