Bryophyte recolonization of burnt ground with particular reference to Funaria hygrometrica II. The nutrient requirements of Funaria hygrometrica

Abstract

A correlation can be seen between the nutrient requirements of Funaria hygrometrica and conditions in bonfire soil. Excessively high concentrations of nutrients especially ammonium-nitrogen could alone be responsible for the inhibition of growth found on young bonfire soils. For rapid healthy growth of Funaria, concentrations of calcium, potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus must all be relatively high, although nitrate-nitrogen and phosphorus seem particularly important. The effect of burning and heating on the soil nitrogen cycle and the growth of Funaria on fertilized soils would repay further investigation.     

Forest Invasibility in Communities in Southeastern New York

While biological invasions have been the subject of considerable attention both historically and recently, the factors controlling the susceptibility of communities to plant invasions remain controversial. We surveyed 44 sites in southeastern New York State to examine the relationships between plant community characteristics, soil characteristics, and nonnative plant invasion. Soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification rates were strongly related to the degree of site invasion (F= 30.2, P < 0.0001 and F= 11.8, P < 0.005, respectively), and leaf C : N ratios were negatively correlated with invasion (R ²= 0.22, P < 0.0001). More surprisingly, there was a strong positive relationship between soil calcium levels and the degree of site invasion (partial r= 0.70, P < 0.01), and there were also positive relationships between invasion and soil magnesium and phosphorus. We found, in addition, a positive factor-ceiling relationship between native species diversity and invasive species diversity. This positive relationship between native and invasive diversity contradicts earlier hypotheses concerning the relationships between species diversity and invasion, but supports some recent findings. Cluster analysis distinguished two broad forest community types at our sites: pine barrens and mixed hardwood communities. Invaders were significantly more abundant in mixed hardwood than in pine barrens communities (Mann–Whitney U = 682.5, P < 0.0001). Even when evaluating the mixed hardwood communities alone, invasion remained significantly positively correlated with soil fertility (calcium, magnesium, and net nitrogen mineralization rates). Soil texture and pH were not useful predictors of the degree to which forests were invaded. Nitrogen and calcium are critical components of plant development, and species better able to take advantage of increased nutrient availability may out-perform others at sites with higher nutrient levels. These results have implications for areas such as the eastern United States, where anthropogenic changes in the availability of nitrogen and calcium are affecting many plant communities.     

Seasonal vartadoosln the nutrtent content of carpets of Acrocladium cuspidatum (Hedw.)Lindb.

Abstract

1. Seasonal variations in the percentaae of potassium, sodium, calcium and phosphorus in the current season's growth segment of Acrocladium cuspidatum at three different habitats are presented.

2. The results show that the nutrient content of the moss carpet varies with time of year and also between habitats. For this reason comparisons between the nutrient content of moss carpets from different habitats are unlikely to be valid unless made at the same time of year or during comparable stages in the annual growth cycle of the species concerned.

3. In conditions where the moss becomes inundated by natural waters having a high concentration of calcium ions, the moss accumulates calcium to abnormally high levels.

4. Comparison of the nutrient content of the moss on open downland and under scrub shows a greater accumulation of potassium in the moss carpet of the scrub habitat. The monthly differences between the potassium contents from the two sites are positively correlated with the monthly rainfall as are also the actual percentages of potassium present in the moss carpet beneath the scrub.     

Soil Nitrogen Conditions Approach Preinvasion Levels following Restoration of Nitrogen-Fixing Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) Stands in a Pine–Oak Ecosystem

Restoring native plant communities on sites formerly occupied by invasive nitrogen‐fixing species poses unique problems due to elevated soil nitrogen availability. Mitigation practices that reduce available nitrogen may ameliorate this problem. We evaluated the effects of tree removal followed by soil preparation or mulching on native plant growth and soil nitrogen transformations in a pine–oak system formerly occupied by exotic nitrogen‐fixing Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees. Greenhouse growth experiments with native grasses, Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans, showed elevated relative growth rates in soils from Black locust compared with pine–oak stands. Field soil nutrient concentrations and rates of net nitrification and total net N‐mineralization were compared 2 and 4 years since Black locust removal and in control sites. Although soil nitrogen concentrations and total net N‐mineralization rates in the restored sites were reduced to levels that were similar to paired pine–oak stands after only 2 years, net nitrification rates remained 3–34 times higher in the restored sites. Other nutrient ion concentrations (Ca, Mg) and organic matter content were reduced, whereas phosphorus levels remained elevated in restored sites. Thus, 2–4 years following Black locust tree removal and soil horizon mixing achieved through site preparation, the concentrations of many soil nutrients returned to preinvasion levels. However, net nitrification rates remained elevated; cover cropping or carbon addition during restoration of sites invaded by nitrogen fixers could increase nitrogen immobilization and/or reduce nitrate availability, making sites more amenable to native plant establishment.     

Plant community response to nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment varies across an alpine tundra moisture gradient

Background: The extent to which nutrient availability influences plant community composition and dynamics has been a focus of ecological enquiry for decades.

Aims: Results from a long-term nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition experiment in alpine tundra were used to evaluate the importance of the two nutrients in structuring plant communities in three communities that differed in their snow cover amounts and duration and soil moisture characteristics.

Methods: A factorial N and P experiment was established in three meadows differing in initial vegetation composition and soil moisture. Plant and soil characteristics were measured after 20 years, and the dissimilarity among meadows and treatments were measured using permutational analysis of variance.

Results: Plant species richness declined uniformly across the three meadow types and in response to N and N + P additions, while both evenness and the Shannon diversity index finding indicated that nutrient additions had the highest impact on moister habitats. Overall, N impacts overshadowed changes attributed to P additions, and the N and N + P plots in wet meadow sites were the least diverse and scored the lowest dissimilarity averages among treatments. Dissimilarity estimates indicated that the control and P plots in the dry meadow community were more distinct in composition than all other plots, and especially those in the moist or wet meadows. Above-ground biomass of grasses and sedges (graminoids) increased with N additions while forbs appeared to show responses dictated in part by the graminoid responses. The most abundant grass species of moist and wet meadow, Deschampsia cespitosa, dominated N and N + P plots of the wet sites, but did not show a N response in moist areas in spite of its general abundance in moist meadow. Competition from other plant species in the moist areas likely diminished the D. cespitosa response and contributed to the resilience of the community to nutrient enrichment.

Conclusions: Initial community composition, as influenced by the specific moisture regime, appears to control the extent to which changes in nutrient resources can alter plant community structure. Long-term fertilization tends to support most but not all findings obtained from shorter-termed efforts, and wet meadows exhibit the largest changes in plant species numbers and composition when chronically enriched with N.     

Diverse responses of pqqC- and phoD-harbouring bacterial communities to variation in soil properties of Moso bamboo forests

Phosphate-mobilizing bacteria (PMB) play a critical role in the regulation of phosphorus availability in the soil. The microbial genes pqqC and phoD encode pyrroloquinoline quinone synthase and bacterial alkaline phosphatase, respectively, which regulate inorganic and organic phosphorus mobilization, and are therefore used as PMB markers. We examined the effects of soil properties in three Moso bamboo forest sites on the PMB communities that were profiled using high-throughput sequencing. We observed differentiated responses of pqqC- and phoD-harbouring PMB communities to various soil conditions. There was significant variation among the sites in the diversity and structure of the phoD-harbouring community, which correlated with variation in phosphorus levels and non-capillary porosity; soil organic carbon and soil water content also affected the structure of the phoD-harbouring community. However, no significant difference in the diversity of pqqC-harbouring community was observed among different sites, while the structure of the pqqC-harbouring bacteria community was affected by soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen, but not soil phosphorus levels. Overall, changes in soil conditions affected the phoD-harbouring community more than the pqqC-harbouring community. These findings provide a new insight to explore the effects of soil conditions on microbial communities that solubilize inorganic phosphate and mineralize organic phosphate.     

Effect of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium Additions on Plant Biomass and Soil Nutrient Content of a Swale Barrier Strand Community in Louisiana

Fertilization of a swale plant community with various levelsand combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium resultedin increased plant growth. Nitrogen addition produced the greatestincrease in biomass. At some high nitrogen levels, phosphoruslimited plant production. Potassium fertilization did not influenceplant growth. Phosphorus fertilization decreased the levelsof soil calcium, magnesium and manganese. A shore-perpendiculargradient in apparent saltwater inundation influenced soil pHand the concentrations of iron, phosphorus, and magnesium. Fertilizer effects, swale Scirpus americanus, Spartina patens, nitrogen limitation     

Seasonal and Spatial Controls over Nutrient Cycling in a Pacific Northwest Prairie

West Coast prairies in the US are an endangered ecosystem, and effective conservation will require an understanding of how changing climate will impact nutrient cycling and availability. We examined how seasonal patterns and micro-heterogeneity in edaphic conditions (% moisture, total organic carbon, % clay, pH, and inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus) control carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in an upland prairie in western Oregon, USA. Across the prairie, we collected soils seasonally and measured microbial respiration, net nitrogen mineralization, net nitrification, and phosphorus availability under field conditions and under experimentally varied temperature and moisture treatments. The response variables differed in the degree of temperature and moisture limitation within seasons and how these factors varied across sampling sites. In general, we found that microbial respiration was limited by low soil moisture year-round and by low temperatures in the winter. Net nitrogen mineralization and net nitrification were never limited by temperature, but both were limited by excessive soil moisture in winter, and net nitrification was also inhibited by low soil moisture in the summer. Factors that enhanced microbial respiration tended to decrease soil phosphorus availability. Edaphic factors explained 76% of the seasonal and spatial variation in microbial respiration, 35% of the variation in phosphorus availability, and 29% of the variation in net nitrification. Much of the variation in net nitrogen mineralization remained unexplained (R ² = 0.19). This study, for the first time, demonstrates the complex seasonal controls over nutrient cycling in a Pacific Northwest prairie.     

三峡库区消落带周期性淹水-落干对硝化微生物生态过程的影响

【目的】明确三峡库区消落带周期性淹水-落干对土壤硝化过程及功能微生物的影响。【方法】在重庆段万州、丰都和长寿3个典型消落带区域,分别采集淹水-落干8次、淹水-落干5次、淹水-落干0次土壤样品,通过室内培养分析土壤硝化作用强度;利用实时荧光定量PCR研究不同淹水-落干周期土壤氨氧化古菌和细菌的数量变化规律;采用DGGE分子指纹图谱和克隆文库技术研究土壤氨氧化古菌和细菌的群落组成差异。【结果】万州、丰都和长寿3个消落带中,土壤有机质和pH含量随淹水-落干次数的增加而增加;除长寿消落带外,土壤硝化强度也随着淹水-落干次数的增加而增强;随着硝化作用的发生,氨氧化古菌和细菌数量呈上升趋势,DGGE条带数量、位置和亮度均发生明显变化;氨氧化功能基因amoA的系统发育分析表明:万州和丰都消落带氨氧化古菌均属于土壤类古菌Group 1.1b;而长寿消落带则检测到少量的海洋类古菌Group 1.1a;3个消落带的优势氨氧化细菌均属于Nitrosospira和Cluster 0类群。【结论】三峡库区独特的"冬蓄夏泄"管理方式,导致淹水-落干8次的土壤经历了周期性的淹水-落干水分胁迫,提升了土壤有机质含量和pH,增加了土壤硝化作用强度,并可能改变了土壤硝化微生物群落结构。     

Natural variation of nickel,zinc and cadmium (hyper)accumulation in facultative serpentinophytes Noccaea kovatsii and N. praecox

Aims

Data on the variability of hyperaccumulation potential of the facultative serpentinophytes Noccaea kovatsii and N. praecox on different geological substrates are scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the accumulation potential of these two species from ultramafic and non-ultramafic substrates, with special emphasis on the hyperaccumulation of Ni, Zn and Cd.

Methods

Samples of plants and corresponding soils were collected from 16 sites covering a wide range of geochemistry. Elemental concentrations were determined in the roots, shoots and the rhizosphere soils. The pH, particle size distribution and content of organic matter were also determined in the soil samples.

Results

All ultramafic accessions of both species hyperaccumulated Ni with high intraspecific variability. Only one accession of N. kovatsii from a schist soil hyperaccumulated Zn, with also a high Cd accumulation. Accumulation and translocation of Ni in both species were much higher in the ultramafic accessions, whereas Zn accumulation and translocation was found in both ultramafic and non-ultramafic accessions.

Conclusions

Ni accumulation and translocation was restricted to ultramafic populations of both species, whereas it is a species-wide trait for Zn. This study provides new and comprehensive information on the natural variation of hyperaccumulation of Ni, Zn and Cd in N. kovatsii and N. praecox.

     

The consequences of multiple resource shifts on the productivity and composition of alpine tundra communities: inferences from a long-term snow and nutrient manipulation experiment

Background: Gradients in the amounts and duration of snowpack and resulting soil moisture gradients have been associated with different plant communities across alpine landscapes.

Aims: The extent to which snow additions could alter plant community structure, both alone and in combination with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions, provided an empirical assessment of the strength of these variables on structuring the plant communities of the alpine tundra at Niwot Ridge, Colorado Front Range.

Methods: A long-term snow fence was used to study vegetation changes in responses to snowpack, both alone and in conjunction with nutrient amendments, in plots established in dry and moist meadow communities in the alpine belt. Species richness, diversity, evenness and dissimilarity were evaluated after 20 years of treatments.

Results: Snow additions, alone, reduced species richness and altered species composition in dry meadow plots, but not in moist meadow; more plant species were found in the snow-impacted areas than in nearby controls. Changes in plant community structure to N and N + P additions were influenced by snow additions. Above-ground plant productivity in plots not naturally affected by snow accumulation was not increased, and the positive responses of plant species to nutrient additions were reduced by snow addition. Plant species showed individualistic responses to changes in snow and nutrients, and indirect evidence suggested that competitive interactions mediated responses. A Permanova analysis demonstrated that community dissimilarity was affected by snow, N, and P additions, but with these responses differing by community type for snow and N. Snow influenced community patterns generated by N, and finally, the communities impacted by N + P were significantly different than those affected by the individual nutrients.

Conclusions: These results show that changes in snow cover over a 20-year interval produce measureable changes in community composition that concurrently influence and are influenced by soil nutrient availability. Dry meadow communities exhibit more sensitivity to increases in snow cover whereas moist meadow communities appear more sensitive to N enrichment. This study shows that the dynamics of multiple limiting resources influence both the productivity and composition of alpine plant communities, with, species, life form, and functional traits mediating these responses.     

不同熏蒸剂对草莓连作土壤养分和微生物群落的影响

【背景】草莓连年栽培导致土传病害问题突出,施用熏蒸剂进行土壤消毒因效果显著得以广泛应用。但不同熏蒸剂对土壤病原微生物的影响存在较大差异,同时对非靶标微生物和土壤理化性质也会有不同程度的影响。【目的】明确不同熏蒸剂对草莓连作土壤养分和土壤细菌、真菌群落结构的影响,为合理选择熏蒸剂提供科学依据。【方法】以连作土壤为材料设置5个处理：未熏蒸、石灰氮熏蒸、石灰熏蒸、棉隆熏蒸、威百亩熏蒸,测定熏蒸处理后土壤养分含量;采用PacBio测序平台分析土壤微生物多样性的变化。【结果】石灰氮和威百亩处理均增加了碱解氮含量,降低了有机质、有效磷和速效钾含量;棉隆处理土壤中各养分含量均增加;石灰处理除有机质含量增加外,碱解氮、有效磷和速效钾含量均降低;棉隆、石灰和威百亩处理显著降低pH值。5个处理草莓连作土壤样本中获得了1 164个细菌OTU和444个真菌OTU。细菌多样性和丰富度分析发现,4种熏蒸剂处理均增加了土壤细菌群落的丰富度,石灰氮、石灰和威百亩处理增加了土壤细菌菌落的多样性。4种熏蒸剂处理真菌菌落的丰富度低于对照;石灰、棉隆处理真菌菌落的多样性高于对照和石灰氮、威百亩处理低于对照,但差异不显著。在物种组成分析中,从门水平看,变形菌门(Proteobacteria)和芽单胞菌门(Gemmatimonadetes)为优势细菌门;与对照相比,石灰氮、石灰、棉隆处理变形菌门相对丰度增高,威百亩处理相对丰度降低。4种处理均降低了芽单胞菌门的相对丰度。其他门类中,4种处理均增加了浮霉菌门(Planctomycetota)、疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia)的相对丰度。优势细菌群落分析表明土壤熏蒸减少了芽单胞菌属(Gemmatimonas)、藤黄单胞菌属(Luteimonas)、中慢生根瘤菌属(Mesorhizobium)等细菌的相对丰度,增加了噬几丁质菌属(Chitinophaga)、苍白杆菌属(Ochrobactrum)的相对丰度。子囊菌门(Ascomycota)为优势真菌,石灰氮、石灰、棉隆、威百亩4种处理均增加了子囊菌门的相对丰度。另外还检测到引起草莓根部土传病害的枝孢属(Cladosporium)和镰刀菌属(Fusarium)病菌,熏蒸处理后均降低了枝孢属和镰刀菌属的相对丰度,其中枝孢属在石灰氮、石灰、棉隆、威百亩处理中分别降低了1.35%、1.11%、0.90%和1.31%,镰刀菌属分别降低了0.71%、0.85%、0.19%和0.65%,但差异不显著。4种土壤熏蒸剂均增加了有益真菌毛壳菌属(Chaetomium)的相对丰度。【结论】采用熏蒸剂处理连作土壤改变了微生物群落构成,减少或灭杀土壤中的大部分致病菌属,起到有效防治草莓土传病害的作用,但不能灭杀所有病菌,而且对有益菌和土壤理化性质有不同程度的影响,因此处理后补充有益微生物非常关键。根据对病原菌的灭杀效果,石灰氮、威百亩处理的效果优于其他处理,可作为轮换施用的熏蒸剂,本试验条件下,棉隆是一种弱的处理剂。     

Effects of high- and low-intensity fires on soil properties and plant growth in a Bolivian dry forest

We compared soil nutrient availability and soil physical properties among four treatments (high-intensity fire, low-intensity fire, plant removal, and harvesting gap) and a control (intact forest understory) over a period of 18 months in a tropical dry forest in Bolivia. The effect of treatments on plant growth was tested using a shade intolerant tree species (Anadenanthera colubrina Vell. Conc.) as a bioassay. Surface soils in high-intensity fire treatments had significantly greater pH values, concentrations of extractable calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorus (P), and amounts of resin-available P and nitrogen (N) than other treatments; however, a loss of soil organic matter during high-intensity fires likely resulted in increased bulk density and strength, and decreased water infiltration rates. Low intensity fires also significantly increased soil pH, concentrations of extractable Ca, K, Mg, and P, and amounts of resin-available P and N, although to a lesser degree than high-intensity fires. Low-intensity fires did not lower soil organic matter contents or alter soil physical properties. Plant removal and harvesting gap treatments had little effect on soil chemical and physical properties. Despite the potentially negative effects of degraded soil structure on plant growth, growth of A. colubrina seedlings were greater following high-intensity fires. Evidently, the increase in nutrient availability caused by high-intensity fires was not offset by degraded soil structure in its effects on seedling growth. Long-term effects of high intensity fires require further research.     

Germination responses of native and invasive Cerrado grasses to simulated fire temperatures

Background: Fire is an important ecological factor in the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna). However, comparative studies on the effect of high temperatures experienced during fires on seed germination of native and invasive grass species are few.

Aims: To assess germination responses to simulated fire temperatures by seeds of invasive and native Cerrado grasses.

Methods: Heat-shock treatments (50 °C, 70 °C, 90 °C, 110 °C, 130 °C or 150 °C) were applied to seeds of 10 species of native and invasive grasses. For each temperature, the seeds were heated in a dry-air flow for 2 or 5 min. This combination of temperatures and exposure times simulated the soil conditions during typical Cerrado fires.

Results: Temperature treatment was significantly related to germination, and the effect varied according to species. Heat shock did not increase germination in either the native or the invasive species. Exposure time was important for only two species, and four species showed a significant increase in mean germination time.

Conclusions: Species showed different tolerances to high temperatures. It was not possible to differentiate the native and invasive grasses only by their tolerance to high temperatures, suggesting that fire alone may not be an efficient management tool to control the invasive species studied here.     

Responses of Nitrification and Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria to Reciprocal Transfers of Soil between Adjacent Coniferous Forest and Meadow Vegetation in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon

Despite the critical position of nitrification in N cycling in coniferous forest soils of western North America, little information exists on the composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in these soils, or their response to treatments that promote or reduce nitrification. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which a set of soil cores was reciprocally transplanted between adjacent forest (low nitrification potential) and meadow (high nitrification potential) environments, at two high-elevation (~1500 m) sites in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest located in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Half of the cores were placed in screened PVC pipe (closed) to prevent new root colonization, large litter debris inputs, and animal disturbance; the other cores were placed in open mesh bags. A duplicate set of open and closed soil cores was not transferred between sites and was incubated in place. Over the 2-year experiment, net nitrification increased in both open and closed cores transferred from forest to meadow, and to a lesser extent in cores remaining in the forest. In three of four forest soil treatments, net nitrification increases were accompanied by increases in nitrification potential rates (NPR) and 10- to 100-fold increases in AOB populations. In open cores remaining in the forests, however, increases in net nitrification were not accompanied by significant increases in either NPR or AOB populations. Although some meadow soil treatments reduced both net nitrification and nitrification potential rates, significant changes were not detected in most probable number (MPN)-based estimates of AOB population densities. Terminal restriction fragment profiles (T-RFs) of a PCR-amplified 491-bp fragment of the ammonia monooxygenase subunit A gene (amoA) changed significantly in response to some soil treatments, and treatment effects differed among locations and between years. A T-RF previously shown to be a specific biomarker of Nitrosospira cluster 4 (Alu390) was widespread and dominant in the majority of soil samples. Despite some treatments causing substantial increases in AOB population densities and nitrification potential rates, nitrosomonads remained undetectable, and the nitrosospirad AOB community composition did not change radically following treatment.     

Termitaria vs. mistletoe: Effects on soil properties and plant structure in a semi-arid savanna

Termite mounds by creating patches of increased resource availability (e.g. water and nutrients) are a major source of spatial heterogeneity in savannas. Likewise, mistletoes via input of nutrient-rich litter alter nutrient and water availability increasing environmental heterogeneity in semi-arid savanna. Despite this recognition, the influence of termitaria and mistletoe on soil properties and plant community have not been investigated together. We established eight 100 m² plots each on termitaria, under mistletoe-infected trees and in the surrounding savanna and examined the soil properties and the structure of Securinega virosa (Euphorbiaceae) and Euclea divinorum (Ebenaceae) in semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe. Soil properties significantly differed among the sampling sites (p = 0.001) with soils of increasing clay, soil moisture, pH and phosphorus, calcium and ammonium concentrations occurring on termite mounds. Soils under mistletoe-infected trees were associated with silt, organic matter, sodium, potassium, magnesium and nitrate and the surrounding savanna was associated with soils of increasing sand content. Plant structure also differed significantly between sites with greater basal area of both S. virosa and E. divinorum on termitaria relative to mistletoe-infected trees and the surrounding savanna. However, the stem density of S. virosa was greater under mistletoe-infected trees than on termitaria and in the surrounding savanna. Plant structural variables of individuals of the same species were affected by different soil properties across treatments. The major patterns showed that plant structure was influenced positively by soil moisture and nitrate and negatively by phosphorus on termitaria; positively by clay, soil moisture and ammonium and negatively by potassium under mistletoe-infected trees; and by phosphorus and calcium in the surrounding savanna. These findings show that soil properties, plant structure and their relationships differ between termitaria, mistletoe-infected trees and surrounding savanna, and these differences are suggested to increase heterogeneity in soil resources availability and vegetation structure in semi-arid savanna.     

Osmoregulation in Cotton in Response to Water Stress : III. Effects of Phosphorus Fertility

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) (L.) was grown in a sand and nutrient solution system at two levels of phosphorus (0.5 and 5.0 millimolar). Within each phosphorus treatment, plants were either watered daily or acclimated to water stress by subjection to several water stress cycles.

Stress acclimation increased leaf starch at the low phosphorus level, but not at the high phosphorus level. High phosphorus increased leaf sucrose and glucose concentration in both acclimated and nonacclimated plants, but had little effect on osmotic adjustment or the relationship between turgor and water potential.

In nonacclimated plants, high phosphorus increased both leaf conductance and photosynthesis at high water potentials. In acclimated plants, high phosphorus increased photosynthesis but decreased conductance, thus increasing water use efficiency at the single leaf level.

     

Giant stem rosettes have strong facilitation effects on alpine plant communities in the tropical Andes

ABSTRACT

Background: Giant rosettes constitute one of the most distinctive growth-forms in tropical alpine ecosystems. However, their interactions with other plant species remain unexplored in high Andean páramos.

Aims: Quantify the effect of a dominant rosette (Coespeletia timotensis) on soil and microclimatic conditions and relate the impacts to plant community structure.

Methods: We analysed topsoil temperatures, soil organic matter (SOM) and plant species cover in areas adjacent to C. timotensis and paired areas outside, at three sites (4250–4360 m a.s.l.) in La Culata National Park, Venezuela. Species richness, total vegetation cover and percent cover of each species near and away from the rosettes were compared.

Results: Topsoil temperature amplitudes were lower and SOM greater near C. timotensis stems, compared to areas away from them. C. timotensis had a consistent positive effect on species richness, vegetation cover and the cover of many abundant species (including cushions and herbs).

Conclusions: The facilitation effects of C. timotensis on abiotic conditions and community structure indicate they play a key role as nurse plants, pointing to giant rosettes as foundation species for the maintenance of plant diversity in the alpine tropics.     

Ecological studies on Meikle Kilrannoch Serpentines

Summary

Of the five ultrabasic rock outcrops in the Glen Clova district of Scotland two, near Meikle Kilrannoch hill, bear distinctive vegetation and are unusually toxic amongst serpentines. Soil analyses showed a very high Mg:Ca ratio with low calcium and relatively high nickel and chromium levels.

Plant analyses for a range of species have shown some with a high tissue Mg:Ca ratio and others with a much lower excess of magnesium over calcium. Moderately high concentrations of nickel and chromium occur, while there is evidence of high sodium levels in two species of maritime affinity and instances of high aluminium, iron, potassium and zinc concentrations. Comparisons with the Lime Hill serpentine confirm the view that the high soil Mg:Ca ratio is a major chemical cause of their extreme character.