Seedling survival after simulating grazing and drought for two species from the Pamirs,northwestern China

For plant populations to persist, seedling recruitment is essential, requiring seed germination, seedling survival and growth. Drought and grazing potentially reduce seedling recruitment via increased mortality and reduced growth. We studied these seed–related processes for two species indigenous to the Pamir Mountains of Xinjiang in northwestern China: Saussurea glacialis and Plantago lessingii. Seeds collected from Taxkorgan, Xinjiang, had a viability rate of 15.8% for S. glacialis but 100% for P. lessingii. Of the viable seeds, the highest germination rates were 62.9% for S. glacialis and 45.6% for P. lessingii. In a greenhouse experiment, we imposed a series of stressful conditions, involving a combination of simulated grazing and drought events. These had the most severe impact on younger seedlings. Modelling showed that 89% of S. glacialis mortality was due to early simulated grazing, whereas 80% of P. lessingii mortality was due to early simulated drought. Physiological differences could contribute to their differing resilience. S. glacialis may rely on water storage in leaves to survive drought events, but showed no shifts in biomass allocation that would improve grazing tolerance. P. lessingii appears more reliant on its root system to survive grazing, but the root reserves of younger plants could be insufficient to grow deeper in response to drought. After applying all mortality factors, 17.7 seedlings/parent of P. lessingii survived, while only <0.1 seedlings/parent of S. glacialis survived, raising concerns for its capacity to persist in the Pamirs. Inherent genetic differences may underlie the two species’ contrasting grazing and drought responses. Thus, differing conservation strategies are required for their utilization and protection.     

Use of an exotic host plant reduces viral burden in a native insect herbivore

Incorporation of exotic plants into the diets of native herbivores is a common phenomenon, influencing interactions with natural enemies and providing insight into the tritrophic costs and benefits of dietary expansion. We evaluated how use of an exotic plant, Plantago lanceolata, impacted immune performance, development and susceptibility to pathogen infection in the neotropical herbivore Anartia jatrophae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Caterpillars were reared on P. lanceolata or a native plant, Bacopa monnieri, and experimentally infected with a pathogenic virus, Junonia coenia densovirus. We found that virus-challenged herbivores exhibited higher survival rates and lower viral burdens when reared on P. lanceolata compared to B. monnieri, though immune performance and development time were largely similar on the two plants. These findings reveal that use of an exotic plant can impact the vulnerability of a native herbivore to pathogen infection, suggesting diet-mediated protection against disease as a potential mechanism facilitating the incorporation of novel resources.     

Elevated CO2 and leaf shape: Are dandelions getting toothier?

Heteroblastic leaf development in Taraxacum officinale is compared between plants grown under ambient (350 ppm) vs. elevated (700 ppm) CO₂ levels. Leaves of elevated CO₂ plants exhibited more deeply incised leaf margins and relatively more slender leaf laminae than leaves of ambient CO₂ plants. These differences were found to be significant in allometric analyses that controlled for differences in leaf size, as well as analyses that controlled for leaf developmental order. The effects of elevated CO₂ on leaf shape were most pronounced when plants were grown individually, but detectable differences were also found in plants grown at high density. Although less dramatic than in Taraxacum, significant effects of elevated CO₂ on leaf shape were also found in two other weedy rosette species, Plantago major and Rumex crispus. These observations support the long-standing hypothesis that leaf carbohydrate level plays an important role in regulating heteroblastic leaf development, though elevated C0₂ may also affect leaf development through direct hormonal interactions or increased leaf water potential. In Taraxacum, pronounced modifications of leaf shape were found at CO₂ levels predicted to occur within the next century.     

Temporal and spatial variability in soil nutrient status of a former beach plain

As part of a research project on the variation in life-history characteristics within a population of Plantago major L. ssp. pleiosperma, seasonal and spatial variability in the availability of macronutrients (N, P, and K) were examined on a small scale in the 0–25 cm soil depth at a primary beach plain site, embanked since 1966. On the basis of distinct differences, among other things, in plant biomass, an a priori division into three different types of microhabitat occurring in a mosaic distribution pattern was made: an overall low-lying area (subsite 1) with slightly elevated patches of 0.5 to 1.5 m in diameter (subsite 2) and rather large patches, 20 to 40 m in diameter, of sea buckthorn shrubs, with small and relatively open spots (subsite 3) in the transitional zone from lower area into scrub. All three subsite types were studied within a total area of approximately 2000 m². Three methods of analysis were applied: an inventory survey (sampling once at the start of the growing season), an analysis of the seasonal variation (sampling at approximately monthly intervals during the period April-November), and an assessment of nitrogen mineralization potentials in the laboratory (sampling once at the beginning of the growing season). All three procedures clearly demonstrated the occurrence of differences in the availability of nutrients over very short distances, i.e. a pronounced spatial variability among subsites. Particularly the availability of N and P appeared to have increased at the subsites 2 and 3, when compared to subsite 1. This small-scale differentiation in soil properties has occurred in an essentially homogeneous parent material (e.g. in texture and carbonate content) over a period of about 20 years. Besides a spatial variability, statistically significant temporal fluctuations were observed in the availability of N, P, and K. Relative fluctuations of mineral N (as indicated by the range/mean ratio) were especially large at the subsites 2 and 3.