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Slate ML, Antoninka A, Bailey L, Berdugo MB, Callaghan DA, Cárdenas M, Chmielewski MW, Fenton NJ, Holland-Moritz H, Hopkins S, Jean M, Kraichak BE, Lindo Z, Merced A, Oke T, Stanton D, Stuart J, Tucker D, Coe KK. Impact of changing climate on bryophyte contributions to terrestrial water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. New Phytol 2024. [PMID: 38659154 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Bryophytes, including the lineages of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, are the second-largest photoautotroph group on Earth. Recent work across terrestrial ecosystems has highlighted how bryophytes retain and control water, fix substantial amounts of carbon (C), and contribute to nitrogen (N) cycles in forests (boreal, temperate, and tropical), tundra, peatlands, grasslands, and deserts. Understanding how changing climate affects bryophyte contributions to global cycles in different ecosystems is of primary importance. However, because of their small physical size, bryophytes have been largely ignored in research on water, C, and N cycles at global scales. Here, we review the literature on how bryophytes influence global biogeochemical cycles, and we highlight that while some aspects of global change represent critical tipping points for survival, bryophytes may also buffer many ecosystems from change due to their capacity for water, C, and N uptake and storage. However, as the thresholds of resistance of bryophytes to temperature and precipitation regime changes are mostly unknown, it is challenging to predict how long this buffering capacity will remain functional. Furthermore, as ecosystems shift their global distribution in response to changing climate, the size of different bryophyte-influenced biomes will change, resulting in shifts in the magnitude of bryophyte impacts on global ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mandy L Slate
- Department of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Anita Antoninka
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86005, USA
| | - Lydia Bailey
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86005, USA
| | - Monica B Berdugo
- Plant Ecology and Geobotany, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch Str. 8, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Des A Callaghan
- Bryophyte Surveys Ltd, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire, BS32 4DU, UK
| | - Mariana Cárdenas
- Department of Ecology Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | | | - Nicole J Fenton
- Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, J9X 5E4, Canada
| | - Hannah Holland-Moritz
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA
| | - Samantha Hopkins
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Mélanie Jean
- Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, E1A 3E9, Canada
| | - Bier Ekaphan Kraichak
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
| | - Zoë Lindo
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Amelia Merced
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras, San Juan, PR, 00925, USA
| | - Tobi Oke
- Wildlife Conservation Society & School of Environment & Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C8, Canada
| | - Daniel Stanton
- Department of Ecology Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Julia Stuart
- College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA
- Mountain Planning Service Group, US Forest Service, Lakewood, CO, 80401, USA
| | - Daniel Tucker
- School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
| | - Kirsten K Coe
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA
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Slate ML, Matallana-Mejia N, Aromin A, Callaway RM. Nitrogen addition, but not pulse frequency, shifts competitive interactions in favor of exotic invasive plant species. Biol Invasions 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02833-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Antoninka A, Chuckran PF, Mau RL, Slate ML, Mishler BD, Oliver MJ, Coe KK, Stark LR, Fisher KM, Bowker MA. Responses of Biocrust and Associated Soil Bacteria to Novel Climates Are Not Tightly Coupled. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:821860. [PMID: 35572693 PMCID: PMC9096946 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.821860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is expanding drylands even as land use practices degrade them. Representing ∼40% of Earth’s terrestrial surface, drylands rely on biological soil crusts (biocrusts) for key ecosystem functions including soil stability, biogeochemical cycling, and water capture. Understanding how biocrusts adapt to climate change is critical to understanding how dryland ecosystems will function with altered climate. We investigated the sensitivity of biocrusts to experimentally imposed novel climates to track changes in productivity and stability under both warming and cooling scenarios. We established three common gardens along an elevational-climate gradient on the Colorado Plateau. Mature biocrusts were collected from each site and reciprocally transplanted intact. Over 20 months we monitored visible species composition and cover, chlorophyll a, and the composition of soil bacterial communities using high throughput sequencing. We hypothesized that biocrusts replanted at their home site would show local preference, and biocrusts transplanted to novel environments would maintain higher cover and stability at elevations higher than their origin, compared to at elevations lower than their origin. We expected responses of the visible biocrust cover and soil bacterial components of the biocrust community to be coupled, with later successional taxa showing higher sensitivity to novel environments. Only high elevation sourced biocrusts maintained higher biocrust cover and community stability at their site of origin. Biocrusts from all sources had higher cover and stability in the high elevation garden. Later successional taxa decreased cover in low elevation gardens, suggesting successional reversal with warming. Visible community composition was influenced by both source and transplant environment. In contrast, soil bacterial community composition was not influenced by transplant environments but retained fidelity to the source. Thus, responses of the visible and soil bacterial components of the biocrust community were not coupled. Synthesis: Our results suggest biocrust communities are sensitive to climate change, and loss of species and function can be expected, while associated soil bacteria may be buffered against rapid change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Antoninka
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Peter F Chuckran
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Rebecca L Mau
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Mandy L Slate
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Brent D Mishler
- Department of Integrative Biology, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Melvin J Oliver
- Interdisciplinary Plant Group, Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Kirsten K Coe
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, United States
| | - Llo R Stark
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| | - Kirsten M Fisher
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
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Slate ML, McLeod ML, Callaway RM. Positive interactions between an exotic invader and moss biocrusts vary across life stage and correspond with the effect of water pulses on soil nitrogen. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mandy L. Slate
- Division of Biological Sciences and the Institute on Ecosystems University of Montana Missoula MT USA
| | | | - Ragan M. Callaway
- Division of Biological Sciences and the Institute on Ecosystems University of Montana Missoula MT USA
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Coe KK, Greenwood JL, Slate ML, Clark TA, Brinda JC, Fisher KM, Mishler BD, Bowker MA, Oliver MJ, Ebrahimi S, Stark LR. Strategies of desiccation tolerance vary across life phases in the moss Syntrichia caninervis. Am J Bot 2021; 108:249-262. [PMID: 33249553 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Desiccation tolerance (DT) is a widespread phenomenon among land plants, and variable ecological strategies for DT are likely to exist. Using Syntrichia caninervis, a dryland moss and model system used in DT studies, we hypothesized that DT is lowest in juvenile (protonemal) tissues, highest in asexual reproductive propagules (gemmae), and intermediate in adults (shoots). We tested the long-standing hypothesis of an inherent constitutive strategy of DT in this species. METHODS Plants were rapidly dried to levels of equilibrating relative humidity (RHeq) ranging from 0 to 93%. Postrehydration recovery was assessed using chlorophyll fluorescence, regeneration rates, and visual tissue damage. For each life phase, we estimated the minimum rate of drying (RoDmin ) at RHeq = 42% that did not elicit damage 24 h postrehydration. RESULTS DT strategy varied with life phase, with adult shoots having the lowest RoDmin (10-25 min), followed by gemmae (3-10 h) and protonema (14-20 h). Adult shoots exhibited no detectable damage 24 h postrehydration following a rapid-dry only at the highest RHeq used (93%), but when dried to lower RHs the response declined to <50% of control fluorescence values. Notably, immediately following rehydration (0 h postrehydration), shoots were damaged below control levels of fluorescence regardless of the RHeq, thus implicating damage. CONCLUSIONS Life phases of the moss S. caninervis had a range of strategies from near constitutive (adult shoots) to demonstrably inducible (protonema). A new response variable for assessing degree of DT is introduced as the minimum rate of drying from which full recovery occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten K Coe
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 40506-0225, USA
| | - Joshua L Greenwood
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-4004, USA
| | - Mandy L Slate
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Theresa A Clark
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-4004, USA
| | - John C Brinda
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Bryophyte Herbarium, 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63110-0299, USA
| | - Kirsten M Fisher
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA
| | - Brent D Mishler
- Department of Integrative Biology, University and Jepson Herbaria and University of California, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Bld #2465, Berkeley, CA, 94720-2465, USA
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, P.O. Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Melvin J Oliver
- USDA ARS MWA PGRU, University of Missouri, 206 Curtis Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Sotodeh Ebrahimi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-4004, USA
| | - Lloyd R Stark
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-4004, USA
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Coe KK, Howard NB, Slate ML, Bowker MA, Mishler BD, Butler R, Greenwood J, Stark LR. Morphological and physiological traits in relation to carbon balance in a diverse clade of dryland mosses. Plant Cell Environ 2019; 42:3140-3151. [PMID: 31306496 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Plant functional trait analyses have focused almost exclusively on vascular plants, but bryophytes comprise ancient and diverse plant lineages that have widespread global distributions and important ecological functions in terrestrial ecosystems. We examined a diverse clade of dryland mosses, Syntrichia, and studied carbon balance during a precipitation event (C-balance), a functional trait related to physiological functioning, desiccation tolerance, survival, and ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycling. We examined variability in C-balance among 14 genotypes of Syntrichia and measured an additional 10 physiological and 13 morphological traits at the cell, leaf, shoot, and clump level. C-balance varied 20-fold among genotypes, and highest C-balances were associated with long, narrow leaves with awns, and small cells with thick cell walls, traits that may influence water uptake and retention during a precipitation event. Ordination analyses revealed that the axis most strongly correlated with C-balance included the maximum chlorophyll fluorescence, Fm , indicating the importance of photosystem II health for C exchange. C-balance represents a key functional trait in bryophytes, but its measurement is time intensive and not feasible to measure on large scales. We propose two models (using physiological and morphological traits) to predict C-balance, whereby identifying simpler to measure traits for trait databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten K Coe
- Department of Biology, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's, City, MD, 20653, USA
| | - Nora B Howard
- Department of Biology, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's, City, MD, 20653, USA
| | - Mandy L Slate
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Brent D Mishler
- University and Jepson Herbaria, and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-2465, USA
| | - Riley Butler
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
| | - Joshua Greenwood
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
| | - Lloyd R Stark
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Mandy L. Slate
- Rocky Mountain Research Station USFS Missoula MT 59801 U.S.A
- MPG Ranch, 1001 S. Higgins Avenue STE A3 Missoula MT 59801 U.S.A
| | | | - Dean E. Pearson
- Rocky Mountain Research Station USFS Missoula MT 59801 U.S.A
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Slate ML, Rosenstiel TN, Eppley SM. Sex-specific morphological and physiological differences in the moss Ceratodon purpureus (Dicranales). Ann Bot 2017; 120:845-854. [PMID: 28981564 PMCID: PMC5714240 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcx071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Dioecy and sexual dimorphism occur in many terrestrial plant species but are especially widespread among the bryophytes. Despite the prevalence of dioecy in non-vascular plants, surprisingly little is known about how fine-scale sex-specific cell and leaf morphological traits are correlated with sex-specific physiology and population sex ratios. Such data are critical to understanding the inter-relationship between sex-specific morphological and physiological characters and how their relationship influences population structure. In this study, these data types were assessed to determine how they vary across three populations within one moss species and whether fine-scale morphological traits scale up to physiological and sex ratio characteristics. METHODS Twenty cell-, leaf- and canopy-level traits and two photochemical measurements were compared between sexes and populations of the dioecious moss Ceratodon purpureus . Field population-expressed sex ratios were obtained for the same populations. KEY RESULTS Male and female plants differed in cell, leaf and photochemical measures. These sexual dimorphisms were female biased, with females having larger and thicker leaves and greater values for chlorophyll fluorescence-based, leaf photochemistry measurements than males. Female traits were also more variable than male traits. Interestingly, field population sex ratios were significantly male biased in two study populations and female biased in the third study population. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that the larger morphology and the greater physiological output of female C. purpureus gametophytes compared with males occurs across populations and is likely to have significant effects on resource allocation and biotic interactions. However, this high level of dimorphism does not explain population sex ratio variation in the three study populations tested. This research lays the groundwork for future studies on how differential sex-specific variation in cell and leaf traits influences bryophyte plant fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mandy L Slate
- Portland State University, Center for Life in Extreme Environments and Department of Biology, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97202-0751, USA
| | - Todd N Rosenstiel
- Portland State University, Center for Life in Extreme Environments and Department of Biology, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97202-0751, USA
| | - Sarah M Eppley
- Portland State University, Center for Life in Extreme Environments and Department of Biology, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97202-0751, USA
- For correspondence. E-mail
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