Biomass Allocation of Stoloniferous and Rhizomatous Plant in Response to Resource Availability: A Phylogenetic Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Resource allocation to different functions is central in life-history theory. Plasticity of functional traits allows clonal plants to regulate their resource allocation to meet changing environments. In this study, biomass allocation traits of clonal plants were categorized into absolute biomass for vegetative growth vs. for reproduction, and their relative ratios based on a data set including 115 species and derived from 139 published literatures. We examined general pattern of biomass allocation of clonal plants in response to availabilities of resource (e.g., light, nutrients, and water) using phylogenetic meta-analysis. We also tested whether the pattern differed among clonal organ types (stolon vs. rhizome). Overall, we found that stoloniferous plants were more sensitive to light intensity than rhizomatous plants, preferentially allocating biomass to vegetative growth, aboveground part and clonal reproduction under shaded conditions. Under nutrient- and water-poor condition, rhizomatous plants were constrained more by ontogeny than by resource availability, preferentially allocating biomass to belowground part. Biomass allocation between belowground and aboveground part of clonal plants generally supported the optimal allocation theory. No general pattern of trade-off was found between growth and reproduction, and neither between sexual and clonal reproduction. Using phylogenetic meta-analysis can avoid possible confounding effects of phylogeny on the results. Our results shown the optimal allocation theory explained a general trend, which the clonal plants are able to plastically regulate their biomass allocation, to cope with changing resource availability, at least in stoloniferous and rhizomatous plants.

Elymus repensbiomass allocation and acquisition as affected by light and nutrient supply and companion crop competition

“…Moreover, Cussans (1968) found that crops that close their canopy early were particularly competitive against E. repens and therefore suggested that E. repens is particularly sensitive to light competition. This could mean that E. repens is generally light-dependent and perhaps more so than the rhizomatous species studied by Xie et al (2016). However, the nature of resources such as nutrients and light are fundamentally different (Craine and Dybzinski, 2013), i.e.…”

“…In a meta-analysis of stoloniferous and rhizomatous plants (not including E. repens), Xie et al (2016) found that rhizomatous plants were less sensitive to light limitations than nutrient limitations as light limitations did not greatly affect shoot biomass, while nutrient limitations significantly affected both above-and below-ground biomass. Our results, similarly to Williams (1971), indicate that light has a relatively strong and early effect on E. repens biomass acquisition, allocation and morphological traits such as tillering, while the effect of reduced nutrient supply on E. repens biomass acquisition appears later and is most pronounced when light is not limited.…”

Drought effect on plant biomass allocation: A meta‐analysis

“…Drought exerts strong impacts on biomass allocation. From the conventional ratio-based perspective of allocation, the patterns of biomass allocation in relation to drought are still equivocal due to the sharp differences in the experimental conditions, treatment procedures, and plant materials among studies (Poorter et al, 2012;Wang, Taub, & Jablonski, 2015;Xie et al, 2016). For instance, Erice, Louahlia, Jose Irigoyen, Sanchez-Diaz, and Avice (2010) reported that with the increased soil aridity, leaf dry mass fraction (LMF) of Medicago sativa decreased by 30% on average; stem mass fraction (SMF), on the other hand, increased by 4% on average.…”

Caution Is Needed in Quantifying Terrestrial Biomass Responses to Elevated Temperature: Meta-Analyses of Field-Based Experimental Warming Across China

“…Taking all of the above into consideration, we are concerned that although warming would lead to temporary and compensatory biomass increases at the community-level, other potential effects would hinder the ability to provide long-term ecosystem services for C stock, especially in grassland ecosystems [26,27]. In general, Warm D and plant features, i.e., phylogeny, therefore seems to need further consideration when estimating warming-induced biomass responses [8,11,12,28].…”

“…Indeed, a growing number of scholars have suggested that considering phylogenetic features (phylogenetic signal, clade age, etc.) in meta-analysis could avoid the possible confounding effects of phylogeny on the results [10][11][12]. However, these above-mentioned concerns remain limited in the estimation of warming-induced biomass responses in China.…”