Seasonal variation in daily insolation induces synchronous bud break and flowering in the tropics |
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Authors: | Zoraida Calle Boris O Schlumpberger Lorena Piedrahita Avigdor Leftin Steven A Hammer Alan Tye Rolf Borchert |
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Institution: | 1. Center for Research on Sustainable Agriculture CIPAV, A.A. 20591, Cali, Colombia 2. Department of Biology, University of Munich, Munich, Germany 7. Herrenhausen Gardens, Herrenh?user Str. 4, 30419, Hannover, Germany 3. Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA 4. Sphaeroid Institute, 845 Mason Road, Vista, CA, 92084, USA 5. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, PO Box 240, Apia, Samoa 6. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Kansas, 1200 Haworth Hall, Lawrence, KS, 66045-7534, USA
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Abstract: | In many temperate plants seasonal variation in day length induces flowering at species-specific times each year. Here we report
synchronous bud break and flowering of tropical perennials that cannot be explained by seasonal changes in day length. We
recorded flushing and flowering of more than 100 tropical trees, succulents and understory herbs over several years. We observed
the following phenological patterns throughout the northern Neotropics: wide-ranging trees flush or flower twice a year at
the Equator, but annually further north; many trees leaf out in February; in autumn, wide-ranging perennials flower 4 months
earlier in Mexico than at the Equator. This latitudinal variation of phenology parallels that of the annual cycle of daily
insolation, a function of day length and solar irradiation. Insolation has two annual maxima at the Equator, it rapidly increases
in February at all latitudes, and between Mexico and the Equator its maximum shifts from the summer solstice to the autumn
equinox. These unique, manifold correlations suggest that throughout the tropics insolation, rather than day length, may control
the phenology of many perennials. Our observations significantly extend current knowledge of environmental signals involved
in photoperiodic control of plant development. |
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