Semiquantitative estimates of Al and other cations in the leaf tissues of some Al-accumulating species using electron probe microanalysis

Electron probe microanalysis of transverse sections was used to provide semiquantitative estimates of Al and other cations in the leaf tissues of some Al-accumulating plants of the cerrado vegetation of central Brazil. Concentrations of Al were generally higher than those of other cations in the phloem elements of these plants growing on dystrophic as well as fertile acid soils. When one of the Al-accumulating species,Vochysia thyrsoidea, was grown in a calcareous soil, the concentration of Al in the phloem elements of leaves was lower than that of Ca and K though the cotyledons showed higher concentrations of Al than those of other cations.     

Growth responses of tropical forage plant species to vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae

Summary Growth and mineral uptake of twenty-four tropical forage legumes and grasses were compared under glasshouse conditions in a sterile low P oxisol, one part inoculated and the other not inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi. Shoot and root dry weights and total uptake of P, N, K, Ca, and Mg of all the test plants were significantly increased by mycorrhizal inoculation. Mycorrhizal inoculation, with few exceptions, decreased the root/shoot ratio. Non-mycorrhizal plants contained always lower quantities of mineral elements than mycorrhizal plants. Plant species showed differences in percentage mycorrhizal root length and there was no correlation between percentage mycorrhizal infection and plant growth parameters. A great variation in dependence on mycorrhiza was observed among forage species. Total uptake of all elements by non-mycorrhizal legumes and uptake of P, N and K by non-mycorrhizal grasses correlated inversely with mycorrhizal dependency. Mycorrhizal plants of all species used significantly greater quantities of soil P than the nonmycorrhizal plants. Utilization of soil P by non-mycorrhizal plants was correlated inversely with mycorrhizal dependency.     

Tree form in a mixed dipterocarp forest in Indonesian Borneo

The form of tropical trees was studied with reference to the production structure of the component individuals of a tropical rain forest stand in Sebulu, East Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo, since the production structure as a physical or bio-economical basis of tree form still remains obscure in tropical rain forests. The pipe model theory successfully explained the crown shapes of different trees, and its parameter, designated as specific pipe length, suggested an increase in the cost of leaf mass growth with an increase in crown size. A mathematical model consisting of exponential functions of aboveground height was applied for describing stem form, and its properties were examined through changes in its coefficients and by adopting an assumption of the geometrical similarity of individual stem form as a criterion for comparing differences in stem form among individual trees. Furthermore, the cost of buttersses was discussed using the relation between bole- and buttress weight calculated from the mathematical model.     

The influence of crabs on litter processing in high intertidal mangrove forests in tropical Australia

Summary Measurements of litter fall and litter removal by crabs, in conjunction with estimates of litter decay by microbes and tidal export of litter from three high-intertidal mangrove forests were made during a year-long study in tropical northeastern Australia. In forests dominated by Ceriops tagal and Bruguiera exaristata, litter standing stocks remained low on the forest floor (mean 6 g·m^-2), although litter fall was high; 822 and 1022 g·m^-2·y^-1, respectively. Sesarmid crabs removed 580 (Ceriops) and 803 (Bruguiera) g·m^-2·y^-1, or 71 and 79%, of the total annual litter fall from the forest floor. Relative to the rate of litter removal by crabs, microbial turnover of whole, unshredded litter was insignificant, accounting for <1% of annual litter fall. Export of litter by tides was estimated to remove 194 (Ceriops) and 252 (Bruguiera) g·m^-2·y^-1 or 24 and 25% of annual litter fall. In a forest dominated by Avicenniamarina, in which an ocypodid crab was more abundant than sesarmids, litter standing stocks were higher (mean 84 g·m^-2) and crabs removed less litter; 173 g·m^-2·y^-1 or 33% of the annual litter fall of 519 g·m^-2·y^-1. Microbial turnover of intact litter was more important in the Avicennia forest (168 g·m^-2·y^-1 or 32% of annual litter fall), and tides exported 107 g·m^-2·y^-1 or 21% of litter production. In areas where sesarmid crabs were absent or rare in Ceriops forests, there were significantly higher standing stocks of litter and slower rates of leaf removal. Taking into account the probable assimilation efficiencies of sesarmid crabs feeding on mangrove leaves, we estimate that in Ceriops and Bruguiera forests leaf processing by crabs turns litter over at >75 times the rate of microbial decay alone, thus facilitating the high sediment bacterial productivity in these forests. The importance of litter processing by crabs increases with height in the intertidal in tropical Australia, in contrast to New World mangrove forests, where the reverse is true.Contribution No. 445 from the Australian Institute of Marine Science     

Effects of cooling water discharge on the structure and dynamics of epilithic algal communities in the northern Baltic

The Forsmark Biotest Basin is a shallow coastal ecosystem that receives brackish cooling-water discharge from a nuclear power plant. The effects of the discharge on epilithic algal communities were investigated by analysing samples taken every third week throughout one year at 11 sites differentially affected by temperature and/or flow rate enhancement. Community variation was summarized in a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of species abundances as a function of site and date. The temperature increase favoured blue-green algae at the expense of red and brown algae. Blue-green algae were however abundant in summer in stagnant water, whether heated or not, and some red and brown algae became abundant in winter in heated sites with flowing water. Green algae and diatoms increased in biomass in the heated sites, but not in relative cover-abundance. The absence of ice and snow cover at sites with heated and/or flowing water caused autumn species to persist into winter, because of the higher light intensity (compared with natural conditions) and the absence of the mechanical abrasion by ice. The thermal discharge lowered species diversity (Shannon-Weaver index) both in summer and winter at sites with flowing water, but not at sites with quiescent or stagnant water. CCA showed alternate periods of stability and rapid change within the seasonal cycle. Individual species were placed according to their optimum; red and brown algae in winter/spring, green algae in spring/summer, blue-green algae in summer, and diatoms at various times. Exceptions to this pattern were species endo- or epiphytic on species of a different group. Analysis of the effects of temperature, flow rate and ice cover on the seasonal pattern of particular species showed that different species respond in individualistic ways to different combinations of these environmental variables.     

Tissue water relations in elfin cloud forest tree species of Serrania de Macuira,Guajira, Colombia

Summary Diurnal courses of stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, and the components of tissue water potential were measured in six canopy species in an elfin cloud forest. High values of stomatal conductance were measured on cloudy days and during early morning and late afternoon of sunny days. Decreases in stomatal conductance with increases in vapour pressure deficit may have been a response to avoid further water deficits and suggested a stomatal response to changes in relative humidity. Daily transpiration varied between 470 and 1014 g m^-2 day^-1 during cloudy days and between 532 and 944 g m^-2 day^-1 during clear days. Stomatal conductance may have also responded to changes in leaf water potential, which was minimum at noon. The minimum tissue water potential measured in the field was -1.8 MPa in Myrcianthes fragrans, and the minimum turgor pressure was 0.49 MPa also in M. fragrans. There was a correlation between the osmotic potential and the minimum tissue water potential, suggesting that osmotic potential plays a major role in the maintenance of turgor in these species, in spite of the great variability in the elastic properties of leaf tissues. Turgor pressure decreased during the day following the course of water potential but never approached the turgor loss point, as it has been measured in some lowland rain forest trees. This is a strong indication that elfin cloud forest trees do not suffer severe water deficits, and that small tree stature is not directly related to water shortage.     

The tellurium content of vegetation

Vegetation growing in the Ely mining district of White Pine County, NV has been analyzed for tellurium to discover whether Te accumulator plants existed similar to those that take up Se in great quantities. In addition, the variation in Te content among species growing in different geological settings was studied. Another objective of this study was to determine the range of Te concentration in vegetation in regions where the Te content of surface materials was high, as in the Ely mining district, and low as in various areas of western CO. Trees and shrubs (480 samples) as well as flowering plants (505 samples) and their associated edaphic materials were collected from six sites in the Ely region and all plant parts were analyzed for Te, Se, Fe, S, Zn, Cu, and Pb. One hundred and five plants were collected from three areas in western CO. There is a highly significant difference between Te uptake by trees and that of perennial flowering plants. Flowers contain significantly more Te on the average than other plant parts. An examination of the Te content of tree parts reveals that leaves sorb the most and branches the least. When the Te content of edaphic materials is high, there is a corresponding increase in the Te content of plants. Shallow perennial plants were not found growing in areas where soils contained more than 10 mg kg⁻¹ Te. Seleniferous species ofAstragalus contain larger quantities of Te than plants in the Ely area, whereas nonseleniferous members of this genus contain much less. The nitrotoxin producing Astragali contain concentrations of Te greater than that encountered in nonseleniferous species but less than that in seleniferous ones. No plants contained more than 1 mg kg⁻¹ Te. Iron, Te, Se, and S are coherent in all plants and in most soils and rocks examined.     

Phylogeny and the patterns of leaf phenolics in gap-and forest-adapted Piper and Miconia understory shrubs

Summary The types and quantities of defense compounds found in plants occupying ecologically distinct habitats have received much theoretical and little empirical attention. Here we characterize the leaf phenolic chemistry of eight species in two genera of tropical rainforest shrubs; four species in each genus are typical of disturbed sites, and four are typical of mature forest understory. Two Miconia species growing in light gaps had significantly higher leaf tannin and total phenolic contents than congenors growing in the primary forest; this pattern was not found among the gap- and forest-adapted Piper species. Tannin patterns were not mirrored by leaf cinnamic acids. These results indicate that plant phylogeny must be considered when predicting plant defense investment.     

Life-history strategies of Australian lizards: a comparison between the tropics and the temperate zone

Summary Previous studies have suggested that tropical and temperate-zone lizards may differ fundamentally in life histories. We tested the applicability of this idea to Australian species by comparing temperate-zone species of agamid and scincid lizards with their congeners from the seasonal tropics. Data were derived from dissection of 1,941 specimens and from published information. Clutch size and egg size were positively correlated with mean maternal body size in most lizard species from both climatic zones. Mean body size of the lizards studies did not differ between the tropics and the temperate zone, nor did egg or hatchling size. However, tropical skinks showed considerably (approximately 20%) lower clutch size and relative clutch mass than did temperate-zone skinks. This difference was partly due to the higher incidence of species with low, invariant clutch size in the tropical lizard fauna (as seen in other continents as well), but primarily due to a trend for lineages (especially genera) with relatively high fecundity to be more common in the temperate zone than in the tropics. In contrast to studies on African lizards, our data suggested that modification of clutch size between areas has not occurred within genera: congeneric species from the tropics and temperate zone did not differ in clutch size. Production of more than one clutch per annum by individual females was common in both climatic zones. Tropical lizards may differ from temperate-zone species in showing higher reproductive frequencies, more rapid growth and earlier maturation. However, most of these effects may be due to phenotypic responses to environmental conditions (especially longer annual activity season), rather than to genetically based lifehistory adaptations.