Investigation of intra-specific phenological variation in Quercus petraea across the French Pyrenees using a multi-environment experimental framework reveals phase-specific differences in phenological responses, with stronger temperature-associated plasticity in spring than in autumn phenology.
Sandy ecosystems are inherently fragile, and plant morphological traits are exquisitely sensitive to climatic shifts. We investigated adaptive strategies of three dominant psammophytes (Artemisia scoparia, Cleistogenes squarrosa, and Lespedeza davurica) to simulated warming and precipitation reduction in a 3-year experiment (established September 2019) in the Horqin Sandy Land. Warming and reduced precipitation profoundly reshaped vegetative and reproductive traits. Under reduced precipitation, all species converged by decreasing specific leaf area and specific root length, increasing leaf thickness and roots diameter, while warming elicited species-specific vegetative responses. Reproductive traits exhibited life-form dependence. Warming diminished seed dimensions in L. davurica, yet combined warming and precipitation reduction 60% markedly increased seed dimensions (especially volume) in the herbaceous species A. scoparia and C. squarrosa. All species modestly enlarged pollen axes to mitigate water loss, with herbs showing stronger responses. Precipitation predominantly drove variation in vegetative and pollen traits, while temperature mainly influenced seed and reproductive traits in L. davurica. Plasticity was organ-specific: leaf area, specific root length and seed volume were highly variable (e.g., specific root length in L. davurica, CV = 56.58%), whereas pollen traits remained remarkably stable (CV < 6%). A. scoparia displayed outstanding plasticity among the three psammophytes. Structural equation modeling unveiled that climatic factors exerted the strongest influence on phenotypic plasticity in the annual/biennial A. scoparia. Notably, temperature and moisture indirectly modulated plasticity via direct effects on organ traits, yet driving mechanisms differed for perennials. These findings underscore multi-organ synergy and the critical role of plasticity in psammophytes adaptation.
Wen-Da Huang, Yuanzhong Zhu, Hailun Yu et al.· Journal of Plant Ecology· 0 citations
Domestication may modify phenotypic plasticity by shifting plants from heterogeneous natural habitats to more uniform agricultural environments, potentially reducing environmental responsiveness. However, whether domestication consistently alters plasticity across traits, populations, and varieties remains unresolved. Here, we evaluated phenotypic plasticity to light availability in a crop–wild system of Capsicum annuum by comparing three wild populations and three domesticated accessions grown under full, moderate, and low light conditions (~1000, 565, and 160 µmol m−2 s−1, respectively). We quantified vegetative, physiological, and reproductive traits and assessed plasticity using hierarchical models, reaction norm slopes, and multivariate ordination. Light availability strongly influenced plant phenotype, but the effects of domestication were weak and not uniform across varieties and traits. Vegetative traits including leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf number, and leaf mass showed pronounced responses to light availability, whereas flowering-related traits were less consistently responsive. Low light induced the clearest multivariate phenotypic shift, characterized by larger and thinner leaves. However, these vegetative adjustments did not maintain reproductive performance. Fruit production remained relatively stable under medium light but declined sharply under severe shade. Together, our results show that domestication does not lead to a uniform reduction in phenotypic plasticity. Instead, plasticity in chili depends on the trait and on the population or variety evaluated and is expressed more strongly in vegetative than in reproductive components. These findings indicate that the biological consequences of plastic responses should be evaluated in relation to reproductive performance, not only vegetative adjustment.
Virginia Solís-Montero, Emil O. Téllez-Villagómez, Miguel A. Munguía-Rosas et al.· Plants· 0 citations
Limited plant establishment creates demographic bottlenecks that can alter vegetation trajectories in changing environments, yet it is unclear how common eco‐evolutionary indicators of plant strategy shape early response to key stressors.
We evaluated how early functional traits, phylogeny, and adult climate niche jointly explain seedling drought and freezing tolerance across 49 semi‐arid rangeland species.
The best models explained 36% of variation in freezing tolerance (traits only) and 45% of variation in drought tolerance (traits, phylogeny, and climate), identifying both shared and unique indicators of different stress responses.
Drought tolerance was explained by rapid root elongation and large seed size, while phylogeny captured additional tolerance within the grass family. Seedling freezing tolerance was linked to rapid root elongation and colder thresholds for root growth, though traits shared some explanatory power with adult climate niche (cold temperature distribution).
While stress resistance can be shaped by phylogeny and adaptations to long‐term climate regimes, our results elucidate early traits with clearer direct links to establishment capacity under drought and freezing stress, across species. Additional research is needed to understand how variation in stress response strategies across multiple demographic stages (e.g., seeds, seedlings, mature plant) and ecological scales (e.g., within and across species' climate distributions) could affect vegetation distributions and trajectories in changing environments.
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Julie E. Larson, B. Butterfield, Seth M. Munson et al.· Functional Ecology· 0 citations
Mountain ecosystems are disproportionately exposed to global warming, which may put alpine plant species in particular at risk. Plant species' migration and persistence depend on successful seed regeneration, with demographic traits such as germination being strongly sensitive to both present and ancestral climate. Germination may, thus, present a major bottleneck to alpine plant species under climate change, or they may cope through phenotypic plasticity. However, little is known about alpine plant germination under warming, its plasticity, and whether any of these are co‐determined by the climatic origin of the seeds. We investigated intraspecific variation in germination proportion and timing of six co‐occurring alpine plant species from different micro‐ and mesoclimatic origins as response to three temperature treatments using growth chambers. Elevation as well as topographic strata were used as proxies for mesoclimate and mean soil temperature, growing‐ as well as freezing‐degree‐days for microclimate. Our results show that species were plastic in germination proportion and timing in response to temperature, with all species germinating in the warmest treatment. Micro‐ and mesoclimatic origin affected germination traits but did not co‐determine species responses to the temperature treatments. We also demonstrated maternal climatic effects, with seeds from warmer microclimates displaying higher phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, seeds originating from colder mesoclimates, i.e. the upper elevation range, generally germinated less. Our results suggest that global warming will impact alpine plant regeneration from seeds through concurrent effects during germination, climatic origin as well as shifts in germination timing. Importantly, our results indicate that regeneration from seed may contribute to defining the upper elevational limit of alpine plant species through climatic origin and maternal microclimatic effects.
Thermal forcing is one of the most important drivers of leaf phenology and can be used to determine species’ phenological requirements. Counting on this, the aim of the study was to quantify the thermal regime and determine how it explains variation in spring phenology and senescence in European beech. To achieve this goal, we analyzed the 44 provenances tested in a common garden experiment established in the Carpathian region of Romania during the 4th series of international beech provenance trials. Using growing degree days and senescence degree days, cumulative precipitation over the previous 14 days, and photosynthetically active radiation as climatic factors, we modeled the spring leaf phenology and senescence, the thermal thresholds of provenances, and the length of the growing season. We found that thermal forcing is the primary driver of provenance phenology, but the other climatic parameters also significantly influence these processes. Significant variation among provenances was observed, but the effect of provenance was weaker than that of year or replication, suggesting that environmental conditions exert a stronger influence on leaf phenology dynamics. The identification of contrasting warming and cooling requirements suggests that, in provenance selection or assisted migration practices, thermal requirements are particularly important alongside growth performance.
E. Beșliu, M. Budeanu, A. Curtu· Forests· 0 citations
Pollination and seed dispersal by animals are key drivers of terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Effective mutualistic interactions rely heavily on temporal and functional- trait matching between plants and animals. While global warming is known to induce shifts in plant traits, the extent and direction in which higher temperatures may systematically alter flower and fruit traits across species in natural habitats remains poorly understood. Using elevation as a proxy for temperature across natural populations, we conducted a meta-analysis evaluating 21 quantitative functional traits (15 floral, 6 fruit) across 82 studies and 161 species. Standardized mixed-effects linear regression models revealed widespread, systemic responses to elevational temperature gradients in both reproductive structures. In flowers, higher temperatures were systematically associated with changes in petal and sepal width and length (and hence morphology), longevity, nectar volume, number of flowers, and inflorescence length. In fruits, elevation was associated with changes in vitamin C content, crop size, weight and width. Taken together, these results demonstrate that warming temperatures exert widespread, multi-axis effects on the morphology, availability, timing, and nutritional quality of both flowers and fleshy fruits. Given that flower and fruit traits are developmentally linked and co-determine animal visitor dynamics, these temperature-driven phenotypic shifts are likely to propagate cascading disruptions throughout plant–pollinator and plant–frugivore interaction networks under continued climate change.
Omer Nevo, Evangelia Linda Chronopoulou, Anna E. Azeroth et al.· bioRxiv· 0 citations
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