Plant responses to heterogeneous environments: scaling from shoot modules and whole‐plant functions to ecosystem processes

Mori, Akira; Niinemets, Ülo

doi:10.1007/s11284-010-0696-0

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This finding underscores previous observations of the partial functional independence of quantity of leaf area and its arrangement in the canopy [32,33]. Changes in canopy structure which rearrange leaf area within the canopy have implications for canopy light interception and thus carbon storage rates [8,9,[40][41][42][43]. Such patterns were observed in a hemlock-dominated forest in southern Appalachia, where growth of successor species increased due to increased light availability in the first two years following mortality of Eastern hemlock [37] and similar results in numerous stand thinning experiments document increased stand production rates [12,13,18,32,33,36,37,39,[44][45][46][47].…”

Section: Functional Consequencessupporting

confidence: 78%

Canopy Structural Changes Following Widespread Mortality of Canopy Dominant Trees

Hardiman

Bohrer

Gough

et al. 2013

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Canopy structure affects forest function by determining light availability and distribution. Many forests throughout the upper Great Lakes region are dominated by mature, even-aged, early successional aspen and birch, which comprise 35%-40% of canopy leaf area, and which are senescing at accelerating rates. In 2008 at the University of Michigan Biological Station, we initiated the Forest Accelerated Succession ExperimenT (FASET) by stem girdling all aspen and birch in replicated stands to induce mortality. Our objective was to understand type and rate of canopy structural changes imposed by rapid but diffuse disturbance consisting of mortality of a single age-species cohort. We characterized changes in canopy structural features in 2008-2011 using ground-based Portable Canopy Lidar (PCL) in paired treated and control stands. As aspen and birch in treated plots died, gap fraction of the upper canopy increased, average leaf height decreased, total canopy height declined, and openness of the whole-canopy increased. All of these trends became more pronounced with time. Our findings suggest that as forests throughout the region pass through the impending successional transition prompted by widespread mortality of canopy-dominant early successional aspen and birch species, the canopy will undergo significant structural reorganization with consequences for forest carbon assimilation. OPEN ACCESSForests 2013, 4 538

show abstract

Section: Functional Consequencessupporting

confidence: 78%

Canopy Structural Changes Following Widespread Mortality of Canopy Dominant Trees

Hardiman

Bohrer

Gough

et al. 2013

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Plant communities under grazing may be considered as collections of individuals in which their morphological and functional attributes act in an integrated form to maximize resource capture for restoring sward leaf area after defoliation (De Kroon et al ., ; Mori and Niinemets, ). Although the magnitude of plastic changes in plant traits is genetically and mechanically restricted, modifications in size, shape and/or rates of physiological processes play a central role in determining how fast plant communities adapt to a given disturbance (Mori and Niinemets, ). Adaptations at the plant population level are another way of adjusting to disturbances and have an important impact on regrowth, with variations in tiller number and size being commonly reported during sward recovery (Murphy and Briske, ; Valentine and Matthew, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Regrowth patterns of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) subjected to strategies of intermittent stocking management

Pereira

Paiva

Geremia

et al. 2013

Grass and Forage Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The morphogenetic responses of individual tillers and the composition of tiller populations throughout regrowth in response to all combinations of two post‐grazing heights (35 and 45 cm) and two pre‐grazing conditions (95% and maximum canopy light interception during regrowth – LI95% and LIMax) were studied in swards of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cv. Napier) from November 2011 to April 2012. Swards were subjected to the same treatments from January 2011 until measurements began, to enable them to adapt to the defoliation regimes. Treatments were allocated to experimental units (850 m2 paddocks) according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design, with four replications. The total number of tillers (basal + aerial) was similar for both LI pre‐grazing targets. However, there was a change in the preferential growth pathway used by plants characterized by modification in the proportion of tiller classes in plant population. Swards managed with the LIMax target had a smaller population density of basal tillers and used the recruitment of aerial tillers as the main growth pathway. Although effective for maintaining stable rates of leaf elongation and senescence, such a strategy resulted in greater tiller death. Additionally, stem elongation, a consequence of the competition for light under those circumstances, resulted in differences in sward herbage mass and morphological composition with potential implications for herbage feeding value.

show abstract

“…Plant architecture is the result of the equilibrium between endogenous growth and environmental constraints and represents a critical whole‐plant adaptation (Barthélémy & Caraglio, 2007). Plants are modular organisms that grow by the repetition of basic functional units (i.e., buds, shoots and branches) (Harper, 1977), whose shape, size and number can show intraspecific variability in response to environmental factors (Barthélémy & Caraglio, 2007; Jarčuška & Milla, 2012; Mori & Niinemets, 2010). Notably, plants can respond to biotic and abiotic factors, altering their morphology, growth or reproductive pattern at the module level (Kawamura, 2010; She et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular growth and functional heterophylly of the phreatophyte Ziziphus lotus: A trait‐based study

Torres-García

Salinas-Bonillo

Pacheco-Romero

et al. 2021

Plant Species Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The variation of plant functional traits, from the cell to the whole-plant level, is a central question in trait-based ecology with regard to understanding ecological strategies and adaptations that result from environmental drivers. Here, we analyzed whole-plant and leaf traits of the phreatophyte Ziziphus lotus (L.) Lam., a long-lived shrub that dominates one of the few terrestrial groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in Mediterranean Basin drylands. We (a) assessed architectural traits and growth patterns, (b) analyzed leaf morpho-functional traits (specific leaf area [SLA] and stomata pore index [SPI]) and physiological traits (gas exchange rates), as well as their variations within individuals, and (c) evaluated temporal variations in modular growth (i.e., sequential iteration of structural units) between growing seasons and in leaf traits within seasons. Z. lotus' growth pattern was based on the repetition of modules composed of shoots (short and long) and branches (flowering and plagiotropic) that promoted a functional differentiation between vegetative and reproductive structures, respectively. We identified morpho-functionally distinct leaves (i.e., heterophylly) borne on different types of branches. Leaves on flowering branches had higher SLA and water use efficiency (WUEi), but lower SPI and transpiration rates than leaves on vegetative ones. We also observed trade-offs in the elongation of vegetative and flowering structures between growing seasons: the shorter the long shoots, the larger the flowering branches. The modular differentiation and heterophylly of Z. lotus might contribute to prioritizing the investment of resources of this phreatophyte, either for growth or reproduction, and could

show abstract

Plant responses to heterogeneous environments: scaling from shoot modules and whole‐plant functions to ecosystem processes

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

Canopy Structural Changes Following Widespread Mortality of Canopy Dominant Trees

Canopy Structural Changes Following Widespread Mortality of Canopy Dominant Trees

Regrowth patterns of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) subjected to strategies of intermittent stocking management

Modular growth and functional heterophylly of the phreatophyte Ziziphus lotus: A trait‐based study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About