Correlating habitat dynamism with foliar anatomical modulations: A study with <i>Phymatosorus scolopendria </i>(Burm. F.) ching

Abstract

There is a dearth in ecological details on Cryptogamia when compared to available literature on higher plants. Hence, we investigated the extent of variation in altitude, light intensity and sunlight duration existing in four contrasting habitats dominated by Phymatosorus scolopendria in relation to fern foliar anatomical dynamics using standard anatomical procedures and ecological protocol. The species consistently possessed diacytic and anisocytic stomata across the habitats whereas anomocytic stomata were also found in the shrub epiphytes. Similarly, unicellular trichomes were consistently present in epiphytic plant forms while oil droplets were consistent throughout except in the tree epiphytes. Also, the stomatal index and number of stomata differed significantly (P&lt;0.05) and were highest in the epiphytes growing on the tree barks (17.337±3.00; 14.33±1.154) but least in the erect forms (12.875±1.10; 8.67±0.577) respectively. The lithophytes recorded highest number of epidermal cells (76.67±15.280) whereas the erect forms recorded the least (46.33±4.041). Altitude varied between 8.23 to 10.36 m; light intensity ranged between 1045 to 13088 lux while sunlight duration ranged from 2 to 8 hours/day. Correlation analysis revealed significant (P&lt;0.05 and P&lt;0.01) coefficients. Specifically, altitude indicated strong positive association with light intensity (r= 0.987* ) and sunlight duration (r= 0.990**) while light intensity correlated strongly with sunlight duration (r= 0.958). The stomatal types were strongly associated with altitude (r=0.679), light intensity (r= 0.769) and sunlight duration (0.570) while stomatal index correlated inversely with altitude (r= - 0.505) and sunlight duration (r= - 0.553). Implicitly, shady habitats with short durations of low light intensity induced higher stomatal development and density while prolonged sunlight duration and increasing light intensity retained low stomatal density in this plant. This pattern indicates a close association between species anatomical progression in relation to prevailing environmental conditions. This information reveals aspects of plant survival mechanism in different environmental scenarios and may aid future conservation efforts.