Resource allocation in clonal plants

Lötscher, M.

doi:10.1007/3-540-27998-9_22

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 168 publications

(184 reference statements)

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“…Stressors such as high salinities or low nutrient availability can prevent S. alterniflora from investing resources into new shoot production, particularly in the summer months (Smart andBarko 1980, Naidoo et al 1992). As with other plants occurring in stressful environments, S. alterniflora may invest in live leaf tissue maintenance as opposed to new leaf production, except when actively losing live leaf tissue (e.g., via grazing) (Smith and Smith 2001, Bortolus et al 2004, Lo¨tscher 2006. When live leaf tissue is lost to grazing, the plant is forced to invest in more costly new leaf production rather than tissue maintenance Smith 2001, Bortolus et al 2004).…”

Section: Facilitation Mitigates Top-down Control Of S Alternifloramentioning

confidence: 99%

Fiddler crabs facilitate Spartina alterniflora growth, mitigating periwinkle overgrazing of marsh habitat

Gittman

Keller

2013

Ecology

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Ecologists have long been interested in identifying and testing factors that drive top-down or bottom-up regulation of communities. Most studies have focused on factors that directly exert top-down (e.g., grazing) or bottom-up (e.g., nutrient availability) control on primary production. For example, recent studies in salt marshes have demonstrated that fronts of Littoraria irrorata periwinkles can overgraze Spartina alterniflora and convert marsh to mudflat. The importance of indirect, bottom-up effects, particularly facilitation, in enhancing primary production has also recently been explored. Previous field studies separately revealed that fiddler crabs, which burrow to depths of more than 30 cm, can oxygenate marsh sediments and redistribute nutrients, thereby relieving the stress of anoxia and enhancing S. alterniflora growth. However, to our knowledge, no studies to date have explored how nontrophic facilitators can mediate top-down effects (i.e., grazing) on primary-producer biomass. We conducted a field study testing whether fiddler crabs can facilitate S. alterniflora growth sufficiently to mitigate overgrazing by periwinkles and thus sustain S. alterniflora marsh. As inferred from contrasts to experimental plots lacking periwinkles and fiddler crabs, periwinkles alone exerted top-down control of total aboveground biomass and net growth of S. alterniflora. When fiddler crabs were included, they counteracted the effects of periwinkles on net S. alterniflora growth. Sediment oxygen levels were greater and S. alterniflora belowground biomass was lower where fiddler crabs were present, implying that fiddler crab burrowing enhanced S. alterniflora growth. Consequently, in the stressful interior S. alterniflora marsh, where subsurface soil anoxia is widespread, fiddler crab facilitation can mitigate top-down control by periwinkles and can limit and possibly prevent loss of biogenically structured marsh habitat and its ecosystem services.

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Section: Facilitation Mitigates Top-down Control Of S Alternifloramentioning

confidence: 99%

Fiddler crabs facilitate Spartina alterniflora growth, mitigating periwinkle overgrazing of marsh habitat

Gittman

Keller

2013

Ecology

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“…Clonal integration may improve the performance of clonal plants in harsh habitats by enabling translocation of resources between connected ramets (Alpert 1999;Alpert et al 2003;Lötscher 2006;Wang et al 2008;Yu et al 2008). In addition, vegetative multiplication allows clonal plants to spread extensively and establish ramets in new microhabitats Retuerto 2006b, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of patchy soil water resources by the clonal vine Ficus tikoua in karst habitats of southwestern China

et al. 2010

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The karst habitats of southwestern China are characterized by a highly heterogeneous distribution of water resources. We hypothesized that the clonal integration between connected ramets of the clonal vine Ficus tikoua was an important adaptive strategy to the patchy distribution of water resources in these habitats. We grew ramet pairs (each consisting of a parent and an offspring ramet) in both homogeneously and heterogeneously watered conditions. The offspring ramets were wellwatered, whereas their connected parent ramets were randomly assigned to four water treatments: well-watered, mild water stress, moderate water stress, and severe water stress. Increasing water stress decreased leaf water potential, relative water content, net assimilation rate, maximum quantum yield of PSII (F v /F m ), and biomass of the parent ramets. Subjecting the parents to water stress significantly increased root biomass and root mass ratio (RMR) of their offspring ramets. Exploitation of plentiful water resources through the increased adventitious roots connected to another soil patch permitted the complete restoration of water relations and photosynthetic capacity of offspring ramets after an initial depression. Water relations and gas exchange of the parents were not affected by the water supply to their connected offspring ramets, suggesting that offspring ramets hardly exported water to the stressed parents. However, net assimilation rate and proline content of the offspring ramets increased when they were connected to water-stressed parents. The compensatory photosynthetic responses of offspring ramets connected to stressed parents revealed an increasing trend as the experiment progressed. Morphological and physiological plasticity of F. tikoua in response to heterogeneous water resources allow them to adapt to karst habitats and be suitable candidates for vegetation restoration projects.

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“…This unique characteristic of clonal plants is termed as physiological integration (Pitelka and Ashmun 1985;Alpert and Mooney 1986;Slade and Hutchings 1987;Alpert 1991). Many studies have shown that physiological integration facilitates establishing new ramets of offspring in clonal plants and further benefits the survival and growth of whole clone fragments Retuerto 2005, 2006;Lötscher 2006;Wang et al 2008;Li et al 2009). Thus, it has been proposed that in clonal plants species, physiological integration evolved as an adaptation to different conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Influence of light and nitrate assimilation on the growth strategy in clonal weed Eichhornia crassipes

Wang

2010

Aquat Ecol

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We studied as to how the inter-connected modular architecture of clonal Eichhornia crassipes allows nutrient to transfer from established ramets to developing ramets, and nitrate translocation within clonal system and how such a strategy may play an important role in successful establishment and expansion of this clonal plant. Using this stoloniferous E. crassipes as a model, we studied the effects of light and nitrate availability on growth and nitrate assimilation in inter-connected parent and offspring ramets. Our results showed that increase in light and nitrate availability significantly increased growth rate of the whole clonal fragments and reproduction of offspring ramets in E. crassipes. In addition, increases in nitrate reductase (NR) activity and glutamine synthetase (GS) activity were observed in both parent and offspring ramets with increase in light density and nitrate supply. We also found that nitrate translocation is greater in offspring ramets than in parent ramets under abundant light and nitrate environment in this fast-growing clonal plant. Consequently, majority of nitrate assimilation in offspring ramets is beneficial to the growth of whole clonal system, as indicated by a close correlation between nitrate assimilation in offspring ramets and RGR of whole clonal fragments. We strongly contend that nitrate translocation and assimilation within clone system is important for efficient utilization of nitrogen in alien clonal plant E. crassipes during establishment and expansion, and thus for increase in its invasiveness in natural water columns.

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Resource allocation in clonal plants

Abstract: Ecological aspects of clonal growth have been reviewed by Dietz and Steinlein (2001). The present review focuses on the physiological aspects of clonal growth to elucidate the cost/benefit relationships in maintaining physical connections between foraging ramets.

Cited by 12 publications

References 168 publications

Fiddler crabs facilitate Spartina alterniflora growth, mitigating periwinkle overgrazing of marsh habitat

Fiddler crabs facilitate Spartina alterniflora growth, mitigating periwinkle overgrazing of marsh habitat

Exploitation of patchy soil water resources by the clonal vine Ficus tikoua in karst habitats of southwestern China

Influence of light and nitrate assimilation on the growth strategy in clonal weed Eichhornia crassipes

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