Divergent Adaptation Strategies of Vascular Facultative Epiphytes to Bark and Soil Habitats: Insights from Stoichiometry

Zhang, Tingting; Liu, Wen-Yao; Hu, Tao; Tang, Dandan; Mo, Yu-Xuan; Yi, Wu

doi:10.3390/f12010016

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Our nding concerning leaf N was surprising as in nutrient-poor habitats, species are generally known to have low leaf nutrient concentrations (Lambers and Poorter 1992;Wright et al 2004). In bromeliads, the high amount of nitrogen in the leaves of plants growing on the nutrient-poor substrate could be the result of luxury consumption, which is common in epiphytes (Zhang et al 2021;Zotz 2016b). However, when considering the whole plant (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of substrate fertility on tank-bromeliad performances

et al. 2022

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Members of the plant family Bromeliaceae can uptake nutrients directly from their leaves via leaf absorbing trichomes and their roots have long been reduced to anchorage function,thus overlooked.Recently, evidence has accumulated for a signi cant role for the roots of some species of tank bromeliads in both water and nutrients absorption. However, to date, little attention has been paid to the importance of the substrate fertility for the structure of the roots and the growth and performance of tank bromeliads. MethodsThis study investigated the effect of substrate fertility on Aechmea aquilega. Seeds of this tank bromeliad were sowed in a greenhouse in French Guiana in three different substrates: a nutrient-poor, a nutrient-rich and a mixed substrate. The performances of 15-month-old A. aquilega were assessed by measuring leaf and root traits related to nutrient acquisition and resources capture. ResultsWe show that plants growing in nutrient-poor substrate grew twice slower and were smaller than plants grown on the nutrient-rich substrate with fewer leaves and roots, lower total dry mass, and smaller leaves and root length. Overall, 70% of measured traits responded signi cantly to the experimental treatments indicating that the response of A. aquilega to nutrient availability is a combination of physiological processes, leaf and root structure, and chemistry. ConclusionThis study is the rst to show that the fertility of the substrate on which the bromeliad A. aquilega grows has a strong and lasting effect on the plant performance and may be a relevant factor for bromeliad ecology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of substrate fertility on tank-bromeliad performances

et al. 2022

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Functional Ecology of Vascular Epiphytes

Zotz

Hietz

Einzmann

2021

Annual Plant Reviews Online

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The epiphytic life form characterizes almost 10% of all vascular plants. Defined by their mechanical dependence throughout their life and their non‐parasitic relationship with the host, the term epiphyte describes a very heterogenous and taxonomically diverse group of plants. This article explores the functional ecology of this group, acknowledging from the start that our current knowledge is highly biased, e.g. with a strong focus on particular families like bromeliads or orchids. This bias goes along with a number of problematic and weakly founded generalizations in the literature. Our article covers a set of particularly important aspects of epiphyte ecology, e.g. germination, water and nutrient relationships, and biomechanical aspects of the epiphyte‐host relationship. Throughout our article, we describe ways for future research projects to reach a more comprehensive and representative understanding of the biological responses to the varying challenges of the arboreal habitat, and emphasize that the study of epiphytes should not only be of interest to the narrow expert: a comparison of the functional ecology of epiphytes and ground‐rooted terrestrials offers unique perspectives to understanding both evolutionary and ecological, phenotypic responses to the diverse habitats of vascular plants in general.

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