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Post-burn study of woody plants at the Jacobs Branch West burn site, 1994
Recent declines in the yellow pine component of pine-hardwood stands in the southern Appalachian Mountains has prompted managers to increase the use of fire as a silviculture tool. The fell and burn treatment is designed to remove competing vegetation (hardwoods and mountain laurel [Kalmia latifolia]) to ensure successful establishment of planted eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Two years after burning, mountain laurel had accumulated more biomass than any other species and accounted for 43% of total biomass in year 1 and 20% in year 2. By year 4, mountain laurel ranked fifth (8.9% of total) in total biomass among hardwood species behind Allegheny serviceberry (Amalanchier arborea, 14.3%), chestnut oak (Quercus prinus, 13.7%), red maple (Acer rubrum, 12.4%), and scarlet oak (Q. coccinea, 9.3%). Across sites, woody species richness ranged from 19-24 in year 1 and 14-22 in year 4. Species richness varied across sites and years, and there were substantial changes in the distribution of biomass among species. The introduction of fire allowed the once dominant pitch pine (P. rigida) to successfully reestablish.
Coarse Woody Debris of the Ice Storm Experiment (ISE) plots at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
The ice storm experiment was a novel experimental approach creating a suite of ice storms in a mature hardwood forest in New Hampshire, USA. The experiment included five ice storm intensities (0, 6.4, 12.7, and 19.1 mm radial ice accretion) applied in a single year, and one ice storm intensity (12.7 mm) applied in two consecutive years. This dataset quantifies the coarse woody debris transferred from the forest canopy to the soil under the different icing conditions. In this forest, little damage occurred below 6.4 mm radial ice accretion, moderate damage occurred with up to 12.7 mm of accretion, and significant branch breakage and canopy damage occurred with 19.1 mm of ice. The icing in consecutive years demonstrated an interactive effect of ice storm frequency and severity such that some branches damaged in the first year of icing appeared to remain in the canopy and then fall to the ground in the second year of icing. These results have implications for National Weather Service ice storm warning levels, and they provide a quantitative assessment of ice-load related inputs of forest debris that will be useful to municipalities creating response plans for current and future ice storms. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.
Data from: Invertebrate phenology modulates the effect of the leaf economics spectrum on litter decomposition rate across 41 subtropical woody plant species
<ol> <li>Litter quality and decomposers are critical to carbon and nutrient cycling through litter decomposition. However, how relationships between litter quality and invertebrate detritivores change litter mass loss through time is poorly known. Species' initial leaf litter quality, as a legacy of their position on the "leaf economics spectrum" (LES), may determine the invertebrate contribution to litter mass loss. This contribution may change through time, as both population peaks of invertebrate detritivores and litter quality of given species will change through time.</li> <li>Here we introduce invertebrate phenology into a conceptual model of drivers of litter mass loss. We hypothesized that in the early decomposition period, LES can predict litter decomposability with or without a strong invertebrate contribution, i.e., litter with higher nutrient content would decompose faster. But in the later decomposition period, when higher quality litter will already have decomposed too much and lower quality litters have still been less degraded, a strong invertebrate peak would coincide with relatively more consumption of initially lower quality litters; this would lead to a hump-back relationship between leaf litter mass loss and initial LES position in this period.</li> <li>We tested our hypothesis through a one-year field decomposition experiment using leaf litter of 41 woody species in each of two sites in subtropical forest in China; only one of these sites had a strong late peak of leaf litter-feeding moth larvae in the litter layer.</li> <li>LES score of litter species had a positive linear relationship with litter mass loss before the key invertebrate consumer peaks in the litter layer. However, with the invertebrates peaking later into the decomposition process, the invertebrate consumption peaked at initially lower quality litters, which altered the species' decomposability trajectory on the LES, consistent with the hypothesized hump-back relationship between leaf litter mass loss and LES. This phenomenon resulted in a strongly reduced slope of cumulative mass loss on initial LES score across species.</li> <li>Our finding highlights the importance of considering interactions between the timing of detritivore activities and the timing of litter quality for better understanding the relationships between soil animals and ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling.</li> </ol>
Data from: Phylogenetic conservatism and biogeographic affinity influence woody plant species richness-climate relationships in eastern Eurasia
<p>Mechanisms underlying species richness patterns remain a central yet controversial issue in biology. Climate has been regarded as a major determinant of species richness. However, the relative influences of different evolutionary processes, (i.e. niche conservatism, diversification rate, and time for speciation) on species richness-climate relationships remain to be tested. Here, using newly compiled distribution maps for 11,422 woody plant species in eastern Eurasia, we estimated species richness patterns for all species and for families with tropical and temperate affinities separately, and explored the phylogenetic signals in species richness patterns of different families and their relationships with contemporary climate and climate change since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We further compared the effects of niche conservatism (represented by contemporary-ancestral climate niches differences), diversification rate and time for speciation (represented by family age) on variation in the slopes of species richness-climate relationships. We found that winter coldness was the best predictor for species richness patterns of most tropical families while Quaternary climate change was the best predictor for those of most temperate families. Species richness patterns of closely-related families were more similar than those of distantly-related families within eudicots, and significant phylogenetic signals characterized the slopes of species richness-climate relationships across all angiosperm families. Contemporary-ancestral climate niche differences dominated variation in the relationships between family-level species richness and most climate variables. Our results indicate significant phylogenetic conservatism in family-level species richness patterns and their relationships with contemporary climate within eudicots. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying large-scale species richness patterns and suggest that ancestral climatic niche may influence the evolution of species richness-climate relationships in plants through niche conservatism.</p>
Data from: Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: Importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage
1. Recent global trends of increasing woody plant abundance in grass-dominated ecosystems may substantially enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and could represent a strong carbon (C) sink in the terrestrial environment. However, few studies have quantitatively addressed the influence of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and soil properties on SOC storage at the landscape scale. In addition, most studies assessing SOC response to woody encroachment consider only surface soils, and have not explicitly assessed the extent to which deeper portions of the soil profile may be sequestering C. 2. We quantified the direction, magnitude, and pattern of spatial heterogeneity of SOC in the upper 1.2 m of the profile following woody encroachment via spatially-specific intensive soil sampling across a landscape in a subtropical savanna in the Rio Grande Plains, USA, that has undergone woody proliferation during the past century. 3. Increased SOC accumulation following woody encroachment was observed to considerable depth, albeit at reduced magnitudes in deeper portions of the profile. Overall, woody clusters and groves accumulated 12.87 and 18.67 Mg C ha-1 more SOC compared to grasslands to a depth of 1.2 m. 4. Woody encroachment significantly altered the pattern of spatial heterogeneity of SOC to a depth of 5 cm, with marginal effect at 5-15 cm, and no significant impact on soils below 15 cm. Fine root density explained greater variability of SOC in the upper 15 cm, while a combination of fine root density and soil clay content accounted for more of the variation in SOC in soils below 15 cm across this landscape. 5. Synthesis: Substantial SOC sequestration can occur in deeper portions of the soil profile following woody encroachment. Furthermore, vegetation patterns and soil properties influenced the spatial heterogeneity and uncertainty of SOC in this landscape, highlighting the need for spatially specific sampling that can characterize this variability and enable scaling and modeling. Given the geographic extent of woody encroachment on a global scale, this undocumented deep soil C sequestration suggests this vegetation change may play a more significant role in regional and global C sequestration than previously thought.
Data from: Herbivory and climate as drivers of woody plant growth: Do deer decrease the impacts of warming?
<p>Vegetation at ecotone transitions between open and forested areas is often heavily affected by two key processes: climate change and management of large herbivore densities. These both drive woody plant state-shifts, determining the location and the nature of the limit between open and tree or shrub-dominated landscapes. In order to adapt management to prevailing and future climate, we need to understand how browsing and climatic factors together affect the growth of plants at biome borders. To disentangle herbivory and climate effects, we combined long-term tree growth monitoring and dendroecology to investigate woody plant growth under different temperatures and red deer (<i>Cervus elaphus</i>) herbivory pressures at forest-moorland ecotones in the Scottish highlands. Reforestation and deer densities are core and conflicting management concerns in the area, and there is an urgent need for additional knowledge. We found that deer herbivory and climate had significant and interactive effects on tree growth: in the presence of red deer, pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>) growth responded more strongly to annual temperature than in the absence of deer, possibly reflecting differing plant-plant competition and facilitation conditions. As expected, pine growth was negatively related to deer density and positively to temperature. However, at the tree population level, warming decreased growth when more than 60% of shoots were browsed. Heather (<i>Calluna vulgaris</i>) growth was negatively related to temperature and the direction of the response to deer switched from negative to positive when mean annual temperatures fell below 6.0°C. In addition, our models allow estimates to be made of how woody plant growth responds under specific combinations of temperature and herbivory, and show how deer management can be adapted to predicted climatic changes in order to more effectively achieve reforestation goals. Our results support the hypothesis that temperature and herbivory have interactive effects on woody plant growth, and thus accounting for just one of these two factors is insufficient for understanding plant growth mechanics at biome transitions. Furthermore, we show that climate-driven woody plant growth increases can be negated by herbivory.</p>
Lack of vulnerability segmentation among woody species in a diverse dry sclerophyll woodland community
1. Recent findings suggest that tree mortality and post-drought recovery of gas exchange can be predicted from loss of function within the water transport system. Understanding the susceptibility of plants to hydraulic damage requires knowledge about the vulnerability of different plant organs to stress-induced hydraulic dysfunction. This is particularly important in the context of vulnerability segmentation between plant tissues which is believed to protect more energetically "costly" tissues, such as woody stems, by sacrificing "cheaper" leaves early under drought conditions. 2. Differences in vulnerability segmentation between co-occurring plant species could explain divergent behaviours during drought, yet there are few studies considering how this characteristic may vary within a plant community. Here we investigated community-wide vulnerability segmentation by comparing leaf/shoot and stem vulnerability in all coexistent dominant canopy and understory woody species in a diverse dry sclerophyll woodland community, including multiple angiosperms and one gymnosperm. 3. Previously published terminal leaf/shoot vulnerability to loss of water transport capacity was compared with stem xylem vulnerability to embolism measured on the same species at the same site. We calculated hydraulic safety margins for stems to determine variation in the risk of hydraulic failure during drought among species. 4. The xylem of all species was found to be highly resistant to hydraulic dysfunction, with only two of the eight species exhibiting significantly different vulnerability to the overall mean. No evidence of vulnerability segmentation between shoots/leaves and stems was found in seven of the eight species. 5. Phylogenetically diverse canopy and understory species in this evergreen sclerophyll woodland appear to have evolved similar strategies of drought resistance, including low xylem vulnerability to embolism and general lack of vulnerability segmentation. This convergence in hydraulic safety indicates a lack of hydraulic niche partitioning in this woodland community.
Data from: Contrasting per-gram competitive and soil resource effects in grasses and woody plants
1. Plant species differ in their competitive effects by decreasing resource availability via uptake, but in some cases may increase resource availability via non-uptake pathways. Here we explore differences between grasses and woody plants in their competitive effects, and relate these to differences in resource effects. 2. We grew five species each of grasses and woody plants in monocultures for eight years. In the final two growing seasons, competitive effects were measured by growing transplants in all monocultures and in plots without neighbours. 3. Total competitive effects were significantly greater for woody plants than grasses. In contrast, the competitive effect per gram of grasses was about 17 times greater than that of woody plants. 4. For grasses, soil water and soil available N decreased significantly with increasing biomass. In contrast, for woody plants, soil water and soil available N increased significantly with increasing biomass. The results suggest that the intense per-gram competitive effects in grasses is related to the uptake of soil resources, and that the significantly lower per-gram competitive effects of woody plants may be related to their positive effects on soil resources. 5. Synthesis. The results link differences in competitive effects between grasses and woody plants to differences in the direction of their effects on soil resources. These differences may contribute to the entrainment of negative feedback in grasslands, excluding trees by means of strong competition, and the entrainment of positive feedback beneath woody plants establishing in grasslands, resulting in a state change from grassland to woody vegetation.
Short rotation woody crop decision support system
<p>From http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr169</p> <p>Plantations of short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs) use fast-growing tree species that coppice, i.e., resprout from the stump, for repeated harvests that minimize planting costs. Under coppice management, 3–5 growth stages (coppices) can be harvested during the SWRC life (rotation or cycle), with each coppice lasting 2–10 years. SRWCs can produce wood for biomass, mulch, pulpwood, and other products, while also providing environmental services. For example, SRWC plantations can be irrigated with municipal wastewater or fertilized with treated biosolids or municipal compost, simultaneously increasing biomass production, reducing fertilizer costs, and intercepting nitrates and phosphates to reduce nutrient loading in waterways (Rosenqvist et al. 1997; Labrecque et al. 1997; Aronsson & Perttu 2001; Rockwood et al. 2004; Licht & Isebrands 2005; Langholtz et al. 2005; Mirck et al. 2005). SRWCs can also help build soil organic matter, recycle nutrients, and maintain vegetative cover to restore ecological functions of mined lands and other degraded lands (Stricker et al. 1993; Bungart & Huttl 2001; Rockwood et al. 2006). SRWCs established on agricultural lands as shelterbelts or buffer zones to protect riparian areas are likely to reduce soil erosion and runoff of agricultural inputs and improve wildlife habitat (Joslin & Schoenholtz 1997; Tolbert & Wright 1998; Thornton et al. 1998). In spite of these benefits, SRWC production is not always economically viable, and evaluating the economics of SRWC production is not easy.</p> <p>Because SRWCs can have multiple coppices per rotation, evaluating the economics of SRWCs is more complicated than that of conventional forestry. For example, in the evaluation of a pine plantation, the future value of harvested timber is discounted to the year of planting, and planting costs are subtracted to calculate the net present value (NPV) of one harvest rotation. NPV is then used to calculate land expectation value (LEV), i.e. the value of the land assuming the adoption of this forestry practice. However, in the case of SRWC systems, multiple coppices require that the value of every coppice is discounted to the beginning of the rotation. Furthermore, the costs associated with establishment of each rotation and coppice stage must be discounted differently, and determining the optimum harvest scheduling and replanting age is also more complicated than for conventional forestry. Theory behind economic evaluation and optimization of SRWCs is described by Medema & Lyon (1985), Tait (1986), and Smart & Burgess (2000). Economics of SRWC systems in Florida are evaluated by Langholtz et al.<em> </em>(2005; 2007).</p> <p> </p> <p>The Florida Institute of Phosphate Research (FIPR) has supported research in the development of SRWCs as commercial tree crops on phosphate mined lands in Florida. A product of this research is a SRWC Decision Support System (DSS) that can be used to evaluate the economic viability of SRWC systems. The DSS allows a user to input operational costs, planting densities, stumpage prices and other variables and calculate NPVs, LEV, equal annual equivalent (EAE), internal rate of return (IRR), and benefit/cost ratio of a SRWC system. The DSS is in the form of a Microsoft® Excel spreadsheet (Figure 1).</p> <p>The DSS allows users to enter variables in yellow cells in the “Inputs” section on the left side of the worksheet and view results in green cells in the “Outputs” section on the right. Input variables include stumpage price, capital cost, and costs of each start-up, rotation, coppice, and year. The user can specify what portion of total biomass is harvested, the number of coppices, and their harvest ages. Financial incentives for renewable energy or other environmental benefits can be incorporated on a per-ton basis in the stumpage price. The DSS uses growth and yield functions developed from measurements of two planting densities of <em>Eucalyptus amplifolia</em> in a field trial of SRWCs on a phosphate mine clay settling area (CSA) near Lakeland, FL. Yields for each growth stage are displayed, and can be modified by adjusting the initial planting density or by adjusting yields under the general parameters. Ranges of values used to assess SRWC production on CSAs are shown in Table 1.</p> <p>Under all possible combinations of the assumptions in Table 1, the profitability of <em>E. amplifolia</em> on CSAs varies widely, with LEVs ranging from -$909 to $6,740 acre<sup>-1</sup>. Under the base case scenario identified in Table 1, the resulting LEV is $308 acre<sup>-1</sup> assuming an interest rate of 10% and $2,633 acre<sup>-1</sup> assuming an interest rate of 4%. LEV, EAE, and IRR results of the base case scenario under a range of discount rates and stumpage prices are shown in Table 2.</p> <p>This DSS does not automatically determine optimum harvest ages or the optimum number of stages per cycle, which both require dual optimization of continuous functions. DSS users can either input probable harvest and replanting ages and “zero in” inputs to maximize economic returns, or contact the authors to arrange a customized DSS. The DSS in either Excel or MathCad format could be modified to incorporate alternative growth and yield functions that might be developed for other SRWC species or conditions. For more information see the FIPR report “Commercial Tree Crops for Phosphate Mined Lands”, Rockwood et al. (in press).</p> <p> </p> <p>From http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr169</p>
Wood density and leaf size jointly predict woody plant growth rates across (but not within) species along a steep precipitation gradient
<p>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.</p>
Pattern and driver of the compositional variations in a tropical cloud forest: Comparing vascular epiphytes with terrestrial woody plants
<p>β-diversity patterns (the compositional variations across sites) and their drivers are the major concerns of biodiversity research and conservation practices, whereas such information remains scarce for vascular epiphytes, especially in tropical forest communities. This study aimed to reveal the pattern and driving process of the compositional variations of vascular epiphytes in a tropical cloud forest on Hainan island, southern China, and their differences from those of terrestrial woody plants. To this end, we quantified their between-habitat compositional variations and distinguished the underlying components of β-diversity (nestedness and turnover). We then examined the relative roles of niche-based and neutral processes in driving the compositional variations by using a null model approach. Our results showed that the between-habitat compositional variations were significant for both plant assemblages and stronger in vascular epiphytes than in terrestrial woody plants. The turnover component of β-diversity was significantly stronger in terrestrial woody plants, accounting for 73.16%–80.08% of the variations. By contrast, the nestedness component was significantly stronger in vascular epiphytes and characterized 46.82%–67.5% of the variations. Besides, the compositional variations of both plant assemblages, especially terrestrial woody plants, were generally poorly fitted by the simulated niche-based scenarios but well fitted by the simulated neutral scenarios. Overall, the compositional variations of both plant assemblages were significant and mainly due to dispersal limitation, albeit to varying degrees. Hence, further studies of these plant assemblages at local scales should not be ideologically limited to the niche-based framework. Moreover, the stronger nestedness observed in vascular epiphytes suggests the greater importance of prioritizing conservation efforts in the species-rich habitats for these plants.</p>
Phylogeny and climate explain contrasting hydraulic traits in different life forms of 150 woody Fabaceae species
<ol> <li>The contrasting hydraulic traits observed among different plant life forms are shaped by entangled environmental and evolutionary processes. However, we lack an understanding of the relative importance of life form, climate and phylogeny in explaining the variance of hydraulic traits.</li> <li>We analyzed seven hydraulic traits and eleven climatic variables of 150 Fabaceae species representing three life forms from 62 sites worldwide, using phylogenetic comparative analyses and variance partitioning.</li> <li>The phylogenetic signal found in most traits disappeared after considering life form, indicating that phylogenetic conservatism in traits originated from the divergence among life forms. The trait-climate relationships were also phylogenetically dependent, implying that trait responses are driven by climate and phylogeny together. Variance partitioning showed that phylogeny and climate explained greater trait variation than life form did.</li> <li> <em>Synthesis. </em>The climate-driven hydraulic trait responses in Fabaceae still existed with phylogeny being considered, suggesting that this large family may be particularly sensitive to climate change.<em> </em>Our results emphasize the need to include phylogeny in plant hydraulic adaptation studies under future climate change.</li> </ol>
Woody debris removal modifies carbon stocks and soil properties in a fragmented tropical rainforest
<p>We examined whether and how woody debris removal for domestic fuel affects carbon storage and soil properties in an Indian rainforest. Fuelwood removal reduced aboveground carbon stocks, increased soil bulk density, and possibly reduced soil phosphorus stocks. Equitably balancing this subtle trade-off between climate-regulating and vital, widely-utilized provisioning functions, is a challenge for tropical forest research and management.</p>
Data from: Contrasting drivers of aboveground woody biomass and aboveground woody productivity in lowland forests of Colombia
<p>The relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors in shaping forest biomass stocks and fluxes remains a controversial issue. Here, using data gathered from 39 1-ha plots located in flooded and terra firme mature tropical lowland forests of the Amazon and Orinoquia regions of Colombia, we evaluated the importance of climate, soil fertility, flooding as well as tree taxonomic/phylogenetic diversity and forest structural properties, in determining the aboveground biomass stocks (AGB; Mg ha-1) and aboveground woody productivity (AWP; Mg ha-1 y-1). Using information-theoretic multimodel inference and variance partitioning we found that forest structural features, such as the number of trees with diameter at breast height ≥ 70 cm and wood density, are the main drivers of variation in AGB. However, taxonomic diversity also contributes to AGB because it is associated with more large trees in these forests. In contrast, the key drivers of AWP in these forests were soil P and Mg concentration, with no significant effects of diversity indices. These findings emphasize the need to include other major soil cations than N and P (e.g., Mg) in experimental studies to improve our understanding about the extent to which soil fertility can modulate increases in forest AWP due to climate change. Terra firme forests had higher AGB stocks than flooded forests, but both had similar AWP; and we found similar results for the drivers of AGB and AWP between flooded and terra firme forests. Our results provide limited evidence for strong effects of plant diversity on AGB or AWP. Therefore, we call for caution on generalizations of nature-based initiatives aiming to preserve diversity based on maximizing carbon stocks and productivity due to the complex nature of the processes controlling carbon accumulation and carbon fluxes in tropical forests.</p>
Non-target woody plant responses to broadcast herbicide treatment for mesquite and pricklypear control
<p>Aerial spraying of herbicides is an option for treating undesirable woody species on grasslands and rangelands, but few studies have determined the effects of these products on non-target woody plants important to wildlife. A recently introduced herbicide containing a mixture of clopyralid and aminopyralid ("CA") is thought to be specific to honey mesquite (<em>Prosopis glandulosa</em>) control. Our objective was to document the effects of CA alone and mixed with other brush herbicides, including picloram and triclopyr, on two target species, honey mesquite and pricklypear (<em>Opuntia</em> spp.), and two non-target woody plants, lotebush (<em>Zizyphus obtusifolia</em>) and hackberry (<em>Celtis laevigata </em>var <em>reticulata</em>). Treatments were 1) CA, 2) CA + triclopyr (CA+Tr), 3) CA + picloram (CA+Pc), and 4) clopyralid + triclopyr (Cp+Tr). We applied aerial spray treatments on four, 4-ha replicated plots of mature mesquite thickets that also contained pricklypear in each of 3 consecutive years in north-central Texas and evaluated plots at 1 year and 2 years post-treatment (YPT). We developed a tolerance-rating model with 5 levels (highly tolerant, tolerant, moderately tolerant, moderately susceptible, and susceptible) that integrated stand-level percent whole plant mortality (root-kill) and percent canopy reduction of surviving plants. Mesquite was susceptible to all treatments in all spray years. Pricklypear was susceptible to CA+Pc [root-kill more than doubled (33 to 84%) from 1 to 2 YPT], but highly tolerant of the other treatments. Lotebush was highly tolerant or tolerant of all treatments. Hackberry was tolerant of CA and Cp+Tr but susceptible to CA+Pc. The negative effect of CA+Pc on hackberry was greater when hackberry was drought-stressed. We recommend inspection of drought status, foliage condition, and abundance of non-target woody species prior to broadcast spraying for control of targeted woody species or cacti.</p>
Formations of mycorrhizal symbiosis alter the phenolic heteropolymers in roots and leaves of four temperate woody species
<p>The decomposition rates of senesced tissues from plants associated with ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi tend to differ from that associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. However, the chemical underpinnings that could drive the observed differences in decomposition are less explored.</p> <p>Here, we characterized the content, composition, and spatial organization of phenolic heteropolymers in roots and leaves of four temperate tree species across eight plant-fungus combinations, forming either AM or EcM associations.</p> <p>Colonization by either AM or EcM fungi tended to decrease the abundance of lignin, condensed tannins, and ratios of lignin and nitrogen in roots and/or leaves, which would lead to lower chemical recalcitrance of tissues. The decrease in root lignin abundance by either mycorrhizal type was associated with an expanded cortex, potentially facilitating symbiosis. Additionally, changes in lignin molecular composition by mycorrhizal symbiosis differed between plant phylogenetic lineages irrespective of mycorrhizal type.</p> <p>Our results suggest that the mycorrhiza-associated changes in plant chemical traits that regulate litter decomposition may not be unique to AM or EcM associations; rather, both associations can reduce root and leaf chemical recalcitrance. Further, the differential modification in lignin composition by mycorrhizal symbiosis between plant phylogenetic groups highlights the influence of plant evolutionary history in plant-mycorrhizal interactions.</p>
Data from: Contrasting heat tolerance of evergreen and deciduous urban woody species during heat waves
<p>The increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves caused significant damages to urban woody species, and the different leaf structures between evergreen and deciduous species may be closely related to leaf heat tolerance. However, whether the different leaf structural traits of evergreen and deciduous plants contribute to their different responses under heat waves is still unclear.</p> <p>During the record-breaking and long-lasting 2022 summer heat waves in China, we investigated the relationships between leaf thermal indices and leaf structural traits of 36 urban woody species in four cities along the Yangtze River.</p> <p>We found that all the four thermal indices were significantly but weakly related with leaf damage status. The critical temperature that causes the initial 15% damage to photosystem II (Tcrit) may serve as a sensitive measure of heat tolerance. Evergreen species suffered less leaf damage during the heat waves and exhibited higher leaf heat tolerance, thicker leaves than deciduous species. Tcrit was significantly correlated with leaf mass per area, leaf thickness and thickness of spongy tissue.</p> <p><em>Synthesis</em>:<em> </em>Urban woody species with high Tcrit, leaf mass per area, and leaf thickness tend to be more tolerant to heat stress. This study provides insights for predicting leaf heat tolerance of urban woody plants in subtropical China and their physiological and ecological responses to severe heat waves.</p>
Data from: Enhanced woody biomass production in a mature temperate forest under elevated CO2
<p>This data set reports tree growth and net primary productivity in response to experimentally elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration in the free-air CO<sub>2</sub> enrichment (FACE) of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR FACE). Data ae reported for a pre-treatment period (2010-2016) and from the onset of CO<sub>2</sub> treatment (2017-2023). The BIFoR FACE experiment is located in central England (52.801°N, 2.301°W, 107 m above sea level) within a deciduous forest dominated by 180-year old <em>Quercus robur</em> L. trees, which represent 92% of the forest's basal area. There are six experimental arrays of approximately 30 m diameter. Tree ring analysis was used to determine growth patterns within the arrays prior to the onset of CO<sub>2</sub> treatment. The trees in three of the arrays have been exposed to elevated CO<sub>2</sub> (ambient concentration + 150 ppm) during the growing seasons since 2017. Tree diameter was measured with manual dendrometers, and dry mass of oak trees was calculated using an allometric equation determined by terrestrial laser scan of the trees within the arrays. Dry matter production of understory species and coarse roots was calculated using allometric equations from the literature. Leaf production was calculated from mass of leaf litter collected in litter baskets. Fine-root production was measured in ingrowth cores and scaled to 1-meter depth based on fine-root biomass in deep cores. Exudation rates were scaled up to a full growing season and total fine-root mass.</p>
Rosa multiflora (Rosaceae) - woody angiosperms - inflorescence - ventral view of flower + perianth
Image of Rosa multiflora (Rosaceae) - woody angiosperms - inflorescence - ventral view of flower + perianth
Rosa multiflora (Rosaceae) - woody angiosperms - inflorescence - close-up of flower interior
Image of Rosa multiflora (Rosaceae) - woody angiosperms - inflorescence - close-up of flower interior
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.