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opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Gendered Author List International Plant Names Index 2023

Included to provide a reference for a WikiData editor to add this information to all IPNI id's in WIkiData so that it is maintained by the community and more reusable.  The data has been largely updated for publication of 2023 Making the taxonomic effort: acknowledging female role models in botanical and mycological taxonomy. The Linnean Special Issue 10: 44-59. and for an upcoming paper: Creating a multi-linked dynamic dataset: a case study of plant genera named for women. Biodiversity Data Journal. However, it will not contain names entered after about 2020 since the paper was in submission for a few years due to Covid.

Tree seedling functional traits mediate plant-soil feedback survival responses across a gradient of light availability

Though not often examined together, both plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) and functional traits have important influences on plant community dynamics and could interact. For example, seedling functional traits could impact seedling survivorship responses to soils cultured by conspecific versus heterospecific adults. Furthermore, levels of functional traits could vary with soil culturing source. In addition, these relationships might shift with light availability, which can affect trait values, microbe abundance, and whether mycorrhizal colonization is mutualistic or parasitic to seedlings. To determine the extent to which functional traits mediate PSFs via seedling survival, we conducted a field experiment. We planted seedlings of four temperate tree species across a gradient of light availability and into soil cores collected beneath conspecific (sterilized and live) and heterospecific adults. We monitored seedling survival twice per week over one growing season, and we randomly selected subsets of seedlings to measure mycorrhizal colonization and phenolics, lignin, and NSC levels at three weeks. Though evidence for PSFs was limited, Acer saccharum seedlings exhibited positive PSFs (i.e., higher survival in conspecific than heterospecific soils). In addition, soil microbes had a negative effect on A. saccharum and Prunus serotina seedling survival, with reduced survival in live versus sterilized conspecific soil. In general, we found higher trait values (measured amounts of a given trait) in conspecific than heterospecific soils and higher light availability. Additionally, A. saccharum survival increased with higher levels of phenolics, which were higher in conspecific soils and high light. Quercus alba survival decreased with higher AMF colonization. We demonstrate that functional trait values in seedlings as young as three weeks vary in response to soil source and light availability. Moreover, seedling survivorship was associated with trait values for two species, despite both drought and heavy rainfall during the growing season that may have obscured survivorship-trait relationships. These results suggest that seedling traits could have an important role in mediating the effects of local soil source and light levels on seedling survivorship and thus plant traits could have an important role in PSFs.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2022View details →

[DATASET 1] - BIOMECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SELECTED CLIMBING PLANTS

In the framework of GrowBot project, Task 3.1 aims at selecting and investigating different climbing plants as models for GrowBot artefacts. The activities consist of biomechanical investigation and the analysis of plants’ functional strategies with respect to environmental complexity in terms of size, shape, density of supports, clutter and presence of voids. Task 3.3 aims at selecting and investigating different climbing plants’ attachment strategies for inspiring the design and development of artificial solutions. DS1 aims at collecting all the experimental data gathered during these activities.

QTL mapping for seedling and adult plant resistance to stripe and leaf rust in two winter wheat populations

The two recombinant inbred lines (RIL) populations developed by crossing Almaly × Avocet S (206 RILs) and Almaly × Anza (162 RILs) were used to detect the novel genomic regions associated with adult plant resistance (APR) and seedling or all-stage resistance (ASR) to yellow rust (YR) and leaf rust (LR). Both the populations were evaluated for YR APR in two environments (2018 and 2019) and LR APR in three environments (2018, 2019, and 2020) in the Anza population and two environments (2018 and 2019) in the Avocet population; both the populations were phenotyped for one environment during 2020 for LR and YR ASR and genotyped using high throughput DArTseq technology. A set of 51 QTLs including 22 for YR APR, nine for LR APR, nine for YR ASR, and 11 for LR ASR were identified. Also, a set of 13 stable QTLs including nine QTLs (QYR-APR-2A.1, QYR-APR-2A.2, QYR-APR-4D.2, QYR-APR-1B, QYR-APR-2B.1, QYR-APR-2B.2, QYR-APR-3D, QYR-APR-4D.1, and QYR-APR-4D.2) for YR APR and four QTLs (QLR-APR-4A, QLR-APR-2B, QLR-APR-3B, and QLR-APR-5A.2) for LR APR were identified. In silico analysis revealed that the key putative candidate genes such as Cytochrome P450, Protein kinase-like domain superfamily, Zinc-binding ribosomal protein, SANT/Myb domain, WRKY transcription factor, Nucleotide-sugar transporter, and NAC domain superfamily were in the QTL regions and involved in the regulation of host response towards the pathogen infection. The stable QTLs identified in this study are useful for developing rust-resistant varieties through marker-assisted selection (MAS).

Present status, future trends, and control strategies of invasive alien plants in China affected by human activities and climate change

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) have serious environmental and economic impacts, especially in vulnerable areas of China. However, IAP richness distribution patterns, their driving factors, and the dynamic shifts in potential distribution areas remain elusive. We assessed IAP richness distribution patterns and drivers using 402 IAPs recorded in China at 88,926 occurrence points, and then predicted their potential distribution areas. The results show that IAP hotspots were mainly located in southeastern China, especially coastal areas of the South and East and large inland cities. Population density, gross domestic product (GDP), and four climate variables associated with precipitation and temperature jointly influenced the richness distribution pattern of all IAPs. Specifically, population density and GDP impacted the richness distribution pattern of narrow-range IAPs, and population density, GDP, distance to the nearest national highway, and five climate variables affected the richness distribution pattern of widespread IAPs. Only GDP contributed significantly to the richness distribution pattern of the top 5% hotspot grid cells, whereas population density, GDP, and precipitation in the driest month (BIO14) significantly influenced the richness distribution patterns of hotspots for both the top 10% and top 20%. Prediction analysis demonstrated that southeastern China would have a particularly high invasion risk under both current and future climate scenarios. Regions with increases in predicted species richness are more common (44.83%–64.97%) than those with decreases, except under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 scenario. Climate change will contribute greatly to the expansion of potential IAP distribution areas under both optimistic (RCP 2.5) and pessimistic scenarios (RCP 8.5). The results of this study provide insights into the priority management of IAPs through developing promising strategies for the control and prevention of IAP invasion.

Plant species composition and key-species abundance drive ecosystem multifunctionality

Global biodiversity loss has aroused great concern about the role of plant communities in driving ecosystem functions. However, there is limited understanding of how soil property, plant richness, and composition interact to affect ecosystem multifunctionality. We conducted a constructed-ecosystem experiment by simultaneously manipulating soil origin (i.e., fertile farmland soil and infertile bare land soil), plant richness (from one to four species) and composition (five single species, and all possible two-, three-, and four- species combinations of the five species) to evaluate their importance for driving multiple ecosystem functions related to accumulation of biomass, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in plants, greenhouse gas emissions, soil nutrients, soil N fixation, and mineralization of N and phosphorus (P).

opencc-by-sa-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Data and R code used in Alonso-Crespo et al (2024) Exploring priority and year effects on plant diversity, productivity and vertical root distribution: first insights from a grassland field experiment

This release contains the raw data, R code, and RootPainter model supporting the results described in Alonso-Crespo et al (2024) Exploring priority and year effects on plant diversity, productivity and vertical root distribution: first insights from a grassland field experiment.

Data from: pollinators limit seed production in an early blooming rare plant: evidence of a mismatch between plant phenology and pollinator emergence

The reproductive ecology of rare plants is seldom studied, yet the persistence of plant populations depends on successful mutualisms with pollinators. As atmospheric temperatures rise, phenology of plants and pollinators may become mismatched. We investigated the reproduction of Trifolium barnebyi (Barneby's Clover), a mat-forming perennial endemic to central Wyoming, USA that grows in the crevices of sandstone bedrock. Our objectives were to evaluate a method for monitoring changes in cover as well as assess the pollination and seed-set of T. barnebyi. We established five monitoring transects using a divided frame to estimate percent cover. We conducted seed-set experiments at three locations to measure self-pollination and the degree to which pollinating insects limited seed production. We used vane traps and bee bowls to capture pollinators, and examined pollen carried on bees. Percent cover along transects declined over the 4 year period and was associated with spring precipitation. Trifolium barnebyi did not self-pollinate and relied on pollinators to produce seeds. The number and mass of viable seeds per flower, and the number of bees captured increased as the season progressed, indicating that more and larger seeds were made when more pollinators were present. Blooming of T. barnebyi ranged between April and June depending on the microhabitat the plant lived in and we observed much higher seed production in later-blooming plants. Pollen from T. barnebyi was primarily carried by Andrena bees, although we found smaller amounts of pollen on seven other bee genera. A mismatch in timing between blooming and pollinating insect emergence could limit seed production in T. barnebyi if plants bloom earlier over time and bee emergence does not follow the same phenology. Rare plants can be pollinated by rare pollinators showing that conserving these pollinators is crucial for rare plants and early blooming species may be higher at risk.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Raw data and Matlab code for: Convergence in carnivorous pitcher plants reveals a mechanism for composite trait evolution

Composite traits involve multiple components that, only when combined, gain a new synergistic function. Thus, how they evolve remains a puzzle. We combined field experiments, microscopy, chemical analyses and laser Doppler vibrometry with comparative phylogenetic analyses to show that two carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant species convergently evolved identical adaptations in three distinct traits to acquire a new, composite trapping mechanism. Comparative analyses suggest that this new trait arose convergently via 'spontaneous coincidence' of the required trait combination, rather than directional selection in the component traits. Our results indicate a plausible mechanism for composite trait evolution and highlight the importance of stochastic phenotypic variation as a facilitator of evolutionary novelty.

Plant litter loss exacerbates drought influences on grasslands

Plant litter is known to affect soil, community, and ecosystem properties. However, we know little about the capacity of litter to modulate grassland responses to climate change. Using a 7-year litter removal experiment in a semiarid grassland, here we examined how litter removal interacts with consecutive droughts to affect soil environments, plant community composition, and ecosystem function. Litter loss exacerbates the negative impacts of drought on grasslands. Litter removal increased soil temperature but reduced soil moisture and nitrogen mineralization, which substantially increased the negative impacts of drought on primary productivity and the abundance of perennial rhizomatous graminoids. Moreover, complete litter removal shifted plant community composition from grass-dominated to forb-dominated, and reduced species and functional group asynchrony, resulting in lower ecosystem temporal stability. Our results suggest that ecological processes that lead to reduction in litter, such as burning, grazing, and haying, may render ecosystems more vulnerable and impair the capacity of grasslands to withstand drought events.

Artificial night-time lighting and nutrient enrichment synergistically favour the growth of alien ornamental plant species over co-occurring native plant species

<ol> <li>Insights into ecological drivers of alien plant invasions can be gained through comparative studies of growth and fecundity of invasive alien plants versus those of co-occurring non-invasive alien plants and native plants across environmental conditions in common garden settings. Habitats that harbour alien plant species in many ecosystems globally are presently experiencing light pollution resulting from artificial light at night (ALAN) and increased rates of nutrient enrichment of the soil. However, the potential interactive effects of ALAN and nutrient enrichment on invasiveness of alien plant species remain unknown.</li> <li>Here, we performed a common-garden experiment to test the interactive effects of ALAN and soil nutrient enrichment on the growth of a random set of 10 alien (five invasive and five naturalized) and seven co-occurring native ornamental plant species that are commonly cultivated within urban and peri-urban areas of Nairobi city in Kenya. We predicted that a simultaneous increase in photoperiod via ALAN and nutrient enrichment will favor growth of invasive alien plant species over that of non-invasive alien and native plant species. We grew the 17 plant species under natural daylight (ALAN-) vs natural daylight followed by ALAN (ALAN+) and fully crossed with two levels of nutrient enrichment (low vs high) and competition (competition vs no-competition against a native plant Ocimum gratissimum) treatments.</li> <li>Under simultaneous high-nutrient and no-competition treatments, ALAN enhanced mean total biomass of invasive and naturalized alien species by 61.1% and 131.4%, respectively but decreased that of native plant species by 34%. In contrast, under simultaneous high-nutrient and competition treatments, ALAN enhanced mean total biomass of invasive alien plant species by 68.6% and that of naturalized alien species by 51.9% and native species by 35.4%. High-nutrient treatment enhanced flower formation more strongly in invasive and naturalized alien plants than in native plants. The invasive and naturalized alien species grew taller than native species across the light, nutrient, and competition treatments.</li> <li> Synthesis: The present findings suggest that light pollution and nutrient enrichment may jointly confer growth advantage to invasive alien plant species over that of co-occurring native plant species and enhance invasiveness of alien plant species.</li> </ol>

Phyllosphere microbial associations improve plant reproductive success

The above-ground (phyllosphere) plant microbiome is increasingly recognized as an important component of plant health. We hypothesized that phyllosphere bacterial recruitment may be disrupted in a greenhouse setting, and that adding a bacterial amendment would therefore benefit the health and growth of host plants. Using a newly developed synthetic phyllosphere bacterial microbiome for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), we tested this hypothesis across multiple trials by manipulating microbial inoculation of leaves and measuring subsequent plant growth and reproductive success, comparing results from plants grown in both greenhouse and field settings. We confirmed that greenhouse-grown plants have a relatively depauperate phyllosphere bacterial microbiome, which both makes them an ideal system for testing the impact of phyllosphere communities on plant health and important targets for microbial amendments as we move towards increased agricultural sustainability. We find that the addition of the synthetic microbial community early in greenhouse growth leads to an increase in fruit production in this setting, implicating the phyllosphere microbiome as a key component of plant fitness and emphasizing the role that these bacterial microbiomes likely play in the ecology and evolution of plant communities.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2022View details →

Data from: Direct and higher-order interactions in plant communities under increasing weather persistence

ABSTRACT: Climate change is increasing the weather persistence in the midlatitudes, prolonging both dry and wet spells compared to historic averages. These newly emerging environmental conditions destabilize plant communities, but the role of species interactions in this process is unknown. Here, we tested how direct and higher-order interactions (HOIs) between species may change in synthesized grassland communities along an experimental gradient of increasing persistence in precipitation regimes. Our results indicate that species interactions (including HOIs) are an important determinant of plant performance under increasing weather persistence. Out of the 12 most parsimonious models predicting species productivity, 75 % contained significant direct interactions and 92 % significant HOIs. Inclusion of direct interactions or HOIs respectively tripled or quadrupled the explained variance of target species biomass compared to null models only including the precipitation treatment. Drought dominated the plant responses, with longer droughts increasing direct competition but also HOI-driven facilitation. Despite these counteracting changes, drought intensified net competition. Grasses were generally more involved in competitive interactions whereas legumes had a stronger affinity for facilitative interactions. Under longer drought, species affinity for nutrient rich or wet environments resulted in more negative direct interactions or HOIs, respectively. We conclude that higher-order interactions, crucially depending on species identity, only partially stabilize community dynamics under increasing weather persistence

Data from: Spatial scale matters for predicting plant invasions along roads

Biological invasions threaten global biodiversity and can have severe economic and social impacts. The complexity of this problem challenges effective management of invasive alien species as the contribution of many factors involved in the invasion processes across different spatial scales is not well understood. Here, we identify the most important determinants associated with the occurrence of two invasive alien plants, the North American goldenrods (Solidago canadensis and S. gigantea), commonly found in agricultural landscapes of Europe. We used Google Street View images to perform a remote, large-scale inventory of goldenrods along 1,347 roadside transects across Poland. Using open access geospatial data and machine learning techniques, we investigated the relative role of nearly 50 variables potentially affecting the distribution of studied species at five spatial scales (from within 0.25 km to 5 km of the studied locations). We found that the occurrence of goldenrods along roadsides was simultaneously associated with multiple drivers among which those related to human impacts, climate, soil properties and landscape structure were the most important, while local characteristics, such as road parameters or the presence of other alien plants were less influential. However, the relative contribution of different variables in predicting goldenrod distribution changed across spatial scales. Synthesis: Mechanisms underlying plant invasions are highly complex and a number of factors can jointly influence the outcomes of this process. However, since different invasion drivers operate at different spatial scales, some important associations may be overlooked when focusing on a single spatial context. Although associations were consistent in direction (positive or negative) across scales, their relative influence on goldenrod occurrence often changed. Socio-economic factors were largely important at local scales, while the effect of landscape factors broadly increased with increasing spatial scale. We highlight that using multi-scale approaches involving a wide range of variables may enable setting priorities for the management of invasive alien plants.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Dataset of paper "Phosphate recovery from urine-equivalent solutions for fertiliser production for plant growth"

Dataset of paper "Phosphate recovery from urine-equivalent solutions for fertiliser production for plant growth"

Data for mycorrhizal C/N ratio determines plant-derived carbon and nitrogen allocation to symbiosis

Nutrient cycling in temperate forests is driven by carbon allocation of trees to soil via ectomycorrhizas (EM). The sink activities of different fungal taxa for host resources are unknown. Aboveground dual labeling of young beech with 15N and 13C was used to trace resource transport to ectomycorrhizal root tips. Isotope enrichment in EM correlated with that in the corresponding EM-attached lateral root, supporting that EM drive taxon-specific N- and C-fluxes. The enrichments with 13C and 15N in EM increased with decreasing C/N ratio of the symbiotic association. Abundances of EM species were positively correlated with 13C enrichment, demonstrating higher fitness of stronger than of less C-demanding symbioses. Overall, our results imply that differences among the resource traits of EM species regulate the supply of the symbioses with host-derived C and N. Here we provide the data sets containing information on the identities of fungal species colonizing roots tips of European beech and for N, C, 15N and 13C contents in bark, coarse roots, fine roots, very fine lateral roots, ectomycorrhizal species and rhizosphere soil and for biomass of the different compartments. The data were collected 5 and 20 days after labelling.

Abiotic and biotic contexts shape the effect of disturbance on non-native plant invasion

Making predictions about when and where a given mechanism of invasion will be weak or strong is crucial for the effective management of non-native species. Despite the importance of disturbance on invasion, our understanding of how variation in abiotic and/or biotic conditions may modify the disturbance-invasion relationship is scarce. Here, we aimed to evaluate how abiotic (soil type) and biotic (tree and shrub cover) contexts affect the disturbance-invasion relationship in disturbed and nearby non-disturbed communities in the semi-arid open forest of central Argentina (ca. 36° S) using field sampling. We found that abiotic context modulated non-native species success in disturbed communities, whereas both abiotic and biotic context modulated success in nearby non-disturbed communities. These findings suggest that the plant invasion-disturbance relationship is context-dependent. Our results hint at the possibility that the significance of disturbance in predicting invasion might diminish as the importance of abiotic filters increases.

Wood density and leaf size jointly predict woody plant growth rates across (but not within) species along a steep precipitation gradient

1. Functional traits have been proposed to define key dimensions of plant ecological strategies, but we lack consensus on whether traits can accurately predict plant demography. Despite theoretical expectations, it has been challenging to find consistent relationships between functional traits and growth. 2. In this study, we quantified inter- and intraspecific trait variation and individual growth rates of woody plants across a steep moisture gradient that varies 10-fold in annual precipitation (350–3,700 mm) in southern Chile and used a hierarchical Bayesian model to predict growth as a function of trait values. 3. We show that large-leaved species with lower stem tissue density exhibited the fastest growth rates, and these two traits exhibited the highest proportion of interspecific variation. Predictions of growth improved considerably (R2 of the best model increased from 0.28 to 0.49) when species-level multiple traits and their interactions were considered. The inclusion of intraspecific trait variation (ITV), however, did not improve models of growth rate. 4. We found that trait-growth rate relationships were not always consistent across levels of biological organization; relationships observed at the interspecific level did not necessarily hold at the intraspecific level. We found that the relationships between wood density or leaf size and growth were consistent in direction across the precipitation gradient, and the relationships between leaf economics traits and growth were weak and site-specific. 5. Synthesis. Although using more than one functional trait considerably improved growth predictions, wood density and leaf size successfully predicted growth rates across (not within) species, which is consistent with a whole-plant carbon economy. We assert that these two traits are intimately linked and ultimately describe a continuum of plant architecture and carbon economy that covers multiple trait syndromes.

Native herbivore browsing alters plant physical and chemical traits in a eucalypt forest understory

Macropods exhibit selective herbivory on plant traits within and between species and hence can alter plant trait variation. In this study we asked, what are the effects of macropod herbivory on intraspecific variation in plant traits of forest understorey species? We tested the effects of herbivory by macropods on eight plant traits, in nine understorey species using a herbivore exclusion experiment. Generalised linear mixed models were used to test for differences between herbivory treatments in trait means as well as variation within species and at the community level. Macropod herbivory resulted in differences in either the mean trait value or trait variance within a species for seven of the eight tested plant traits. Macropod exclusion resulted in larger dimensions of size for most species, as well as changes in specific leaf area, moisture content, and carbon content of leaves. Further, community-weighted means of specific leaf area, moisture content, and leaf nitrogen were lower in the presence of macropods. Plant trait variance was altered for three of the seven community weighted traits. This study demonstrates a mechanism through which macropods can drive changes in the traits of understorey plant species. Plant traits have been linked to various larger scale ecological processes including ecosystem flammability, nutrient cycling, response to global change and habitat suitability for other organisms. Therefore, herbivore-induced changes in plant trait variation and community composition could have important flow on effects for other environmental processes and hence should be considered in management decisions regarding fire-prone ecosystems.