Surface wax, structure and function in leaves of Polytrichaceae

Clayton-Greene, K. A.; Collins, N. J.; Green, T. G. A.; Proctor, M. C. F.

doi:10.1179/jbr.1985.13.4.549

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…Several other morphological features on the leaf surface could play a positive or role in amino acid uptake too, for instance protective waxes in certain species (e.g. P. commune) from less wet habitats might be expected to interfere with the permeability of the cell wall (Claytongreene et al 1985). If lower photosynthetic rates are also associated with conservative N economy and amino acid uptake in mosses, this would be somewhat supported by the reported maximum photosynthetic rates (P max ) of some of the mosses.…”

Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amino acid uptake among wide-ranging moss species may contribute to their strong position in higher-latitude ecosystems

Krab¹,

Cornelissen²,

Lang³

et al. 2008

Plant Soil

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Plants that can take up amino acids directly from the soil solution may have a competitive advantage in ecosystems where inorganic nitrogen sources are scarce. We hypothesized that diverse mosses in cold, N-stressed ecosystems share this ability. We experimentally tested 11 sub-arctic Swedish moss species of wide-ranging taxa and growth form for their ability to take up double labelled ( 15 N and 13 C) glycine and aspartic acid in a laboratory setup as well as in a realistic field setting. All species were able to take up amino acids injected into the soil solution to some extent, although field uptake was marginal to absent for the endohydric Polytrichum commune. The 11 moss species on average took up 36±5% of the injected glycine and 18±2% of the aspartic acid in the lab experiment. Field uptake of both glycine (24± 5%) and aspartic acid (10±2%) was lower than in the lab. Overall differences in uptake amongst species appeared to be positively associated with habitat wetness and/or turf density among different Sphagnum species and among non-Sphagnum species, respectively. Species from habitats of lower inorganic N availability, as indicated tentatively by lower tissue N concentrations, showed relatively strong amino acid uptake, but this was only significant for the field uptake among non-Sphagnum mosses. Further experiments are needed to test for consistent differences in amino acid uptake capacity among species and functional groups as determined by their functional traits, and to test how the affinity of cold-biome mosses for amino acids compares to that for ammonium or nitrate. Still, our results support the view that widespread moss species in cold, N-stressed ecosystems may derive a significant proportion of their nitrogen demand from free amino acids. This might give them a competitive advantage over plants that depend strongly on inorganic N sources.

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Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amino acid uptake among wide-ranging moss species may contribute to their strong position in higher-latitude ecosystems

Krab¹,

Cornelissen²,

Lang³

et al. 2008

Plant Soil

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“…such as H. splendens, that increases the relati\e importance of P, commune rather than the ability of P. commune to expand its population in the higher nutrient plots, although individual shoot growth of P. commune was stimulated by the fertilizer treatment. There is no published e\'idence to show direct uptake of nutrients from the soil by tbe underground rhizomes of P. commune, but indirect evidence based on tbe water-repellent leaf surfaces (Clayton-Greene et al, 1985) and the existence of well-developed transport systems for the movement of water and photosynthate (Richardson, 1981;Ligrone & Duckett, 1994) in Polytrichum imply soil uptake. This might be sufficient to supply the shoots such that any nutrient limitation of growth is alleviated on tbe fertilized plots allowing greater annual growth.…”

Section: Polytrichum Communementioning

confidence: 99%

Growth responses of Polytrichum commune and Hylocomium splendens to simulated environmental change in the sub‐arctic

et al. 1995

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SliMMARYTotal moss cover and the gro-\\th responses of the t-wo dominant bryophytes vi-ithin a sub-arctic heath ecosystem, Polytrichum commune Hedw. and Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) Br. Eur., were investigated in response to simulated environmental change. Temperature, water supply and nutrients (NPK fertilizer) were increased in a factorial field study in Swedish Lapland, After 3 yr of treatment, total moss cover on fertilized plots was found to be less than 50 ",, of that on unfertilized plots, H. splendens made a smaller contribution to total cover, and also had fewer shoots on the fertilizer treated plots. The relative contribution of P. commune to the bryophyte community was greater on the fertilized plots, although total shoot numbers of P. commune were not greater. There was. however, a larger number of dead shoots of P. commune on the fertilized plots. Total moss cover, relative contribution to moss cover by P. commune and H. splendens, and the numbers of shoots of these two species, were unresponsive to both the temperature and water treatments. The growth of the current year's segment of H. splendens w-as retarded hy both the fertilizer and temperature treatments. Furthermore, the dry weight of the physiologically acti\-e shoot was found to be significantly altered by all three treatments. The current year's growth of P. commune showed increases in d, wt and morphological parameters in response to the fertilizer treatment. There were also interactive effects of both the fertilizer and temperature treatments with the water treatment on the current year's stem length increment.

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“…This gas-phase pathway is absent for unistratose mosses (i.e. with one cell layer thick phyllidium), theoretically enhancing CO 2 diffusion from the atmosphere to the cell surface, but present in Polytrichaceae species, which possess an air-filled 'pseudomesophyll' formed by lamellae columns (Clayton-Greene et al, 1985). However, the main limitations to CO 2 diffusion are in the liquid phase, determined by the length and chemical characteristics of cell wall, plasmamembrane, cytoplasm and chloroplast envelope stroma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomical constraints to nonstomatal diffusion conductance and photosynthesis in lycophytes and bryophytes

et al. 2019

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Summary Photosynthesis in bryophytes and lycophytes has received less attention than terrestrial plant groups. In particular, few studies have addressed the nonstomatal diffusion conductance to CO2 gnsd of these plant groups. Their lower photosynthetic rate per leaf mass area at any given nitrogen concentration compared with vascular plants suggested a stronger limitation by CO2 diffusion. We hypothesized that bryophyte and lycophyte photosynthesis is largely limited by low gnsd. Here, we studied CO2 diffusion inside the photosynthetic tissues and its relationships with photosynthesis and anatomical parameters in bryophyte and lycophyte species in Antarctica, Australia, Estonia, Hawaii and Spain. On average, lycophytes and, specially, bryophytes had the lowest photosynthetic rates and nonstomatal diffusion conductance reported for terrestrial plants. These low values are related to their very thick cell walls and their low exposure of chloroplasts to cell perimeter. We conclude that the reason why bryophytes lie at the lower end of the leaf economics spectrum is their strong nonstomatal diffusion conductance limitation to photosynthesis, which is driven by their specific anatomical characteristics.

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Surface wax, structure and function in leaves of Polytrichaceae

Cited by 31 publications

References 20 publications

Amino acid uptake among wide-ranging moss species may contribute to their strong position in higher-latitude ecosystems

Amino acid uptake among wide-ranging moss species may contribute to their strong position in higher-latitude ecosystems

Growth responses of Polytrichum commune and Hylocomium splendens to simulated environmental change in the sub‐arctic

Anatomical constraints to nonstomatal diffusion conductance and photosynthesis in lycophytes and bryophytes

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