Light dependency of the photosynthetic recovery of Nostoc flagelliforme

PS II photochemical efficiency (F_v/F_m) of Nostoc flagelliforme was examined after rewetting in order to investigate the light-dependency of its photosynthetic recovery. F_v/F_m was not detected in the dark, but was immediately recognized in the light. Different levels of light irradiation (4, 40 and 400 μmol photon m² s^-1) displayed different effects on the recovery process of photosynthesis. The intermediate level led to the best recovery of photochemical efficiency; the low light required longer and the high light inhibited the extent of the recovered efficiency. It was concluded that the photosynthetic recovery of N. flagelliforme is both light-dependent and influenced by photon flux density. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Low genetic diversity contrasts with high phenotypic variability in heptaploid Spartina densiflora populations invading the Pacific coast of North America

Species can respond to environmental pressures through genetic and epigenetic changes and through phenotypic plasticity, but few studies have evaluated the relationships between genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of plant species along changing environmental conditions throughout wide latitudinal ranges. We studied inter‐ and intrapopulation genetic diversity (using simple sequence repeats and chloroplast DNA sequencing) and inter‐ and intrapopulation phenotypic variability of 33 plant traits (using field and common‐garden measurements) for five populations of the invasive cordgrass Spartina densiflora Brongn. along the Pacific coast of North America from San Francisco Bay to Vancouver Island. Studied populations showed very low genetic diversity, high levels of phenotypic variability when growing in contrasted environments and high intrapopulation phenotypic variability for many plant traits. This intrapopulation phenotypic variability was especially high, irrespective of environmental conditions, for those traits showing also high phenotypic plasticity. Within‐population variation represented 84% of the total genetic variation coinciding with certain individual plants keeping consistent responses for three plant traits (chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents, and dead shoot biomass) in the field and in common‐garden conditions. These populations have most likely undergone genetic bottleneck since their introduction from South America; multiple introductions are unknown but possible as the population from Vancouver Island was the most recent and one of the most genetically diverse. S. densiflora appears as a species that would not be very affected itself by climate change and sea‐level rise as it can disperse, establish, and acclimate to contrasted environments along wide latitudinal ranges.     

Environmental Heterogeneity and Population Differentiation in Plasticity to Drought in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Convolvulus Chilensis</Emphasis> (Convolvulaceae)

Plant populations may show differentiation in phenotypic plasticity, and theory predicts that greater levels of environmental heterogeneity should select for higher magnitudes of phenotypic plasticity. We evaluated phenotypic responses to reduced soil moisture in plants of Convolvulus chilensis grown in a greenhouse from seeds collected in three natural populations that differ in environmental heterogeneity (precipitation regime). Among several morphological and ecophysiological traits evaluated, only four traits showed differentiation among populations in plasticity to soil moisture: leaf area, leaf shape, leaf area ratio (LAR), and foliar trichome density. In all of these traits plasticity to drought was greatest in plants from the population with the highest interannual variation in precipitation. We further tested the adaptive nature of these plastic responses by evaluating the relationship between phenotypic traits and total biomass, as a proxy for plant fitness, in the low water environment. Foliar trichome density appears to be the only trait that shows adaptive patterns of plasticity to drought. Plants from populations showing plasticity had higher trichome density when growing in soils with reduced moisture, and foliar trichome density was positively associated with total biomass. Co-ordinating editor: F. Stuefer     

Adaptive plasticity in response to light and nutrient availability in the clonal plant Duchesnea indica

克隆植物蛇莓对光照强度和养分条件的适应性可塑性 表型可塑性可帮助植物缓冲环境压力并使其表型与当地环境相匹配,但目前仅少数性状的可塑性被广泛认为是适应性的。为充分理解可塑性的适应性意义,仍需进一步研究更多的植物功能性状及其环境因子。本研究将匍匐茎克隆植物蛇莓(Duchesnea indica)的21个基因型种植于不同的光照和养分条件下,并利用选择梯度分析检测了形态和生理可塑性对光照强度和养分有效性变化的适应性值。在遮荫条件下,蛇莓适合度(果实数、分株数和生物量)降低,节间缩短变细,成熟叶叶绿素含量降低,但叶柄长度、比叶面积、老叶叶绿素含量均增加。在低养分条件下,植株叶柄缩短,叶面积缩小变厚,叶绿素含量降低,但果实数量和根冠比增加。选择梯度分析表明,叶柄长度和老叶叶绿素含量对光照变化的可塑性是适应性的,老叶和成熟叶叶绿素含量对养分变化的可塑性也是适应性的。因此,不同性状的可塑性适应值取决于特定的生态背景。该研究的发现有助于理解克隆植物表型可塑性响应环境变化的适应性意义。     

Morphological and Physiological Acclimation Responses to Contrasting Light and Water Regimes in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Primula sieboldii</Emphasis>

The effects of the availability of light (high, medium and low) and soil water (wet and dry) on morphological and physiological traits responsible for whole plant carbon gain and ramet biomass accumulation were examined in a splitter-type clonal herbaceous species Primula sieboldii, a spring plant inhabiting broad range of light environments including open grassland and oak forest understory. Growth experiments were conducted for three genets originated from natural microhabitats differing in light and soil water availability. Ramets of a genet from high light and wet microhabitat, which were grown in low light (relative photon flux density: R-PPFD of 5%) showed 41% less light-saturated photosynthetic rate, 50% less dark respiration rate and earlier defoliation than the ramets in high light (R-PPFD of 61%). The estimation of daily photosynthesis revealed that the light acclimation response in leaf gas exchange contributes to efficient carbon gain of whole plants, irrespective of experimental light conditions. Water stress increased root weight ratio, decreased ramet leaf area, petiole length and photosynthetic capacity. These morphological effects of water stress were larger in high and medium light regimes than in low light regime. The consequence of the above responses was recognized in the relative growth rate of the ramets. The relative growth rate of the ramets in high light with wet regime was four-fold of that in low light plus wet regime, and was 1.5-fold of that in high light plus dry regime. However, even in low light and/or dry regimes, ramets kept positive relative growth rates and produced gemma successfully. We could not detect significant variation in growth responses among genets. The high photosynthetic plasticity revealed in the present study should enable Primula sieboldii to inhabit in a broad range of light and soil water availability.     

Foliar δ13C response patterns along a moisture gradient arising from genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in grassland species of Inner Mongolia

Plants depend upon both genetic differences and phenotypic plasticity to cope with environmental variation over different timescales. The spatial variation in foliar δ¹³C levels along a moisture gradient represents an overlay of genetic and plastic responses. We hypothesized that such a spatial variation would be more obvious than the variation arising purely from a plastic response to moisture change. Leymus chinensis and Stipa spp. were sampled from Inner Mongolia along a dry‐wet transect, and some of these species were transplanted to an area with a moisture gradient. For Stipa spp., the slope of foliar δ¹³C and mean annual precipitation along the transect was significantly steeper than that of foliar δ¹³C and mean annual precipitation after the watering treatment. For L. chinensis, there was a general decreasing trend in foliar δ¹³C under the different (increasing) watering levels; however, its populations showed an irregular relationship between foliar δ¹³C and moisture origin. Therefore, support for our hypothesis was obtained from Stipa spp., but not from L. chinensis.     

Evolution in stressful environments II: adaptive value and costs of plasticity in response to low light in Sinapis arvensis

Plants possess a remarkable capacity to alter their phenotype in response to the highly heterogeneous light conditions they commonly encounter in natural environments. In the present study with the weedy annual plant Sinapis arvensis, we (a) tested for the adaptive value of phenotypic plasticity in morphological and life history traits in response to low light and (b) explored possible fitness costs of plasticity. Replicates of 31 half-sib families were grown individually in the greenhouse under full light and under low light (40% of ambient) imposed by neutral shade cloth. Low light resulted in a large increase in hypocotyl length and specific leaf area (SLA), a reduction in juvenile biomass and a delayed onset of flowering. Phenotypic selection analysis within each light environment revealed that selection favoured large SLA under low light, but not under high light, suggesting that the observed increase in SLA was adaptive. In contrast, plasticity in the other traits measured was maladaptive (i.e. in the opposite direction to that favoured by selection in the low light environment). We detected significant additive genetic variance in plasticity in most phenotypic traits and in fitness (number of seeds). Using genotypic selection gradient analysis, we found that families with high plasticity in SLA had a lower fitness than families with low plasticity, when the effect of SLA on fitness was statistically kept constant. This indicates that plasticity in SLA incurred a direct fitness cost. However, a cost of plasticity was only expressed under low light, but not under high light. Thus, models on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity will need to incorporate plasticity costs that vary in magnitude depending on environmental conditions.     

Phenotypic plasticity in response to an irradiance gradient in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Iris pumila</Emphasis>: adaptive value and evolutionary constraints

Adaptive values of plasticity in Iris pumila leaf traits (morphological: SLA, specific leaf area; anatomical: SD, stomatal density; LT, leaf thickness; VBN, vascular bundle number; SW, sclerenchyma width; CW, cuticle width, and physiological: ChlT, total chlorophyll concentration; ChlA/B, chlorophyll a/b ratio) were tested at three irradiance levels in a growth-room. Siblings from 28 full-sib families from an open dune site and a woodland understory responded similarly to variation in light availability: SLA gradually increased, while anatomical and physiological traits decreased with light reduction. In the Dune population, standardized linear selection gradients were significant for SLA and ChlT at high light, VBN along the entire light gradient, SW at high- and low-, and ChlA/B at low-irradiance. In the Woods population, the significant standardized linear selection gradients were observed for SLA and LT at low- and VBN at both high- and low-irradiance. A significant nonlinear selection gradient was recorded for SD and LT at medium irradiance. Comparisons of the plastic responses to each light quantity with the phenotypes favored by selection in that environments revealed that only an increased SLA value at low light in the Woods population was ecologically significant (adaptive). In the Dune population, SD and VBN entailed plasticity costs at low irradiance, while a cost of homeostasis was recognized for ChlT and ChlA/B at medium light, SD and CW at high- and low-, and SLA at high- and medium-light level. In the shaded population, CW and ChlA/B incurred plasticity costs at high irradiance, while for ChlT plasticity costs appeared under medium- and low-light conditions. In all leaf traits, genetic variation for plasticity was statistically undetectable. Genetic correlations between these traits were mostly insignificant, implying that they possess a capability for relatively independent evolution by natural selection across different light environments.     

Phenotypic plasticity in Philonotis fontana (Bryopsida: Bartramiaceae)

Abstract

Gametophytes from six populations of the moss Philonotis fontana (Hedw.) Brid. were grown under two light and two water regimes in order to assess the effects of these environmental factors on gametophytic architecture and leaf and leaf-cell dimensions. Both light and water affectedgrowth, but the light treatments had a greater effect, and on more characters, than did the water treatments. Significant population effects under common garden conditions point to genetic variation for several traits, and population × environmental treatment interactions demonstratedgenetic variation for patterns of phenotypic plasticity, i.e. plants differed in their 'norms of reaction'. Variation among populations in leaf dimensions tended to have a strong genetic component (20–30% of the total variation), whereas cell dimensions showed relatively little geneticvariation (<10% of the total).     

喜旱莲子草沿河岸带不同生境的盖度变化及形态可塑性

喜旱莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)原产南美洲,是中国国家环保总局公布的9种危害最大的外来入侵植物之一。该文比较了分布于河岸带4种小生境中,喜旱莲子草和它的同属土著植物莲子草(Alternanthera sessilis)的盖度和生长特征变化,以了解影响喜旱莲子草入侵的生境和生长特征。按照距水体的距离远近,这些小生境依次为:废弃农田、沼泽、河边沙石滩及河间卵石滩。 结果表明,这4种生境在基质性质、土壤养分和生产力方面存在显著的差异。在生产力较高的生境中(如废弃地和沼泽),喜旱莲子草是优势种,但在生产力较低的生境中(即河边砾石滩及河间卵石滩)土著种莲子草的相对盖度大于喜旱莲子草。随着生境土壤养分的增加,喜旱莲子草表现出明显的形态可塑性。喜旱莲子草与觅光相关的几个形态指标,如茎的长度、节间长度和节的数目以及单叶面积都显著增加;同时,那些着生叶片的分枝也从匍匐状转变成直立生长。在生产力较高的生境中,喜旱莲子草的植冠高度和茎干密度成正相关,表明喜旱莲子草对极度密集的种群环境有很强的适应能力。这些结果说明,较高的形态可塑性和优先占据具有较高土壤养分的小生境是喜旱莲子草沿河岸带入侵的基本特征,可能也是促成其入侵的重要的内部(植物自身)和外部(生境)条件。     

Morphological variation and floral abnormalities in a trigger plant across a narrow altitudinal gradient

Local adaptation in alpine plants has been demonstrated across wide altitudinal gradients, but has rarely been examined across the alpine‐to‐montane transition that often encompasses only a few hundred metres. Here we characterize morphological variation in leaf and floral characteristics of the trigger plant Stylidium armeria along a narrow altitudinal gradient in the Bogong High Plains in Victoria. Across this gradient, which encompasses the high‐elevation limit of this species, linear changes were found for floral scape height, leaf length and flower number. All these traits decreased with increasing altitude, whereas the frequency of abnormal flowers increased. When plants were grown in a common garden environment, an altitudinal pattern for flower abnormalities was no longer detected. However, altitudinal patterns for leaf length and scape height were maintained, albeit weaker than in the field. This indicates heritable variation for these morphological traits; the altitudinal patterns are likely to reflect the effects of selection by environmental factors that vary with altitude. Selection pressures remain to be identified but have generated both cogradient and countergradient patterns of variation.     

Light-induced variation in the growth and dynamics of transplanted ramets of the understory herb,Aster acuminatus

Summary Ramets of the understory herb, Aster acuminatus, were transplanted from two source populations into eight understory garden sites that varied in light and soil moisture levels. Ramet growth, clonal growth, flowering and survivorship were monitored for three growing seasons. Large differences among gardens in ramet growth, clonal growth and flowering developed in the first growing season and increased in the next two years. This variation was positively correlated with garden light level but not at all with soil moisture. Mortality rates were low in all gardens and showed that genets from any particular source could survive over a broad range of environmental conditions. There was no conclusive evidence for any source population differences in the capacity to survive or grow in different environments. The rapid, light-induced responses of transplanted ramets resulted in garden populations very similar in appearance to natural populations experiencing similar light regimes. These results combined with those from other studies of A. acuminatus provide strong evidence for the importance of light in explaining population patterns and dynamics in this species.     

Morphological anti‐predator defences in the nine‐spined stickleback: constitutive,induced or both?

Environmental differences among populations are expected to lead to local adaptation, while spatial or temporal environmental variation within a population will favour evolution of phenotypic plasticity. As plasticity itself can be under selection, locally adapted populations can vary in levels of plasticity. Nine‐spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) originating from isolated ponds (low piscine predation risk, high competition) vs. lake and marine populations (high piscine predation risk, low competition) are known to be morphologically adapted to their respective environments. However, nothing is known about their ability to express phenotypic plasticity in morphology in response to perceived predation risk or food availability/competition. We studied predator‐induced phenotypic plasticity in body shape and armour of marine and pond nine‐spined stickleback in a factorial common garden experiment with two predator treatments (present vs. absent) and two feeding regimes (low vs. high). The predation treatment did not induce any morphological shifts in fish from either habitat or food regime. However, strong habitat‐dependent differences between populations as well as strong sexual dimorphism in both body shape and armour were found. The lack of predator‐induced plasticity in development of the defence traits (viz. body armour and body depth) suggests that morphological anti‐predator traits in nine‐spined stickleback are strictly constitutive, rather than inducible. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ??, ??–??.     

Variation and covariation among life-history traits in Rumex acetosella from a successional old-field gradient

In this study morphological variation and the potential for competition to affect biomass and seedling selection of the families of five populations of Rumex acetosella L. sampled along a successional old-field gradient have been investigated. Seeds from 25 families were submitted to four competitive regimes: no competition (one plant per pot), medium competition (two plants/ pot taking plants from the same population), high within-population competition (four individuals from the same population in a pot) and high between-population competition (four individuals from two different populations in a pot). Eight traits were analysed after 3 months of growth for variation among families within populations. A significant difference among families within the two older populations was recorded for sexual biomass and related components. High sensitivity of these traits to density was observed in all populations except the youngest, suggesting specialization to particular environmental conditions in late successional populations, and a good adaptive capacity to buffer environmental variation in the pioneer population. Little significant interaction between competitive regimes and families within populations was found, i.e. genotypes within each population showed little variation in their response to environmental variation. Genotypic variance decreased with increasing competitive conditions for the majority of the traits. However, the percentage of variance in sexual reproduction explained by family was stable among treatments. Tradeoffs between vegetative reproduction and sexual reproduction were recorded at the population level along the successional gradient, with increasing competitive conditions. As succession proceeds, we observed a decrease in sexual reproduction and an increase in vegetative reproduction. At the family level, correlation among traits were similar when plants were grown in the absence of competition and at high density, with a significant negative correlation between sexual reproduction and vegetative reproduction. For both sprout number and sexual biomass, the performance of families grown under all the treatments was positively correlated. Together these results indicate allocational constraints on the reproductive biology of R. acetosella that may be favoured by natural selection and have influenced population differentiation along the successional gradient. However, they also revealed that the potential exists for evolutionary specialization through plasticity, in response to variation in environmental conditions.     

Microhabitat and morphometric variation in two species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prasiola</Emphasis> (Prasiolales,Chlorophyta) from streams in central Mexico

Prasiolales are characterized by high morphological plasticity. This problem in taxonomic delimitation of the species may be a result of environment heterogeneity. Habitat characteristics and morphological variation of P. mexicana and P. nevadensis, two species of freshwater leaf-like thallus green algae, were investigated in five sites in central México where the morphological traits of these species overlap. Comparisons were made between habitat characteristics among streams and transects with and without Prasiola samples. Although no consistent correlation was found between environmental variables and morphological traits, a significantly wider range of habitat characteristics of current velocity and irradiance and morphometric variation (lamina length, lamina diameter, cell length, surface of the thallus, thickness and number of layers) suggested that P. mexicana was more plastic than P. nevadensis in its physicochemical requirements. Our results suggest that small variation of microhabitat conditions in P. nevadensis (irradiance and current velocity) could explain its very restricted geographic range in streams in central Mexico.     

Shifts in fine root traits within and among species along a fine-scale hydrological gradient

Background and AimsLessons from above-ground trait ecology and resource economics theory may not be directly translatable to below-ground traits due to differences in function, trade-offs and environmental constraints. Here we examine root functional traits within and across species along a fine-scale hydrological gradient. We ask two related questions: (1) What is the relative magnitude of trait variation across the gradient for within- versus among-species variation? (2) Do correlations among below-ground plant traits conform with predictions from resource-economic spectrum theory?MethodsWe sampled four below-ground fine-root traits (specific root length, branching intensity, root tissue density and root dry matter content) and four above-ground traits (specific leaf area, leaf size, plant height and leaf dry matter content) in vascular plants along a fine-scale hydrological gradient within a wet heathland community in south-eastern Australia. Below-ground and above-ground traits were sampled both within and among species.Key ResultsRoot traits shifted both within and among species across the hydrological gradient. Within- and among-species patterns for root tissue density showed similar declines towards the wetter end of the gradient. Other root traits showed a variety of patterns with respect to within- and among-species variation. Filtering of species has a stronger effect compared with the average within-species shift: the slopes of the relationships between soil moisture and traits were steeper across species than slopes of within species. Between species, below-ground traits were only weakly linked to each other and to above-ground traits, but these weak links did in some cases correspond with predictions from economic theory.ConclusionsOne of the challenges of research on root traits has been considerable intraspecific variation. Here we show that part of intraspecific root trait variation is structured by a fine-scale hydrological gradient, and that the variation aligns with among-species trends in some cases. Patterns in root tissue density are especially intriguing and may play an important role in species and individual response to moisture conditions. Given the importance of roots in the uptake of resources, and in carbon and nutrient turnover, it is vital that we establish patterns of root trait variation across environmental gradients.     

Light quantity and quality induce shade-avoiding plasticity in a marine macroalga

Light-induced plasticity in plant morphology is considered adaptive in terrestrial habitats that vary in light, but remains unexplored for marine habitats. This is despite similar modes of growth, development and photosynthetic equipment in terrestrial and marine photoautotrophs and similarly dynamic light environments. We tested whether manipulations of light quantity and quality induce morphological plasticity in the marine macroalga, Asparagopsis armata. Using multivariate analyses (principal components analyses and multivariate analyses of covariance), we show that correlated morphological traits underlie a fundamental growth strategy characterized by the production of phalanx and guerrilla phenotypes in environments that mimic light and shade respectively. This foraging response is not under simple genetic or environmental control, but influenced by interactions between genotype and environment. Evidence of plasticity and genetic variation in plasticity in a marine modular organism generates additional, testable hypotheses on the ecological consequences of variation in growth form that may further explain the evolution of plasticity.     

Growth consequences of plasticity of plant traits in response to light conditions

Summary We present a method for quantifying the growth advantage, if any, that results from the plasticity of plant traits in response to growth in high vs. low resource levels. The method, which uses two phenotypes and two resource levels, quantifies the average advantage that a phenotype has, in its own set of conditions, over the other phenotype. The method is applied to the growth of two phenotypes of Abutilon theophrasti, induced by high and low light intensity, in response to two levels of incident light intensity. We calculated the growth advantage first using relative growth rate, and second using whole-plant photosynthetic assimilation rate, as the response variable. Then we used the photosynthetic responses to changes in light intensity to calculate changes in growth rates of each phenotype when exposed to a change in light conditions. These three quantifications of growth advantage broadly agree with one another. Despite the great plasticity of its traits induced by growth in high vs. low light intensity, whole-plant plasticity did not allow Abutilon theophrasti to exhibit a significant growth advantage under these conditions. Indeed, the relative growth rate of the low light phenotype greatly exceeded that of the high light phenotype in high incident light conditions. This may have resulted from the higher leaf area ratio of the low light phenotype. Furthermore, the high light phenotype had significantly greater transpiration rate in both light conditions. For these reasons we suggest that light-induced plasticity of traits in Abutilon theophrasti may confer advantage in response to the variation in vapor pressure deficit that is associated with variation in light intensity. Light-induced plasticity may also be advantageous because under high incident light conditions the high-light phenotype has greater reproductive allocation than the low-light phenotype.     

基于野外调查和同质种植园实验的芦苇植物功能性状变异研究

研究表型可塑性和遗传变异在植物表型分化中的相对作用,有助于预测全球环境变化下的植物群落组成和生态系统功能的变化。芦苇（Phragmites australis）是全球性广布的草本植物,种内变异丰富,在我国西北和东部均存在多个分化稳定的生态型,但中国芦苇在更大尺度上的表型研究还非常匮乏。将位于黄河上游的宁夏平原和黄河下游的黄河三角洲作为研究区域,通过野外调查和同质种植园实验对芦苇自然种群的植物功能性状变异进行观测。结果表明,无论在野外还是同质种植园,黄河三角洲芦苇的基径、叶长和叶宽均显著大于宁夏平原芦苇,说明两个地区的芦苇种群之间存在着受遗传决定的表型分化,这可能与两个地区间的降水等气候差异有关。在野外,宁夏芦苇的株高和叶厚显著大于黄河三角洲芦苇,但在同质园中差异消失或相反,说明株高、叶厚受环境影响较大,表型可塑性也是芦苇适应环境变化的重要机制。在同质种植园中,宁夏平原芦苇的叶片氮磷含量较低,但株数却显著多于黄河三角洲芦苇,反映了不同地区芦苇之间存在不同的适应策略,宁夏平原芦苇更偏向于高扩散率的杂草策略,而黄河三角洲芦苇更偏向于竞争策略。此外,宁夏平原芦苇的株高、叶长两个性状以及基径-比叶面积相关性在野外和同质园两个环境中存在一致性,表明了性状变异和权衡策略的遗传稳定性。综上,位于黄河上下游的芦苇种群间存在着适应性分化,这是表型可塑性和遗传变异共同作用的结果,不同来源芦苇对全球变化下的多重环境因子的响应还需要进一步研究。     

Light and Nutrient Dependent Responses in Secondary Metabolites of Plantago lanceolata Offspring Are Due to Phenotypic Plasticity in Experimental Grasslands

A few studies in the past have shown that plant diversity in terms of species richness and functional composition can modify plant defense chemistry. However, it is not yet clear to what extent genetic differentiation of plant chemotypes or phenotypic plasticity in response to diversity-induced variation in growth conditions or a combination of both is responsible for this pattern. We collected seed families of ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) from six-year old experimental grasslands of varying plant diversity (Jena Experiment). The offspring of these seed families was grown under standardized conditions with two levels of light and nutrients. The iridoid glycosides, catalpol and aucubin, and verbascoside, a caffeoyl phenylethanoid glycoside, were measured in roots and shoots. Although offspring of different seed families differed in the tissue concentrations of defensive metabolites, plant diversity in the mothers'' environment did not explain the variation in the measured defensive metabolites of P. lanceolata offspring. However secondary metabolite levels in roots and shoots were strongly affected by light and nutrient availability. Highest concentrations of iridoid glycosides and verbascoside were found under high light conditions, and nutrient availability had positive effects on iridoid glycoside concentrations in plants grown under high light conditions. However, verbascoside concentrations decreased under high levels of nutrients irrespective of light. The data from our greenhouse study show that phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental variation rather than genetic differentiation in response to plant community diversity is responsible for variation in secondary metabolite concentrations of P. lanceolata in the six-year old communities of the grassland biodiversity experiment. Due to its large phenotypic plasticity P. lanceolata has the potential for a fast and efficient adjustment to varying environmental conditions in plant communities of different species richness and functional composition.