Resprouting after disturbance: an experimental study with short-lived monocarpic herbs

Abstract

Abstract:We experimentally demonstrated the ability of three short-lived monocarpic species to vegetatively regenerate (resprout) from roots after severe disturbance. We assessed the relationship between resprouting ability and (1) timing of injury with respect to life-cycle stage (reproductive vs. vegetative plant), life-history mode (annual vs. winter annual) and phenological stage (flowering vs. fruiting plant), (2) nutrient availability, and (3) disturbance severity (removal of all axillary buds Yes/No).In a chamber experiment with the annual or potentially winter annual Rorippa palustris, all injured plants resprouted in all nutrient levels and day-length regimes (day-length regimes simulated conditions of an annual and a winter annual cohort). The number of adventitious buds on roots was positively affected only by injury. The extent of regeneration and amount of regenerated biomass were higher at high nutrient level and long-day regime.In a field experiment with the biennials, Oenothera biennis and Oenothera issleri, both species responded to injuries by resprouting from axillary buds when at least only one axillary bud was still present. However, they were also able to resprout from adventitious buds on roots. Reproductive plants resprouted more frequently at the flowering stage than at the fruiting stage. Resprouting of vegetative plants (rosettes) was equal throughout the year and more frequent than in the reproductive plants.

Intermediate growth forms as a model for the study of plant clonality functioning: an example with root sprouters

“…Dubard (1903) and Rauh (1937) noticed that the biennials Alliaria officinalis and Bryonia dioica were able to sprout from roots only at the end of the first growing season, and the shortlived herb Oenothera biennis was only in vegetative stage (rosette). According to a more recent study (Martı´nkova´et al, 2004a), O. biennis regenerates from roots also in the generative phase (fruiting stem), but less successfully than in the vegetative stage. The same result was found for the short-lived perennial Barbarea vulgaris (Martı´nkova´et al, in prep.).…”

“…Rauh (1937) found the same strategy in Geranium sanguineum and Rumex sanguineus. On the other hand, Oenothera biennis forms root buds and releases new root-borne shoots almost exclusively after injury (Martı´nkova´et al, 2004a), even though these buds are not formed directly on the callus tissue as in some other species, e.g., Trifolium alpestre, Centaurea scabiosa (Rauh, 1937).…”

“…The life-history mode of Rorippa palustris is determined by the time of germination; germination from April to June results in an annual life-history mode, while winter annual plants germinate later in the growing season (Sosnova´, 2003). In a study by Martı´nkova´et al (2004a), both lifehistory modes of this species were artificially induced by manipulating with day length in a growth chamber experiment. The root-sprouting ability was independent of the life-history mode of the experimental plants, only the extent of regeneration was influenced by it (Martı´nkova´et al, 2004a).…”

“…In a study by Martı´nkova´et al (2004a), both lifehistory modes of this species were artificially induced by manipulating with day length in a growth chamber experiment. The root-sprouting ability was independent of the life-history mode of the experimental plants, only the extent of regeneration was influenced by it (Martı´nkova´et al, 2004a). In a garden experiment with sequentially sown cohorts of R. palustris, Sosnova´(2003) found that plants behaving as (summer) annuals regenerated more successfully than plants in winter annual mode.…”

Annuals sprouting adventitiously from the hypocotyl: their compensatory growth and implications for weed management

“…However, the ability of annuals to form buds de novo and regenerate vegetatively from them was not sufficiently studied to evaluate its potential role in the weediness of such species. The few experiments done so far were focused predominantly on regeneration of Rorippa palustris from root fragments (Martínková et al 2004a(Martínková et al ,b, 2006Klimešová et al 2007) or Linum usitatissimum and Euphorbia geniculata from the hypocotyl (Adams 1924;Crooks 1933;Rauh 1937;Eggers 1946;Link & Eggers 1946;Kigel et al 1992; 924 V. Latzel et al Ishikawa et al 1997). Experiments with Rorippa palustris found that plants that regenerated from root fragments can finish their life cycle and even produce more seeds than plants regenerating from seeds .…”