Do Clonal and Bud Bank Traits Vary in Correspondence with Soil Properties and Resource Acquisition Strategies? Patterns in Alpine Communities in the Scandian Mountains

Abstract

Plant traits associated with resource acquisition strategies (specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf size and plant height) change along gradients of soil properties, being the most conservative in a resource-poor environment and the most dynamic in a resource-rich environment. Clonal attributes also vary along soil and other environmental conditions. We hypothesized that in alpine communities in the Scandian Mts. (1) the average composition of traits in a plant assemblage in terms of i) the predominance of different clonal growth organ types, ii) the number of buds in the bud bank, iii) the distribution of the bud-bank (above-and below ground), iv) the distance of lateral spread and v) the longevity of plant -offspring connections would change along a gradient of soil properties and (2) that this variation would be in correspondence with that of traits associated with resource acquisition strategies (SLA, LDMC, leaf size and plant height). Analysis of clonal and bud bank traits for species of alpine communities supported our first hypothesis: with decreasing soil quality the most common clonal growth organs were rhizomes, and there was a predominance of perennial bud banks located at the soil surface or below-ground, low rates of lateral spread and long persistence of plant -offspring connections. Our second hypothesis was partly supported. As predicted, at the level of the plant assemblage, these clonal and bud bank traits were positively associated with LDMC, and negatively with leaf size and plant height. These observations reinforce the hypotheses about trade-offs between acquisition and retention strategies in plants. The only result that was in contradiction with our expectations was the lack of correspondence between clonal and bud bank traits and SLA that could be attributed to errors associated to Folia Geobot (2011) 46:237-254 DOI 10.1007

Clonal growth forms in Arctic plants and their habitat preferences: a study from Petuniabukta, Spitsbergen

“…This value is similar in that reported for other cold areas (Polozova 1981;Nakhutsrishvili and Gamtsemlidze 1984;Pokarzhevskaya 1995;Rusch et al 2011) with the exception of dry regions of the Western Himalayas (Klimeš 2003).…”

Searching for the Relevance of Clonal and Bud Bank Traits Across Floras and Communities

“…The hypothesis by Jónsdóttir and Watson (1997), i.e., that plants with splitting clones prevail in nutrient-rich conditions whereas integrators in nutrient-poor conditions, was supported by Rusch et al (2011). Using the results from other studies here (Wellstein and Kuss 2011;Klimešová et al 2011;Benot et al 2011) we could slightly expand the hypothesis that not only low versus high nutrients but also dry versus wet conditions lead to the same pattern of persistence of connection between ramets.…”

“…Whether the reason of these patterns is just random "selection effect" or whether given clonal traits themselves are functionally involved in species sorting remains to be tested. Results, in this sense, might easily differ for different cases (compare also Rusch et al 2011;Benot et al 2011) suggesting, at least, that selection effects and stochastic processes are not negligible.…”

“…In one study (Rusch et al 2011), the relationship of bud bank and clonal traits with other plant traits was examined on the level of plant assemblages. Rusch et al showed that both leaf traits and clonal traits reflect the plant economy spectrum.…”

Incorporating clonal growth form clarifies the role of plant height in response to nitrogen addition

“…For example, Sammul et al (2003) determined that the species lost from plots with added nutrients were those with longer ramet life spans and higher patch-holding capacity, so that clumped species tended to be excluded by faster turnover runner species. In addition to soil fertility gradients, clonal growth forms have been found to shift in abundance along other gradients such as soil moisture, e.g., clumped species can be more common in dry habitats than mesic (Halassy et al 2005;Rusch et al 2010). These individual studies point to the idea that traits associated with clonal growth are often important in competitive interactions and persistence, but require further study (Zobel et al 2010).…”