Giant stem rosettes have strong facilitation effects on alpine plant communities in the tropical Andes

Mora, Maria; Llambí, Luis Daniel; Ramírez, Lirey

doi:10.1080/17550874.2018.1507055

Cited by 30 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Seedling survival and recruitment in alpine areas could rely in the availability of suitable microclimates [7] typically protected among vegetation or stones [62,63]. In the Tropical Andes, several studies have shown that cushion plants, shrubs and even giant rosettes can function as nurse plants by changing microclimatic conditions, especially by reducing the prevalence of extreme temperatures and ameliorating the effects of drought [30,66–68], enhancing seedling survival and recruitment [62,69]. Additionally, small microtopographic variations can lead to substantial changes in soil temperature [8] and generate suitable sites for seedling recruitment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High heat tolerance in plants from the Andean highlands: Implications for paramos in a warmer world

Leon-Garcia

Lasso

2019

PLoS ONE

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Tropical plant species are expected to have high heat tolerance reflecting phenotypic adjustments to warm regions or their evolutionary adaptation history. However, tropical highland specialists adapted to the colder temperatures found in the highlands, where short and prostrated vegetation decouples plants from ambient conditions, could exhibit different upper thermal limits than those of their lowland counterparts. Here we evaluated leaf heat tolerance of 21 tropical alpine paramo species to determine: 1) whether species with restricted distribution (i.e., highland specialists) have lower heat tolerance and are more vulnerable to warming than species with widespread distribution; 2) whether different growth forms have different heat tolerance; and 3) whether species height (i.e., microhabitat) influences its heat tolerance. We quantified heat tolerance by evaluating T50, which is the temperature that causes a reduction in 50% of initial Fv/Fm values and reflects an irreversible damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. Additionally, we estimated the thermal safety margins as the difference between T50 and the maximum leaf temperature registered for the species. All species presented high T50 values ranging between 45.4°C and 53.9°C, similar to those found for tropical lowland species. Heat tolerance was not correlated with species distributions or plant height, but showed a strong relationship with growth form, with rosettes having the highest heat tolerance. Thermal safety margins ranged from 12.1 to 31.0°C. High heat tolerance and broad thermal safety margins suggest low vulnerability of paramo species to warming as long as plants are capable of regulating the leaf temperature within this threshold. Whether paramo plants would be able to regulate leaf temperature if drought episodes become more frequent and transpirational cooling is compromised is the next question that needs to be answered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High heat tolerance in plants from the Andean highlands: Implications for paramos in a warmer world

Leon-Garcia

Lasso

2019

PLoS ONE

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“…In addition, cushions and shrubs can effectively protect other species from grazing by livestock, which may further severely impair population recruitment and persistence (Foster, ; Mayer & Erschbamer, ). Therefore, it is crucial to take both cushion and shrub life‐forms into consideration in efforts to understand alpine plant diversity and ecosystem functions (Mora, Llambí, & Ramírez, ). However, considering the species‐specific effects, further studies are still needed to compare and reveal the contributions of those ecosystem engineers with different life‐forms and functional traits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cushion and shrub ecosystem engineers contribute differently to diversity and functions in alpine ecosystems

Chen

Wang

et al. 2019

J Vegetation Science

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Questions:As ecosystem engineers, alpine cushion and shrub species have been widely documented, but their roles as co-existing nurse plants have not been explicitly compared. In this study, our questions were: (1) what are the differences in engineering effects between cushions and shrubs in alpine ecosystems in southwestern China? (2) what are the differences in their influences on the attributes of alpine plant communities? and (3) can we detect the effects of changes in environmental stress with elevation on the engineering effects of cushions and shrubs? Study Site: Three plant communities along an elevational gradient on Baima Snow Mountain, SW China.Methods: Field measurements were carried out to assess effects of cushion (Arenaria polytrichoides) and shrub (Rhododendron rupicola) species on soil temperature, soil nutrient and water availabilities, the species richness of co-existing vascular species and their abundance, above-ground production and the percentages of grazed individuals.Results: Shrub and cushion species modify micro-environmental conditions, especially at higher elevations, but in different ways. Grazing pressures are highest for plants in the surroundings, followed by within cushions, and finally under shrubs. This indicates that both cushion and shrub species can protect beneficiary species from grazing by livestock. The presence of cushion plants increased species richness, abundance and above-ground production in the higher community but not in the middle and lower communities. However, the presence of shrubs consistently increased those measurements across the elevational gradient. In addition, some species exclusively and some others preferentially occur within cushions or beneath shrubs. Conclusion:The results clearly suggest that alpine cushion and shrub species in the Hengduan Mountains both act as ecosystem engineers and contribute positively to community attributes. However, their engineering effects vary with environmental stresses. Cushions could facilitate other species under severe abiotic stress, but showed much weaker or even competitive effects in benign conditions; shrubs' facilitation may remain consistently strong under different stresses.

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“…on coral reefs), or unrelated species united by convergent traits (e.g., mangroves; see also Bittleston et al., 2016 ). In the latter case, when two or more foundation species of similar growth forms co-occur, the combination of specificity and complementarity of their foundational effects can non-redundantly promote associated species diversity and ecosystem processes (e.g., Angelini et al., 2011 , Hupp et al., 2017 , Mora et al., 2018 ).…”

Section: What Are Foundation Species?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Foundation Species, Non-trophic Interactions, and the Value of Being Common

2019

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Foundation species define ecosystems, control the biological diversity of associated species, modulate critical ecosystem processes, and often have important cultural values and resonance. This review summarizes current understanding of the characteristics and traits of foundation species and how to distinguish them from other “important” species in ecological systems (e.g., keystone, dominant, and core species); illustrates how analysis of the structure and function of ecological networks can be improved and enriched by explicit incorporation of foundation species and their non-trophic interactions; discusses the importance of pro-active identification and management of foundation species as a cost-effective and efficient method of sustaining valuable ecosystem processes and services and securing populations of associated rare, threatened, or endangered species; and suggests broader engagement of citizen-scientists and non-specialists in the identification and study of foundation species and their biological and cultural values.

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Giant stem rosettes have strong facilitation effects on alpine plant communities in the tropical Andes

Cited by 30 publications

References 46 publications

High heat tolerance in plants from the Andean highlands: Implications for paramos in a warmer world

High heat tolerance in plants from the Andean highlands: Implications for paramos in a warmer world

Cushion and shrub ecosystem engineers contribute differently to diversity and functions in alpine ecosystems

Foundation Species, Non-trophic Interactions, and the Value of Being Common

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