Changes in flowering and abundance of <i>Delphinium nuttallianum</i> (Ranunculaceae) in response to a subalpine climate warming experiment

Saavedra, Francisca; Inouye, David W.; Price, Mary V.; Harte, John

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00635.x

Cited by 103 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Some species even increase their nutrient uptake during this period (38,39). Modifications in the timing of flowering are known to affect flower size, number, and seed set (40)(41)(42), which in turn affect reproductive fitness (43).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divergence of reproductive phenology under climate warming

Sherry

Zhou

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

563

581

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Because the flowering and fruiting phenology of plants is sensitive to environmental cues such as temperature and moisture, climate change is likely to alter community-level patterns of reproductive phenology. Here we report a previously unreported phenomenon: experimental warming advanced flowering and fruiting phenology for species that began to flower before the peak of summer heat but delayed reproduction in species that started flowering after the peak temperature in a tallgrass prairie in North America. The warming-induced divergence of flowering and fruiting toward the two ends of the growing season resulted in a gap in the staggered progression of flowering and fruiting in the community during the middle of the season. A double precipitation treatment did not significantly affect flowering and fruiting phenology. Variation among species in the direction and magnitude of their response to warming caused compression and expansion of the reproductive periods of different species, changed the amount of overlap between the reproductive phases, and created possibilities for an altered selective environment to reshape communities in a future warmed world.climate change ͉ global warming ͉ precipitation P henology is a sensitive biosphere indicator of climate change (1, 2). Long-term surface data and remote sensing measurements indicate that plant phenology has been advanced by 2-3 days in spring and delayed by 0.3-1.6 days in autumn per decade (3-6) in the past 30-80 years, resulting in extension of the growing season. An extended growing season leads to increased production in terrestrial and marine ecosystems (7,8), widens amplitudes of the annual CO 2 cycle in the atmosphere (9), and prolongs production of allergic pollens (10). Although changes in vegetative phenology have considerable consequences for ecosystem functioning, we lack information on responses of reproductive phenology due to climate change, especially in a community setting (11,12). Reproductive events usually determine population and community dynamics in future generations, affecting evolutionary processes. Because the flowering and fruiting phenology of plants is very sensitive to environmental cues such as temperature, moisture, and photoperiod (13), it is imperative to understand the impact of climate change on reproductive phenology.Reproductive phenology of assembled species in a plant community is often staggered in an unbroken progression over the growing season (14-17). This temporal distribution of community-level reproductive events is largely generated by the different developmental trajectories and life forms of the different species and may be shaped by their resource needs during reproduction and ecological sorting (18). Phenological differences in reproductive events among species over the growing season may reduce competition by spreading primary resource use over different temporal pools (19)(20)(21). Differential changes in phenology and growth between species in response to climate change could lead to new patterns of spec...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divergence of reproductive phenology under climate warming

Sherry

Zhou

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

563

581

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“…Acceleration of snowmelt time often decrease the survival, growth and reproductive activity of alpine plants in the early-melt habitat when early exposure from the protection by snow-cover enhances the risk of frost damage and water stress for plants (Walker et al 1995;Inouye et al 2002;Saavedra et al 2003). It is reported that an evergreen cushion plant Diapensia lapponica abruptly decreased the biomass by 22% and the flower production by 55% due to frost damage caused by the extremely early snowmelt during the last three years in the early-melt habitat, while plants in the late-melt habitat had little or no damage in the subarctic alpine of northern Sweden (Molau 1996).…”

Section: Implications For Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…So far, only a few long-term studies of flowering phenology have been conducted in subarctic tundra communities (Thórhalsdóttir 1998;Molau et al 2005), and phenological studies in the middle-latitude alpine regions are reported only for some restricted species (e.g. Walker et al 1995;Saavedra et al 2003). Because alpine flora of middle-latitude mountains is isolated and scattered around the southernmost edges of their geographic distributions, the middle-latitude alpine ecosystem must be more sensitive to the warming effect than the high-latitude tundra ecosystem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat‐specific responses in the flowering phenology and seed set of alpine plants to climate variation: implications for global‐change impacts

2005

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Timing of snowmelt is a crucial factor determining the phenological schedule of alpine plants. A long-term monitoring of snowmelt regimes in a Japanese alpine revealed that snowmelt season has been accelerated during last 17 years in early snowmelt places, but such a trend has not been detected in late snowmelt places. This indicates that the warming effect on snowmelt pattern may be site specific. Flowering phenology of fellfield plants in an exposed wind-blown habitat was consistent between unusually warm year (1998) and normal year (2001). In contrast, flowering occurrence of snowbed plants varied greatly between the years depending on the snowmelt time.The number of flowering species in a fellfield community was large in the middle to late June and the middle to late July. Flowering of an early-melt snowbed community showed a peak in the middle of flowering season, and that of a late-melt snowbed community showed a peak in early flowering season. These habitat-specific phenological patterns were consistent between 1998 and 2001. Effects of the variation in flowering timing on seed-set success were evaluated for an entomophilous snowbed herb, Peucedanum multivittatum, along the snowmelt gradient during five years. When flowering occurred prior to early August, mean temperature during the flowering season positively influenced the seed set. When flowering occurred later than early August, however, plants enjoyed high seed-set success irrespective of temperature conditions if frost damage was absent. This is probably because the availability of pollinators depends not only on ambient temperature but also on seasonal progress. These results suggest that the effects of climate change on biological interaction may vary depending on habitat in the alpine ecosystem in which diverse snowmelt patterns create complicated seasonality for plants within a local area.

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“…Elevated temperatures are known to affect the physiology of flowering plants in a number of ways resulting in altered production of flowers, nectar and pollen (Koti et al, 2005;Petanidou and Smets, 1995;Saavedra et al, 2003) which may equally have an effect on the reproductive success of species.…”

Section: Reproductive Successmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flowering Phenology and Reproductive Success of the Orchids of Mt Cameroon in Relation to a Changing Environment

Essomo¹,

Fonge²,

Bechem³

et al. 2016

Int. J. Curr. Res. Biosci. Plant Biol.

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A b s t r a c t A r t i c l e I n f oA study was conducted in the Mount Cameroon Region from January 2013 to December 2015 on the reproductive biology of orchids. Sixty-nine species of orchids were collected and identified and their flowering times noted. Observations on the flowering phenology of the collected species suggests that most of the orchids flowered during the months of February, March, April, August and September when the rains are intense. Visitors and their rates of visitation of Ansellia africana, Bletilla striata, Bulbophyllum lupulinum, Liparis epiphytica and Polystachya laxiflora were also studied through a "sit and watch" approach. The number of visits varied significantly with the type of visitor. Ants were the only visitor to all 5 orchid species. There was a strong positive correlation between reproductive success and total number of fruits but a weaker correlation between reproductive success and total number of flowers. The species with the highest success rate was Habenaria procera (86.44%), while that with the least success rate was Listrostachys pertusa (01.68%). The reproductive life cycle of orchids from flowering to dehiscence takes approximately 4 months (flowering ± 30 days; fruiting ± 30 and dehiscence (maturing of fruits to busting of capsules) ±50 days. Polystachya laxiflora flowered all year round.Fruiting and dehiscence showed no significant trends in all species of orchids. Both factors were dependent on flowering times or respective species. Temperature, rainfall and relative humidity had no significant influence on fruiting and dehiscence of capsules but were important in flowering. The changing climate could therefore significantly sift phenological patterns of the species.

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Changes in flowering and abundance of Delphinium nuttallianum (Ranunculaceae) in response to a subalpine climate warming experiment

Cited by 103 publications

References 57 publications

Divergence of reproductive phenology under climate warming

Divergence of reproductive phenology under climate warming

Habitat‐specific responses in the flowering phenology and seed set of alpine plants to climate variation: implications for global‐change impacts

Flowering Phenology and Reproductive Success of the Orchids of Mt Cameroon in Relation to a Changing Environment

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