Does plant architectural complexity increase with increasing habitat complexity? A test with a pioneer shrub in the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

Understanding variation in plant traits in heterogeneous habitats is important to predict responses to changing environments, but trait-environment associations are poorly known along ecological gradients. We tested the hypothesis that plant architectural complexity increases with habitat complexity along a soil fertility gradient in a Cerrado (Neotropical savanna) area in southeastern Brazil. Plant architecture and productivity (estimated as the total number of healthy infructescences) of Miconia albicans (SW.) Triana were examined in three types of vegetation which together form a natural gradient of increasing soil fertility, tree density and canopy cover: grasslands (campo sujo, CS), shrublands (cerrado sensu strico, CE) and woodlands (cerradão, CD). As expected, plants growing at the CS were shorter and had a lower branching pattern, whereas plants at the CD were the tallest. Unexpectedly, however, CD plants did not show higher architectural complexity compared to CE plants. Higher architectural similarity between CE and CD plants compared to similarity between CS and CE plants suggests reduced expression of functional architectural traits under shade. Plants growing at the CE produced more quaternary shoots, leading to a larger number of infructescences. This higher plant productivity in CE indicates that trait variation in ecological gradients is more complex than previously thought. Nematode-induced galls accounted for fruit destruction in 76.5% infructescences across physiognomies, but percentage of attack was poorly related to architectural variables. Our data suggest shade-induced limitation in M. albicans architecture, and point to complex phenotypic variation in heterogeneous habitats in Neotropical savannas.Keywords: Cerrado, plant architecture, nematode galls, shade tolerance, trait-environment association. A complexidade arquitetural de plantas aumenta com a complexidade do habitat?Um teste com um arbusto pioneiro de Cerrado ResumoO entendimento da variação dos atributos de plantas em ambientes heterogêneos é importante para prever respostas às mudanças climáticas; entretanto, a resposta de atributos das plantas às mudanças ambientais é pouco conhecida ao longo de gradientes ecológicos. Testou-se a hipótese de que a complexidade arquitetural de Miconia albicans (SW.) Triana aumenta com a complexidade ambiental, ao longo de um gradiente de fertilidade de solo em um Cerrado no sudeste brasileiro. A arquitetura e a produtividade (estimada por meio do número total de infrutescências sadias) foram examinadas em três tipos de vegetação, que formam um gradiente de fertilidade de solo, de densidade de árvores e de cobertura vegetal: campo sujo (CS), cerrado sensu stricto (CE) e cerradão (CD). Plantas crescendo no CS foram menores e apresentaram menor complexidade arquitetural, enquanto plantas no CD foram maiores. No entanto, de forma inesperada, plantas no CD não demonstraram maior complexidade arquitetural quando comparadas às plantas de CE, e a maior similaridade arquitetural entre plantas de ...

Clone worth? Genetic diversity in obligate apomictic Miconia albicans (Melastomataceae)

“…This clustering may reflect differences in environment since fruits were collected from individuals in the Cerrado sensu stricto and neighbouring Vereda palm swamp areas, which have markedly different microenvironments. The data may also explain the complex phenotypic variation in colonization of heterogeneous Neotropical savanna environments by M. albicans (Silveira & Oliveira 2013).…”

Histopathology of Andean Potato (Solanum tuberosum Andigenum group) varieties parasitized by the false root-knot nematode, Nacobbus aberrans

“…Intraspecific variation in plant functional traits can arise from genetic differentiation among ecotypes; therefore, it is necessary to understand plant responses to changing environments, especially in a context of global climate change (Silveira and Oliveira, 2013). Further histopathological studies are necessary, given the environmental heterogeneity in the Andean region, the great diversity and genetic variability between and within Andean potato landraces, and the existence of N. aberrans pathotypes/races.…”

Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of lizard assemblages across habitats and seasons in a Brazilian Cerrado area

“…On the other hand, the lower structural heterogeneity of the campo sujo (Silveira & Oliveira 2013) and higher temperatures in the Cerrado open habitats compared to the forested ones (Vitt et al 2007) should favour the presence of functionally more similar species. In addition, the open formationswhich occupy nearly 75% of the Cerrado (Klink et al 2020) are considered ancestral habitats (Werneck 2011;Bueno et al 2017), climatically more stable along evolutionary time than forested formations (Werneck et al 2012), which could allow them to support higher phylogenetic diversity.…”