Silicon in tropical forests: large variation across soils and leaves suggests ecological significance

Schaller, Jörg; Turner, Benjamín L.; Weissflog, Anita; Pino, Delicia; Bielnicka, Aleksandra W.; Engelbrecht, Bettina M. J.

doi:10.1007/s10533-018-0483-5

Cited by 39 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…In this study, we quantified the spatial variation of the main components of ecosystem Si cycling and its relationship to tree species distribution in a species-rich lowland tropical forest. Whereas variation of soil Si availability at the continental and regional scales are reported recently (e.g., Quigley, Donati, & Anderson 2017, Schaller et al, 2018, our study is the first to examine spatial variation of Si availability within a scale of a forest stand.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…However, no obvious association existed between the spatial pattern of water extractable soil Si and topographical variables in the plot (Table ), suggesting that topography was not a main controlling factor of soil Si availability in this relatively flat area. Recent other studies reporting soil Si availability at the regional scales (but not within‐site scales) show a wide range of 0.015~0.15 mg/g with the most weathered Ultisol and Oxisol having the lowest values compared to other soil orders (Quigley, Donati, & Anderson, ; Schaller et al, ). Haplic acrisol of Pasoh forest is related soil taxonomically to the USDA order of Ultisol, and our data demonstrated that soil Si availability is likely to show large variations even within the same forest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In the present study, the leaf Si concentration of the 86 species studied exhibited large variations of up to 300‐fold (Figure ; Table S1), and both trees with negligible (<5 mg/g) and high (>20 mg/g) leaf Si concentrations were common in the 2 ha area (Tables and S1). Therefore, tropical trees in this forest employ variable strategies of Si uptake, similar to tree species in Barro Colorado Island (31 most abundant species, Schaller et al, ; 315 woody species, K. Kitajima, unpublished data). The overall abundance‐weighted mean of leaf Si concentration was moderately high (13.8 mg/g), indicative of the high proportion of species employing active uptake of Si.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, leaf Si concentration variations are poorly described for tropical tree species, especially in Southeast Asia. Schaller et al (2018) report leaf Si concentration for 30 common tree species from a Neotropical forest (up to 55 mg/g). In the present study, the leaf Si concentration of the 86 species studied exhibited large variations of up to 300-fold ( Figure 2; Table S1), and both trees with negligible (<5 mg/g) and high (>20 mg/g) leaf Si concentrations were common in the 2 ha area (Tables 2 and S1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial variations of soil silicon availability and biogenic silicon flux in a lowland tropical forest in Malaysia

Ishizawa

Niiyama

Iida

et al. 2019

Ecological Research

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Tropical tree species differ widely in their silicon (Si) accumulation patterns, but the implications of such species differences for ecosystem Si flux remain unexplored. We analyzed how biogenic Si flux via leaf litter and soil Si availability in the upper soil vary spatially within a 2 ha area in a lowland Dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Silicon concentration per unit leaf dry mass of 86 dominant tree species in this plot ranged from 0.4 to 126 mg/g. Soil Si availability at 100 sampling points and Si flux via leaf litter at 66 litter traps showed large variations up to 3.3‐ and 17.9‐folds, respectively. However, they correlated neither with each other nor with the expected Si flux from tree species composition in the neighborhood. When we classified tree species to four groups by their leaf Si concentrations (negligible, low, moderate and high), tree species with moderate leaf Si concentrations were significantly more abundant on Si‐rich soils. In contrast, the other three groups did not show any significant spatial relationships with soil Si availability. These results indicate that soil Si availability, Si accumulation by vegetation and Si flux via leaf litter show wide spatial variations in a lowland tropical forest, without a simple relationship with each other.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial variations of soil silicon availability and biogenic silicon flux in a lowland tropical forest in Malaysia

Ishizawa

Niiyama

Iida

et al. 2019

Ecological Research

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“…Silicon is among the most common soil elements on Earth (Sommer, Kaczorek, Kuzyakov, & Breuer, 2006) and its biogeochemical cycling is considered important for the functioning of ecosystems worldwide (Blecker, McCulley, Chadwick, & Kelly, 2006;Carey & Fulweiler, 2012;Cooke, DeGabriel, & Hartley, 2016;Coskun et al, 2019;Katz, 2019;Ma & Takahashi, 2002;Schaller et al, 2018;Street-Perrott & Barker, 2008). The annual fixation of biogenic silica ranges from 60 to 200 Tmol/year in global Si cycling (Conley, 2002) and from 55 to 113 Tmol/year in the terrestrial biosphere (Carey & Fulweiler, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of leaf silicon content with chronic wind exposure across and within herbaceous plant species

Song

Pan

et al. 2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim High foliar silicon (henceforth Si) concentration protects plant tissues against herbivory, but protection against several abiotic stressors has also been proposed, although the adaptive significance of these functions is still being debated. We aimed to explore the potential relationships between foliar Si content and chronic wind exposure across a large scale and multiple species and to analyse an overlooked alternative or complementary function of silicon in leaves: mechanical protection against wind. Location Mainland China. Time period From July to September during 2012–2014. Major taxa studied Two hundred and eighty‐two vascular plant species in predominantly herbaceous communities. Methods We compiled a dataset for leaf silicon concentration ([Si]) across 27 sites and 153 herbaceous plots within the major climate zones of China. We hypothesized that evolutionary lineages that generally have high [Si] should show positive relationships between leaf [Si] and mean annual wind speed. Results Within major families with generally high [Si] (especially grasses, sedges and composites), leaf [Si] exhibits a consistently positive correlation with mean wind speed among species across China. For the seven widespread monocot species with high leaf [Si], including the globally distributed common reed (Phragmites australis), intraspecific variation in leaf [Si] exhibits the same consistent positive correlation with mean wind speed. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that high leaf [Si] is likely to have widespread adaptive value for wind exposure of leaves, at least in several very widespread families and species of herbaceous plants. Damage from wind is a danger for plants in many ecosystems, hence these findings are of global significance and indicate that further research into large‐scale variation of leaf Si and mechanical traits in relationship to wind exposure is likely to be illuminating.

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Plant silicon content as a proxy for understanding plant community properties and ecosystem structure

Moura,

Sternberg,

Vorst

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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Silicon (Si) content in plant tissues is considered a functional trait that can provide multiple morpho‐physiological benefits to plant individuals. However, it is still unclear whether and how these individual benefits extend to plant community processes and ecosystem functioning. Here we investigated how plant Si content is associated with plant community properties and the ecosystem structure of herbaceous communities in Israel. We sampled 15 sites across the Mediterranean and desert ecosystems and built models to evaluate how plant silicon content (community‐weighted mean and standard variation) is associated with variables such as species richness, biomass production, plant cover, and functional diversity. Finally, we used model selection techniques to test whether models depicting plant Si content perform better than models using data on soil Si instead. Sites with lower susceptibility to drought had significantly more Si‐accumulating grass species and higher soils Si content. Models with plant Si content instead of soil Si, always performed better, although those considering Si content variation had overall stronger associations with community properties than only mean Si content. For instance, up to 51% of plant Si content variation was explained by climate, biomass production, and species richness, combined. Still, mean plant Si content and plant cover combined explained up to 42% of plant functional diversity. Our results suggest the that plant Si content serves as a proxy for understanding the ecological properties and functioning of arid and Mediterranean ecosystems. Nevertheless, the significance of Si has not been fully explored in other ecosystem types, where its influence may be less pronounced compared with the ecosystems examined in this study. In light of various global change scenarios, enhancing our understanding of Si as a plant functional trait could help bridge existing knowledge gaps and improve ecological modeling, thus enabling more accurate forecasts of changes in plant distributions.

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Silicon in tropical forests: large variation across soils and leaves suggests ecological significance

Cited by 39 publications

References 74 publications

Spatial variations of soil silicon availability and biogenic silicon flux in a lowland tropical forest in Malaysia

Spatial variations of soil silicon availability and biogenic silicon flux in a lowland tropical forest in Malaysia

Association of leaf silicon content with chronic wind exposure across and within herbaceous plant species

Plant silicon content as a proxy for understanding plant community properties and ecosystem structure

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