Frost sensitivity of leaves and flowers of subalpine plants is related to tissue type and phenology

CaraDonna, Paul J.; Bain, Justin A.

doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12482

Cited by 51 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, although we detected frost damage, the frost events might not have been severe enough to affect flower production. Finally, we did not find any significant frost damage to Delphinium or Potentilla, which is not surprising given that Delphinium is highly frost tolerant (CaraDonna & Bain, ), and Potentilla bloomed after the date of last frost, even in the snow removal treatment. Several studies have documented a direct link between frost and flower production for mid‐ to late‐blooming species (Augspurger, ; Inouye, ; Pardee et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…However, frost damage did not translate into lower flower production for either species. One reason may be that the night‐time temperatures during the natural frost events in our study were usually between −1 and −4 ° C, and early blooming species have been shown to be able to withstand these mild frost events (CaraDonna & Bain, ). However, Gezon et al () did find that frost negatively impacted Claytonia seed set in 2012, a year where the snow melted out particularly early and temperatures reached −8 ° C once plants had emerged.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The individual and combined effects of snowmelt timing and frost exposure on the reproductive success of montane forbs

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Changes from historic weather patterns have affected the phenology of many organisms world‐wide. Altered phenology can introduce organisms to novel abiotic conditions during growth and modify species interactions, both of which could drive changes in reproduction. We explored how climate change can alter plant reproduction using an experiment in which we manipulated the individual and combined effects of snowmelt timing and frost exposure, and measured subsequent effects on flowering phenology, peak flower density, frost damage, pollinator visitation and reproduction of four subalpine wildflowers. Additionally, we conducted a pollen‐supplementation experiment to test whether the plants in our snowmelt and frost treatments were pollen limited for reproduction. The four plants included species flowering in early spring to mid‐summer. The phenology of all four species was significantly advanced, and the bloom duration was longer in the plots from which we removed snow, but with species‐specific responses to snow removal and frost exposure in terms of frost damage, flower production, pollinator visitation and reproduction. The two early blooming species showed significant signs of frost damage in both early snowmelt and frost treatments, which negatively impacted reproduction for one of the species. Further, we recorded fewer pollinators during flowering for the earliest‐blooming species in the snow removal plots. We also found lower fruit and seed set for the early blooming species in the snow removal treatment, which could be attributed to the plants growing under unfavourable abiotic conditions. However, the later‐blooming species escaped frost damage even in the plots where snow was removed, and experienced increased pollinator visitation and reproduction. Synthesis. This study provides insight into how plant communities could become altered due to changes in abiotic conditions, and some of the mechanisms involved. While early blooming species may be at a disadvantage under climate change, species that bloom later in the season may benefit from early snowmelt, suggesting that climate change has the potential to reshape flowering communities.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The individual and combined effects of snowmelt timing and frost exposure on the reproductive success of montane forbs

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…; Vitasse et al . ; CaraDonna & Bain ), leading to the same risk of freezing damage among species (Lenz et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergence of leaf‐out towards minimum risk of freezing damage in temperate trees

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Within the same forest stand, temperate deciduous trees generally exhibit a distinct pattern in leaf‐out timing, with some species flushing earlier than other species. This study aimed to explain the timing of leaf‐out of various temperate tree species in relation to the risk of freezing damage to leaves. We combined long‐term series of leaf‐out date (14–32 years) of five temperate tree species located in both low and high elevations in Switzerland, daily minimum temperatures recorded at the same sites and species‐specific freezing resistance (LT50) of emerging leaves. We calculated temperature safety margins (the temperature difference between absolute minimum temperature during leaf‐out and species‐specific LT50 values), and date safety margins (time lag between the last day when temperature falls below species‐specific LT50 values and the date of leaf‐out). Leaf‐out occurred when the probability to encounter freezing damage approaches zero, irrespective of climatic conditions (low vs. high elevation) and species (early‐ and late‐flushing species). In other words, trees leaf out precisely at the beginning of the probabilistically safe period. Interestingly, the temperature safety margins did not differ significantly between low and high elevation. Yet, the date safety margin was smaller at high elevation, presumably due to a faster increase in temperature during the leaf‐out period at high elevation. When species‐specific freezing resistance is taken into account, the time of leaf‐out converges among species towards a marginal risk of freezing damage. Thus, leaf‐out time has likely evolved in a way that the risk of freezing damage is minimized over a large spectrum of climatic conditions. Species with a small safety margin against freezing temperature, like Fagus sylvatica, appear to employ photoperiod co‐control of spring phenology, whereas species with a large safety margin depend largely on temperature for the right timing of leaf‐out. Our results offer a new avenue to explain the differences in leaf‐out timing among co‐occurring tree species. They further suggest that in a warming climate, tree species can expand their distribution range to the extent their phenology matches the stochasticity of freezing temperatures in spring.

show abstract

“…Hereafter, we refer to each species by genus. We chose three mid‐summer flowering species because they likely preform their buds (Inouye, Morales, & Dodge, ), and their leaves and other tissues have been shown to be more frost sensitive than their earlier season congeners (CaraDonna & Bain, ); thus, their floral and flowering traits may be susceptible to early season frost damage. Erigeron produces light pink‐to‐purple, hermaphroditic flowers, with 1–11 flower heads per stem (Robertson, ), and on average 15 stems per plant (G.L.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and indirect effects of episodic frost on plant growth and reproduction in subalpine wildflowers

Pardee

Inouye

Irwin

2017

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Frost is an important episodic event that damages plant tissues through the formation of ice crystals at or below freezing temperatures. In montane regions, where climate change is expected to cause earlier snow melt but may not change the last frost-free day of the year, plants that bud earlier might be directly impacted by frost through damage to flower buds and reproductive structures. However, the indirect effects of frost mediated through changes in plant-pollinator interactions have rarely been explored. We examined the direct and pollinator-mediated indirect effects of frost on three wildflower species in southwestern Colorado, USA, Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae), Erigeron speciosus (Asteraceae), and Polemonium foliosissimum (Polemoniaceae), by simulating moderate (-1 to -5°C) frost events in early spring in plants in situ. Subsequently, we measured plant growth, and upon flowering measured flower morphology and phenology. Throughout the flowering season, we monitored pollinator visitation and collected seeds to measure plant reproduction. We found that frost had species-specific direct and indirect effects. Frost had direct effects on two of the three species. Frost significantly reduced flower size, total flowers produced, and seed production of Erigeron. Furthermore, frost reduced aboveground plant survival and seed production for Polemonium. However, we found no direct effects of frost on Delphinium. When we considered the indirect impacts of frost mediated through changes in pollinator visitation, one species, Erigeron, incurred indirect, negative effects of frost on plant reproduction through changes in floral traits and pollinator visitation, along with direct effects. Overall, we found that flowering plants exhibited species-specific direct and pollinator-mediated indirect responses to frost, thus suggesting that frost may play an important role in affecting plant communities under climate change.

show abstract

Frost sensitivity of leaves and flowers of subalpine plants is related to tissue type and phenology

Cited by 51 publications

References 44 publications

The individual and combined effects of snowmelt timing and frost exposure on the reproductive success of montane forbs

The individual and combined effects of snowmelt timing and frost exposure on the reproductive success of montane forbs

Convergence of leaf‐out towards minimum risk of freezing damage in temperate trees

Direct and indirect effects of episodic frost on plant growth and reproduction in subalpine wildflowers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About