Plasticity of functional traits of tree of heaven is higher in exotic than in native habitats

Petruzzellis, Francesco; Peng, Guoquan; Tyree, Melvin T.; Tonet, Vanessa; Savi, Tadeja; Torboli, Valentina; Pallavicini, Alberto; Bacaro, Giovanni; Nardini, Andrea

doi:10.1007/s00468-018-1787-8

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Indeed, a lower g s leads to a reduced transpiration rate, which in turn improves WUE, a key factor for plant growth under drought, as a higher WUE allows an effective carbon assimilation by reducing water consumption [ 98 ]. Petruzellis et al [ 22 ] reported that, from a hydraulic point of view, AA is characterized by efficient water transport from roots to leaves. Thus, AA endures water stress of mild intensity without requiring an adjustment to limit E because the water lost by transpiration is rapidly replaced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, global climate change is expected to reduce the degree of adaptation of numerous native species to the environment, creating new opportunities for IAS [ 17 , 18 ]. There is a large consensus in considering native plants as generally less tolerant to stresses than IAS, thus having a lower plasticity in acclimating to environmental changes [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Besides climatic factors, the vulnerability of the Mediterranean Basin region to IAS is also due to a high urbanization level and natural resources exploitation, which are recognized as drivers for IAS spreading [ 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Water Stress on Physiological and Morphological Leaf Traits: A Comparison among the Three Widely-Spread Invasive Alien Species Ailanthus altissima, Phytolacca americana, and Robinia pseudoacacia

Pepe

Crescente

Varone

2022

Plants

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Invasive alien species (IAS) are a problem, especially in drought-prone environments such as the Mediterranean Basin where the exacerbation of the already severe conditions could constrain the native species acclimatation degree, creating new opportunities for IAS. Climate change may drive IAS expansions, even if different IAS can vary in their acclimatation response. Thus, it is important to obtain a broader insight of how the different IAS face abiotic stress. This research aimed to compare the effect of the imposed water stress on physiological and morphological leaf traits of Ailanthus altissima (AA), Robinia pseudoacacia (RP), and Phytolacca americana (PA), which are widely spread IAS in the Mediterranean Basin. Our results showed a species-dependent effect of the water stress at a physiological and morphological level, as well as an interaction between species and stress duration. Despite a common strategy characterized by low stomatal control of the photosynthesis, AA, PA, and RP differ in their sensitivity to water stress. In particular, even if AA was characterized by a more water-spending strategy, it was more resistant to water stress than PA and RP. In this view, the key factor was its plasticity to increase leaf mass per area (LMA) in response to water stress.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Water Stress on Physiological and Morphological Leaf Traits: A Comparison among the Three Widely-Spread Invasive Alien Species Ailanthus altissima, Phytolacca americana, and Robinia pseudoacacia

Pepe

Crescente

Varone

2022

Plants

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“…Then, 1-cm 2 -sized samples (avoiding 1 • and 2 • veins as much as possible) were cut from symmetrical locations of the tip, middle, and bottom of the leaves (6 samples per leaf, 15 leaves per species, see Supplementary Figure 1) and bleached in 5% NaClO solution, then stained with an alcoholic solution of toluidine blue (3%) overnight. The above protocols were similar to other studies (Scoffoni et al, 2011;Sack et al, 2012;Petruzzellis et al, 2019). Finally, three images of each sample (a total of 18 images per leaf) were obtained with a digital camera (Leica, DFC7000 T, Germany) mounted on an optical microscope (Leica, 1 https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/ DM6B Wetzlar, Germany) at 40 × magnification.…”

Section: Vein Systems Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf Venation Architecture in Relation to Leaf Size Across Leaf Habits and Vein Types in Subtropical Woody Plants

et al. 2022

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Leaves are enormously diverse in their size and venation architecture, both of which are core determinants of plant adaptation to environments. Leaf size is an important determinant of leaf function and ecological strategy, while leaf venation, the main structure for support and transport, determines the growth, development, and performance of a leaf. The scaling relationship between venation architecture and leaf size has been explored, but the relationship within a community and its potential variations among species with different vein types and leaf habits have not been investigated. Here, we measured vein traits and leaf size across 39 broad-leaved woody species within a subtropical forest community in China and analyzed the scaling relationship using ordinary least squares and standard major axis method. Then, we compared our results with the global dataset. The major vein density, and the ratio of major (1° and 2°) to minor (3° and higher) vein density both geometrically declined with leaf size across different vein types and leaf habits. Further, palmate-veined species have higher major vein density and a higher ratio of major to minor vein density at the given leaf size than pinnate-veined species, while evergreen and deciduous species showed no difference. These robust trends were confirmed by reanalyzing the global dataset using the same major vein classification as ours. We also found a tradeoff between the cell wall mass per vein length of the major vein and the major vein density. These vein scaling relationships have important implications on the optimization of leaf size, niche differentiation of coexisting species, plant drought tolerance, and species distribution.

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“…The flexibility and ability of IAPs to exploit patchy resources are also indicated by high SLA [34,61,92], which denotes higher photosynthetic capability, higher leaf nutrient levels, and greater turnover of leaves i.e., shorter leaf lifespan [20,66]. In terms of their ability to adapt to different light levels, IAPs exhibit more plasticity than native plant species, which is important for plant growth, development, and survival [15,26,48]. Given the previous results, trait divergence has been suggested to enhance the invasion success of IAPs [21,97,98], but the direction of trait differences is not always consistent.…”

Section: Mycorrhizal Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A higher phenotypic plasticity could help IAPs to adjust and cope faster with new environments and eventually expand the distribution range and ecological niche [34,45]. However, only a few studies reported higher phenotypic plasticity in IAPs, while in others no differences between IAPs and native species were detected [43,[46][47][48]. Besides functional traits, IAP invasion generally occurs when niches become unoccupied due to disturbances that increase resource availability or when competitors and natural enemies reduce the performance of native species [4,49].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Invasive Plant Functional Traits and Management Using Remote Sensing in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ojija,

Petruzzellis,

Bacaro

2024

IJPB

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Biodiversity and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are considerably impacted by invasive alien plants (IAPs). Increasing plant invasions in SSA threaten agricultural productivity, biodiversity conservation, and other socioeconomic activities, which in turn put the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in peril. In order to effectively combat IAPs, understanding their functional traits (morphological, physiological, and phenological traits) and integrating them into remote sensing (RS) is vital. While functional traits influence IAPs’ fitness to invade and establish in a new geographical range, RS aids in studying them remotely, delineating and mapping them, and predicting their potential invasions. The information on this study topic was gathered by reviewing various existing studies published between 2000 and 2024. Based on this review, it was deduced that the majority of IAPs are fast-growing (or acquisitive), with a shorter leaf lifespan, bigger leaves, and higher plant height, ultimately resulting in a higher resource acquisition ability. We established further that in SSA, there are limited studies on IAP functional traits and their integration in RS. Many studies conducted in the region focus mostly on IAP distribution. Evidence from prior studies revealed that functional trait remote sensing (FTRS)-based research not only improves detection and mapping but also predicts whether a certain alien plant can become invasive or expand its distribution range. Thus, using the FTRS approach could help IAP management in SSA, ultimately achieving the SDGs. Our review discusses IAP implications in SSA (e.g., Angola, Tanzania, Benin, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, etc.) and for the achievement of SDGs; functional traits and their impact on alien invasions; and the importance of incorporating functional traits into RS.

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Plasticity of functional traits of tree of heaven is higher in exotic than in native habitats

Cited by 9 publications

References 58 publications

Effect of Water Stress on Physiological and Morphological Leaf Traits: A Comparison among the Three Widely-Spread Invasive Alien Species Ailanthus altissima, Phytolacca americana, and Robinia pseudoacacia

Effect of Water Stress on Physiological and Morphological Leaf Traits: A Comparison among the Three Widely-Spread Invasive Alien Species Ailanthus altissima, Phytolacca americana, and Robinia pseudoacacia

Leaf Venation Architecture in Relation to Leaf Size Across Leaf Habits and Vein Types in Subtropical Woody Plants

Review of Invasive Plant Functional Traits and Management Using Remote Sensing in Sub-Saharan Africa

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