scholarly journals Plasticity to drought and ecotypic differentiation in populations of a crop wild relative

AoB Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Matesanz ◽  
M Ramos-Muñoz ◽  
B Moncalvillo ◽  
M L Rubio Teso ◽  
S L García de Dionisio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Photochemical Efficiency ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Wild Relative ◽  
Crop Wild Relative ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Drought Treatment ◽  
Ecotypic Differentiation

Abstract Populations of widely distributed species often exhibit geographic variation in functional traits in response to environmental heterogeneity. Such trait variation may be the result of different adaptive mechanisms, including genetically based differentiation, phenotypic plasticity or a combination of both. Disentangling the genetic and environmental components of trait variation may be particularly interesting in crop wild relatives, since they may provide unique reservoirs of genetic diversity for crop improvement. In this study, we assessed ecotypic differentiation and patterns of plasticity to drought in populations of Lupinus angustifolius, a Mediterranean crop wild relative, from two climatically distinct regions in the Iberian Peninsula. Using an outdoor common garden, we compared phenotypic responses of inbred maternal families to two ecologically meaningful water availability treatments (drought and high-moisture). We measured 18 different functional traits related to growth, morphology, phenology and reproduction. Plants in the drought treatment grew less, had lower leaf chlorophyll content and photochemical efficiency, but also reproduced faster, produced larger seeds and altered leaflet morphology through increased leaflet thickness, higher leaflet dry matter content and lower specific leaf area. We also found significant differences between regions that likely reflect adaptation to climatically distinct environments, with populations from the south showing a faster onset of reproduction, higher leaf thickness and higher seed size, consistent with the drier conditions experienced in southern sites. Plasticity to drought was in most cases in the same direction as quantitative genetic differentiation (i.e. cogradient variation), providing evidence of the adaptive value of the plastic change. Our results show that both genetic differentiation and plasticity can generate adaptive phenotypic variation in L. angustifolius, and help to identify potentially valuable genetic resources to incorporate into breeding programmes.

scholarly journals Functional Traits of Olive Varieties and Their Relationship with the Tolerance Level towards Verticillium Wilt

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1079
Author(s):  
Martina Cardoni ◽  
Jesús Mercado-Blanco ◽  
Rafael Villar
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Verticillium Wilt ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Lignin Content ◽  
Root System Architecture ◽  
Root Diameter ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Tolerance Level ◽  
Olive Varieties

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by the soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae, is considered one of the most important diseases affecting this tree crop. One of the best VWO management measures is the use of tolerant cultivars. Remarkably, no information is available about olive functional traits and their potential relationship with tolerance to V. dahliae. Twenty-five selected functional traits (for leaf, stem, root and whole plant) were evaluated in six olive varieties differing in their VWO tolerance level to identify possible links between this phenotype and functional traits’ variation. High intervarietal diversity was found among cultivars and several functional traits were related with VWO tolerance. Tolerant varieties showed higher leaf area, dry matter content (leaf, stem and plant) and mass fraction for stems, but lower for leaves. Significant differences were also detected for root functional traits, tolerant cultivars displaying larger fine root diameter and lignin content but smaller specific length and area of thick and fine roots. Correlations were found among functional traits both within varieties and between levels of tolerance/susceptibility to VWO. Associations were observed between biomass allocation, dry matter content and VWO tolerance. The most relevant difference between tolerant and susceptible cultivars was related to root system architecture.

scholarly journals Functional Trait Responses to Strip Clearcutting in a Moso Bamboo Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Yaxiong Zheng ◽  
Fengying Guan ◽  
Shaohui Fan ◽  
Yang Zhou ◽  
Xiong Jing
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Moso Bamboo ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Functional Characteristics ◽  
Functional Features

Functional characteristics reflect plant strategies and adaptability to the changing environment. Determining the dynamics of these characteristics after harvesting would improve the understanding of forest response strategies. Strip clearcutting (SC) of moso bamboo forests, which significantly reduces the cutting cost, has been proposed to replace manual selective harvesting. A comparison of restoration features shows that 8 m is the optimal cutting width. However, the precise response of functional features to the resulting harvest-created gap remains unclear. In this study, three SC plots were selected which was performed in February 2019, with three unharvested plots as a control (C). The study focused on 10 functional traits, including leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), nitrogen/phosphorus ratio (N:P), wood density (WD), fine root biomass (FRB), specific fine root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD). A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences in functional traits and soil nutrients between treatments. Strip clearcutting significantly reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents (p < 0.05). In terms of functional characteristics, SC significantly decreased LA and increased LNC, LPC, and N:P (p < 0.05). However, SC had no significant effect on fine root traits (p > 0.05). This study highlighted that root trait, soil content of total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) returned to the level of uncut plots after a year’s recovery. The LPC, LNC, and N:P were negatively correlated with LA, and LDMC and WD were negatively correlated with SLA, while the effect of SC on fine root traits was limited (p > 0.05). Fine root traits (FRB, RLD, and SRL) were positively associated with SOC, TN, and TP, but negatively correlated with TK. The changes in soil nutrient content caused by the removal of biomass were normal. Increased light and the rapid growth of new trees will increase nutrient regressions; therefore, these results further confirm the feasibility of SC.

Differential impact of liana colonization on the leaf functional traits of co-occurring deciduous and evergreen trees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
vivek pandi ◽  
Kanda Naveen Babu
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Deciduous Species ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Leaf Functional Traits ◽  
Leaf Trait ◽  
Host Trees ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract The present study was carried out to analyse the leaf functional traits of co-occurring evergreen and deciduous tree species in a tropical dry scrub forest. This study also intended to check whether the species with contrasting leaf habits differ in their leaf trait plasticity, responding to the canopy-infestation by lianas. A total of 12 leaf functional traits were studied for eight tree species with contrasting leaf habits (evergreen and deciduous) and liana-colonization status (Liana+ and Liana−). In the liana-free environment (L−), evergreen trees had significantly higher specific leaf mass (LMA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) than the deciduous species. Whereas, the deciduous trees had higher specific leaf area (SLA) and mass-based leaf nitrogen concentration (Nmass). The leaf trait-pair relationship in the present study agreed to the well-established global trait-pair relationships (SLA Vs Nmass, Lth Vs SLA, Nmass Vs Lth, Nmass Vs LDMC, LDMC Vs SLA). There was no significant difference between L+ and L− individuals in any leaf functional traits studied in the deciduous species. However, evergreen species showed marked differences in the total chlorophyll content (Chlt), chlorophyll b (Chlb), SLA, and LMA between L+ and L− individuals of the same species. Deciduous species with the acquisitive strategy can have a competitive advantage over evergreen species in the exposed environment (L−) whereas, evergreen species with shade-tolerant properties were better acclimated to the shaded environments (L+). The result revealed the patterns of convergence and divergence in some of the leaf functional traits between evergreen and deciduous species. The results also showed the differential impact of liana colonization on the host trees with contrasting leaf habits. Therefore, liana colonization can significantly impact the C-fixation strategies of the host trees by altering their light environment. Further, the magnitude of such impact may vary among species of different leaf habits. The increased proliferation of lianas in the tropical forest canopies may pose a severe threat to the whole forest carbon assimilation rates.

scholarly journals Direct and Indirect Effects of Precipitation Change and Nutrients Addition on Desert Steppe Productivity in Inner Mongolia, Northern China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinxin Guo ◽  
Xiaoan Zuo ◽  
Ping Yue ◽  
Xiangyun Li ◽  
Ya Hu
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Nutrient Addition ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Precipitation Changes

Abstract Background and Aims Global changes profoundly impact on structure and function of grassland ecosystem. However, it remains unclear on the mechanism of how multiple limiting resources affect plant community primary productivity (ANPP) in desert steppe.Methods Here, we conducted an experiment to examine the effects of precipitation changes (natural and ± 50% precipitation) and nutrient addition (=N: 0 g·m-2·yr-1; +N: N 10 g·m-2·yr-1; +NPK: N/P/K each for 10 g·m-2·yr-1) on species diversity, ANPP, functional traits and soil properties. We used structural equation model (SEM) to evaluate the effects of precipitation changes and nutrient addition on ANPP.Results Increased precipitation increased species diversity and ANPP under NPK addition, NPK addition increased ANPP under increased precipitation, and the interaction of precipitation changes and nutrient addition was significant for ANPP. Drought reduced plant height and leaf dry matter content (LDMC), but increased leaf nitrogen content (LNC). ANPP was positively correlated with species richness, abundance, height and LDMC, but negatively correlated with specific leaf area (SLA) and LNC. The SEM showed increased precipitation and nutrient addition directly increased ANPP. Altered precipitation indirectly affected ANPP through its effect on abundance and SLA, while nutrient addition indirectly affected ANPP only through its effect on abundance.Conclusion The combined limitations of precipitation and multiple nutrients deserves more attention in studying the effect of global changes on productivity in arid steppe. Our results highlight the importance of species diversity and functional traits in driving short-term responses of ANPP to environmental factors in desert steppe ecosystems.

Re-evaluation and typification of Foeniculum piperitum (Apiaceae), an underknown medicinal plant and crop wild relative

Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 508 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
VINCENZO ILARDI ◽  
ANGELO TROIA
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Wild Relative ◽  
Crop Wild Relative ◽  
Foeniculum Vulgare ◽  
Ecological Separation

Foeniculum piperitum was described as Anethum piperitum based on plants collected in Sicily, Italy. Currently it is treated either as a synonym of Foeniculum vulgare, or as one of two subspecies within that taxon. Here we show that F. vulgare and F. piperitum are two different, sometimes co-occurring, taxa and that given clear morphological and ecological separation, they should be treated as distinct species. Anethum piperitum is typified. Owing to misapplication of names and wrong synonymizations, the ecology and chorology of F. vulgare and F. piperitum have to be better defined.

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