Ecophysiological differences among Leymus mollis populations across a subarctic dune system caused by environmental, not genetic, factors

Plant species that persist during succession, from the colonization to the stabilization stages, face major environmental changes. Such changes are believed to have significant effects on species performance. In subarctic coastal dune systems, Leymus mollis colonizes the embryo dunes, on the upper limit of the beach. It reaches its maximum density on the foredune, but also grows on older, stabilized ridges. This paper reports on the phenotypic variations of some ecophysiological traits associated with the persistence of L. mollis on a dune system on the east coast of Hudson Bay (northern Quebec). Leymus mollis ramets tend to have a lower net carbon assimilation rate and water use efficiency, and a higher substomatal CO₂ concentration on the stabilized dune than on the foredune. However, these physiological differences cannot be explained by differences in leaf morphology or nitrogen content. Under controlled conditions, ecophysiological differences observed in the field disappear, suggesting that these are not genetic but determined by environmental changes along the foredune-stabilized dune gradient. We propose that higher net carbon assimilation rate on the foredune might be related to higher sink strength in relation to the growth-stimulating effect of sand burial.