Physiological constraints on response by Ostrya virginiana (Betulaceae) to localized folivory

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1951-1955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Marquis

Individual twigs of eastern hophornbeam were experimentally defoliated at the time of spring peak herbivore abundance for this plant species. When all three leaves directly subtending developing fruits and all leaves (three to five total) from the nearest twig were removed to simulate natural folivory, there was a 25% decrease in mass of individual fruits (but not in fruit number) compared with control twigs. Lower damage of up to 50% area removal for subtending and nonsubtending leaves combined produced no significant decrease in reproductive output. Experimental defoliation had no effect on growth, reproduction, or survivorship of treatment twigs in the subsequent year. At no time during the study was natural herbivore damage high enough on individual twigs to decrease their reproductive output. These results add to the evidence that resource movement among adjacent twigs and branches of woody plants is not sufficient to compensate for localized damage. Thus, we must consider both the pattern of folivory as well as total leaf area removed to understand the effects of folivorous insects on plant growth and reproduction. Key words: folivory, Ostrya virginiana, physiological integration, plant reproduction.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efrat Dener ◽  
Hagai Shemesh ◽  
Itamar Giladi

Abstract Aims The evolution and expression of dispersal-related traits are intertwined with those of other life-history functions and are manifested within various physiological constraints. Such a relationship is predicted between inbreeding levels and dispersability, which may be anatomically and ontogenetically linked so that the selection pressures on one may affect the other. While both the effect of inbreeding on reproductive success and on dispersal strategies received much attention, only a few studies considered both simultaneously. Furthermore, such studies often rely on two dichotomic representations of breeding and dispersal: using selfing vs. outcrossing as a representation of breeding level, and dispersal ratio as the sole representation of dispersal strategy. Methods Here we used pollination experiments in the heterocarpic Crepis sancta (Asteraceae) to expand in two different manners on the common practice of using dichotomic representations of breeding and dispersal. First, we used pollination treatments that represent a continuum from selfing through pollination by kin to pollination by a distant neighbor. Second, we measured a whole set of continuous morphological and dispersal-related traits, in addition to measurements of reproductive success and dispersal ratio. Important findings The proportion of developed capitula and the number of both dispersed and non-dispersed achenes were significantly lower in the self-pollination treatment in comparison to the out-crossed treatments. The effect of pollen sources on dispersal ratio was not statistically significant, though self-pollinated plants rarely produced non-dispersing seeds. Achene’s biomass increased with distance between parent plants, but pappus width did not, leading to a nonsignificant effect of pollination on falling velocity. Overall, pollen source affected mainly traits that were associated with reproductive output, but it had no clear effect on predominately dispersal-related traits. Such differences in the response of reproduction and dispersal traits to variation in pollen source suggest that dispersal-related selection is probably weak and/or masked by other forces.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 848-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella L. Pardee ◽  
David W. Inouye ◽  
Rebecca E. Irwin

Author(s):  
Robert F. Keefer

Micronutrients needed by plants are Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Mo, Cl, Ni, Co, V, Si, and Na. The required amounts of each of these elements is very small but still essential for desirable plant growth and reproduction. These elements must be applied to soils cautiously for the range between deficient and toxic is very small. It is unwise to use a fertilizer containing all of these micronutrients. Any one of them may already be high enough in soils to cause toxicity from that particular element. If a micronutrient is suspected of being deficient, it would be wise to get soil tests and plant tissue tests to corroborate your suspicions. If a micronutrient is deficient, one should apply only the amount recommended but no more. Sometimes a toxicity of an element is more difficult to correct than a deficiency. Copper, iron, manganese, cobalt, and zinc can be present in soils as (a) several types of precipitates, (b) adsorbed onto the surface of soil particles, (c) present in primary minerals (rocks) and secondary minerals (clays), and (d) present as complex ring compounds. These forms may or may not be available to plants. Precipitates of Cu, Fe, Mn, or Zn often form in soils at high pH (after liming Fig. 14.1). This may occur in soils near buildings from the lime used in the mortar. Soil acids dissolve the lime into Ca++ or Mg++ that migrate into the soil raising the pH and cause these micronutrients to precipitate. Often an Fe deficiency is evident, particularly on acid-loving plants, such as azaleas, rhododendrons, or hollies. If this is extensive, the soil near the buildings may need to be replaced. With limited areas, the soil can be acidified by adding elemental S near the plants affected. The elements Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn can exist as soluble forms or precipitates, depending on the pH of the soil. The soluble forms as cations are present when soils have poor internal drainage (poorly drained soils), whereas the oxides of these elements are present where the soil is well aerated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Lord Abbey ◽  
Jinsheng Cai ◽  
Lokanadha R. Gunupuru ◽  
Mercy Ijenyo ◽  
Ebenezer O. Esan ◽  
...  

A study was performed to assess nutrient release from biochar inoculated with solid vermicast (SVB), vermicast tea (VTB), deionized water (DWB), uninoculated biochar (Bioc), and Promix-BX (Pro-BX). The growth response of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) cv. Rhubarb chard was also assessed. Comparatively, nutrients were released slowly from treatments SVB and VTB compared to the other treatments. The rate of nutrient release determined by total dissolved solids and electric conductivity from the Pro-BX was the highest. The trend for the plant growth components, total leaf surface area and leaf fresh weight at first harvest, was Pro-BX > Bioc > DWB = SVB > VTB. The only treatment that increased total leaf area and leaf fresh weight at the second harvest by approximately 1.02- and 1.88-fold was VTB. Leaf fresh weight was significantly reduced by approximately 0.33-fold for DWB, 0.28-fold for Bioc, and 0.70-fold for Pro-BX but was not altered by SVB at the second harvest as compared to the first harvest. A 2-dimensional principal component analysis (PCA) biplot confirmed that treatment Pro-BX increased plant growth components at the first harvest only. The locations of SVB and VTB on the PCA biplot confirmed their efficacies, which led to increases in the plant growth components at the second harvest. Overall, the VTB adsorbed more nutrients onto its surface that were slowly released to enhance the Swiss chard cv. Rhubarb chard plant growth at the second harvest. Further studies should consider microbial activities.


1974 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali T. Ayoub ◽  
H. M. Ishag

SummaryLeaf burn and gradual death were the characteristic symptoms of injury in P. vulgaris sown on a sodic soil. Plant growth, total leaf area per plant, number of stomata and epidermal cells per unit leaf area, and relative water content were drastically reduced in injured plants; these were associated with large sodium accumulation in the shoot resulting in cation imbalance.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 2467-2475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin E. Gedge ◽  
M. A. Maun

Cakile edentula var. lucustris (sea rocket) and Corispermum hyssopifolium (bugseed) are two annual flowering plants that grow on the sandy shores of the Great Lakes. This habitat is extremely unpredictable and plants are subject to grazing by a number of insect herbivores as well as browsing by white-tailed deer. The objectives of these studies were to estimate the extent of herbivore damage under natural conditions, to determine the most vulnerable stage of damage, and to examine the compensatory ability of each species to tolerate herbivory. Greenhouse experiments showed that both species were able to compensate for low to moderate levels of artificial defoliation. However, high levels near the time of anthesis reduced the growth and reproductive output of both species. Similar experiments in the field revealed that although the critical time of damage was still the same, the plants were less able to tolerate herbivory. Cakile edentula plants exposed to natural herbivory in an unsprayed cabbage field were quickly attacked by large numbers of specialist insect herbivores and completely defoliated in 11 days. The fact that such damage does not occur in its natural habitat suggests that Cakile edentula escapes heavy damage because insects are unable to locate these populations along the shoreline. Key words: white-tailed deer, defoliation intensity, defoliation stage, compensatory response, indeterminate growth.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document