Differential effects of abscisic acid on desiccation tolerance and carbohydrates in three species of liverworts

Tissues of three species of in vitro grown liverworts, Riccia fluitans, Pallavicinia lyellii, and Marchantia polymorpha, were subjected to rapid drying with and without preculture for 1 week on medium containing 10 μM ABA. ABA preculture initiated total desiccation tolerance in R. fluitans, whereas control tissues were killed after 30 min of drying. Survival was also improved in P. lyellii, whereas ABA did not affect survival of M. polymorpha after rapid drying. ABA treatment did, however, reduce the rate of water loss in M. polymorpha. Total soluble carbohydrates were increased in ABA-treated R. fluitans and P. lyellii, but not in M. polymorpha, although there was no correlation between survival and changes in the percentage of these carbohydrates as reducing sugars. These differences in response to ABA and desiccation likely reflect different adaptations of these three species to conditions in situ.     

Influence of management on the species composition of epiphytic cryptogams in Danish Fagus forests

Abstract. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and to quantify the influence of management on the epiphytic species composition in Danish Fagus sylvatica forests. Trunks were chosen at random within selected blocks in both managed and unmanaged Fagus stands.117 trunks in 43 sample plots in three forests were investigated. Cover was estimated for 72 lichens, 29 bryophytes and two fungi on vertical trunks 0.3 ‐2 m above ground. 18 explanatory variables were recorded and arranged in three groups: eight management‐related variables, six micro‐climatic‐ and soil variables, and four geographical‐ and geological variables. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to test and to quantify the explaining power of the three groups of variables applying the variation partitioning approach. Detrended Correspondence Analysis was used to evaluate whether important gradients were ignored. It was concluded that the traditional ‘shelterwood uniform system’ used in Fagus forests has a marked influence on the epiphytic species composition. Thus, management‐related variables explained more than one third of the total variation explained, which equals 10.9% of the total variation. Microclimatic and soil variables explained 9.0%, and geographical and geological variables explained 6.0%. The following three recommendations are suggested to reduce the significant influence of management on the epiphytic species composition. First, it should be attempted to ensure a continuous occurrence of some big trees per ha to be left for natural death and decomposition. Second, regular thinning is necessary, especially in the first part of rotation. Third, a multi‐layered forest, where wind and desiccation effects are minimized, is recommended.     

Sterols of bryophytes

Sterol compositions of six species of bryophytes were studied. The major sterols identified were campesterol, 22-dihydrobrassicasterol, sitosterol, clionasterol, stigmasterol, cholesterol, 24-methyl-5,22-cholestadienol and 24-methyl-5,7,22-cholestatrienol. The quantitative determinations of the α- and β-epimers of 24-methyl and 24-ethylcholesterols were made based on 220 MHz ¹H NMR spectroscopy and capillary gas chromatography. Sterol compositions of bryophytes from other studies are reviewed, and possible sterol biosynthetic pathways in bryophytes are discussed.     

Diversity of dry forest epiphytes along a gradient of human disturbance in the tropical Andes

Question: Disturbance effects on dry forest epiphytes are poorly known. How are epiphytic assemblages affected by different degrees of human disturbance, and what are the driving forces? Location: An inter‐Andean dry forest landscape at 2300 m elevation in northern Ecuador. Methods: We sampled epiphytic bryophytes and vascular plants on 100 trees of Acacia macracantha in five habitats: closed‐canopy mixed and pure acacia forest (old secondary), forest edge, young semi‐closed secondary woodland, and isolated trees in grassland. Results: Total species richness in forest edge habitats and on isolated trees was significantly lower than in closed forest types. Species density of vascular epiphytes (species per tree) did not differ significantly between habitat types. Species density of bryophytes, in contrast, was significantly lower in edge habitat and on isolated trees than in closed forest. Forest edge showed greater impoverishment than semi‐closed woodland and similar floristic affinity to isolated trees and to closed forest types. Assemblages were significantly nested; habitat types with major disturbance held only subsets of the closed forest assemblages, indicating a gradual reduction in niche availability. Distance to forest had no effect on species density of epiphytes on isolated trees, but species density was closely correlated with crown closure, a measure of canopy integrity. Main conclusions: Microclimatic changes but not dispersal constraints were key determinants of epiphyte assemblages following disturbance. Epiphytic cryptogams are sensitive indicators of microclimate and human disturbance in montane dry forests. The substantial impoverishment of edge habitat underlines the need for fragmentation studies on epiphytes elsewhere in the Tropics.     

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

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 (¹⁵N and ¹³C) 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. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

长白山暗针叶林苔藓植物对三种针叶树种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

研究了长白山暗针叶林两种主要地面苔藓植物——塔藓和拟垂枝藓对红松、红皮云杉和落叶松种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响.结果表明,在一定浓度下,塔藓浸提液抑制红松发芽,拟垂枝藓浸提液促进红松发芽;苔藓浸提液对红皮云杉和落叶松的发芽率没有显著影响,但不同程度地加快了种子日萌发高峰的出现.用苔藓植物体直接培养红皮云杉和落叶松种子,发现活植物体量大时对发芽率没有显著影响,但延迟了红皮云杉种子萌发高峰的出现,加速了落叶松种子萌发高峰的出现;杀青后的苔藓植物体则明显地抑制种子发芽.通过幼苗培养实验,发现苔藓植物浸提液抑制红皮云杉和红松幼苗生长,但促进了落叶松幼苗的生长;不同处理的苔藓植物体对幼苗生长的影响差异较大,活植物体量大时,两种苔藓均促进了红皮云杉和落叶松幼苗生长,而杀青后植物体则明显地抑制幼苗生长.     

长白山暗针叶林苔藓植物在养分循环中的作用

测定了长白山暗针叶林5种主要苔藓植物养分含量,并结合生物量的测定结果,推算单位面积的苔藓植物养分含量.结果表明,单位面积苔藓植物氮含量为5.371 kg·hm^-2,是乔、灌、草总氮量的12.22%;钾含量为12.02 kg·hm^-2,是乔、灌、草总钾量的5.63%;磷含量为31.679 kg·hm^-2,是乔、灌、草总磷量的70.57%,超过了乔木磷含量,是草本植物磷含量的2.倍、灌木磷含量的792倍,苔藓植物是暗针叶林重要的磷库.同时测定不同苔藓盖度下土壤中的养分含量.方差分析结果显示,不同苔藓盖度下土壤中氮、钾含量差别不大,磷含量差异显著,没有苔藓覆盖的土壤中磷含量最高,为0.19±0.023 g·kg^-1;苔藓盖度为第6级(80%～100%),土壤中磷含量最低,为0.36±0.017 g·kg^-1,随苔藓盖度的增加土壤中磷含量有减少的趋势.     

医巫闾山自然保护区苔藓植物区系成分与地理分布特征研究

首次报导了辽宁医巫闾山自然保护区的苔藓植物, 计28 科31 属129 种, 其中东北地区新记录3 种, 辽宁省新记录1 种, 就其在保护区的分布特征、区系成分和地理分布进行分析讨论。     

Enantiomeric type sesquiterpenoids of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha

A series of ent-sesquiterpenoids corresponding to the optical antipodes of those in higher plants have been isolated from the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. These sesquiterpenoids provide yet another example of the peculiar stereospecificity of the biogenesis of the liverwort sesquiterpenoids and suggest a special taxonomic position of the liverworts in the plant kingdom.